It had been planned for awhile that my mom and I were taking my daughter to Chicago for her birthday. About a month ago, we decided to add tickets to the Classics to our weekend. It was our very first "real" meet. My DD is a L3 preteamer, and before this we had only watched one L4 meet at our own gym last year (so DD knew what she was getting herself into). All in all, it was a great trip!
For reasons unbeknownst to me, my 7 year old is quite the little Shawn Johnson fan! Not that I mind, I think she's adorable, too. But it's neat to see my DD with her first little celebrity obsession. lol.
DD thought the Jr session was "ok" but got into it more after the second rotation. She picked a girl to root for and luckily (for me, haha), the girl won! We stayed all the way through awards as DD loves watching medal ceremonies. Of course, we also purchased the requisite new leo and bar shorts, and a commemorative T-shirt.
DD was in heaven.
DD was even more excited for the Sr session. SJ was stretching, etc, very close to our seats during warm-ups, so DD got to watch her quite a bit, adding to her love for Shawn. DD was a little disappointed that SJ didn't compete all 4 events, but all was forgiven in the end.
DD was excited to see her compete at her first meet back, no matter how well she did. In the end, we rooted for Memmel to win as she competed all 4 events (being our hometown gal and all - despite being at a competing gym from DD's, haha). We were excited to see her place 2nd. I think my little girl ran on adrenaline all evening! I was surprised how much quicker the second session went, but with fewer gymnasts and so many NOT competing AA, it made sense.
So, perhaps the most exciting thing of the whole weekend? We realized we were staying at "the" hotel! At Saturday's late lunch (between Jr and Sr sessions), Marta Karyoli was eating at the table next to us! We did gawk (just a little) but let her have her privacy, though another little girl asked for a picture while she was eating! DD thought that was rude. And the biggest weekend bonus? Seeing SJ twice in our hotel lobby! Once before the Sr meet and again after she must have checked out. She stayed at our hotel, too! DD was beyond excited to have "lived in the same building" as SJ for one night. Again, we kept our distance and excitement to ourselves, and didn't interrupt her, but DD was still super-stoked. DD said the only thing that could have topped it is if she either A) got to stay in Shawn's room with her (lol), or B) SJ would have smiled at her and said "hi". But, that is certainly not a complaint at all!
We had considered heading to the Championships next month, but I am not sure we can top the overall experience right now, so we're thinking we'll maybe try the Championships next year in St. Louis. I am just overjoyed with my DD's excitement, and it has completely rubbed off on me, too.
Thanks for letting me share our experience! I thought if anyone understood, it would be you all here!
-Mamaoftwo
(**My only little tiny complaint is the insane amt of dust in the rafters at the UIC! Holy cow! We purchased upper level seats thinking we could see better (and we could), but I am sick from it as I have a huge dust allergy. It was disgusting! BUT- we got upgraded to the mezzanine level for the Sr session (didn't complain, it was just offered). The seats weren't quite as good, but I was further from the dust!)
For reasons unbeknownst to me, my 7 year old is quite the little Shawn Johnson fan! Not that I mind, I think she's adorable, too. But it's neat to see my DD with her first little celebrity obsession. lol.
DD thought the Jr session was "ok" but got into it more after the second rotation. She picked a girl to root for and luckily (for me, haha), the girl won! We stayed all the way through awards as DD loves watching medal ceremonies. Of course, we also purchased the requisite new leo and bar shorts, and a commemorative T-shirt.
DD was in heaven.DD was even more excited for the Sr session. SJ was stretching, etc, very close to our seats during warm-ups, so DD got to watch her quite a bit, adding to her love for Shawn. DD was a little disappointed that SJ didn't compete all 4 events, but all was forgiven in the end.
DD was excited to see her compete at her first meet back, no matter how well she did. In the end, we rooted for Memmel to win as she competed all 4 events (being our hometown gal and all - despite being at a competing gym from DD's, haha). We were excited to see her place 2nd. I think my little girl ran on adrenaline all evening! I was surprised how much quicker the second session went, but with fewer gymnasts and so many NOT competing AA, it made sense.So, perhaps the most exciting thing of the whole weekend? We realized we were staying at "the" hotel! At Saturday's late lunch (between Jr and Sr sessions), Marta Karyoli was eating at the table next to us! We did gawk (just a little) but let her have her privacy, though another little girl asked for a picture while she was eating! DD thought that was rude.
And the biggest weekend bonus? Seeing SJ twice in our hotel lobby! Once before the Sr meet and again after she must have checked out. She stayed at our hotel, too! DD was beyond excited to have "lived in the same building" as SJ for one night. Again, we kept our distance and excitement to ourselves, and didn't interrupt her, but DD was still super-stoked. DD said the only thing that could have topped it is if she either A) got to stay in Shawn's room with her (lol), or B) SJ would have smiled at her and said "hi". But, that is certainly not a complaint at all!We had considered heading to the Championships next month, but I am not sure we can top the overall experience right now, so we're thinking we'll maybe try the Championships next year in St. Louis. I am just overjoyed with my DD's excitement, and it has completely rubbed off on me, too.
Thanks for letting me share our experience! I thought if anyone understood, it would be you all here!
-Mamaoftwo
(**My only little tiny complaint is the insane amt of dust in the rafters at the UIC! Holy cow! We purchased upper level seats thinking we could see better (and we could), but I am sick from it as I have a huge dust allergy. It was disgusting! BUT- we got upgraded to the mezzanine level for the Sr session (didn't complain, it was just offered). The seats weren't quite as good, but I was further from the dust!)
