While I was at Alejandra's bridal shower in Dallas, Corey was with Annmarie in Lubbock for her States Gymnastics meet. She was able to have her coach, Jazz, do her hair for the meet. It wasn't her greatest meet ever, but the competition at States is a lot stiffer. She didn't place high in anything, but did come in 8th All Around in her age bracket. Her scores were similar to what they've been all season, high 8s and low 9s. All Around 35.975. Missed that 36 by .025. She had fun just being with Dad.
While Eliza, Travis, and Jonah were performing at the Meyerson, I was at Annmarie's gymnastics meet in McKinney.
She had a really amazing save during her beam routine where her hand slipped off the side of the beam during her back handspring but she managed to save it and not fall off and then keep going.
She only place 6th tie on Vault (8.95) and All Around 10th (34.9). It wasn't her best meet, but she has grit! Only a couple more meets this season!
Corey and I drove separate cars to the football banquet so I could leave early and go to Annmarie's gymnastics meet at Texas Dynamix. Kaori was kind enough to drive Annmarie to the meet and stay to watch because I did not want to miss the banquet. Turns out that the gym that was hosting had moved in the last month to a new location and that address was not in google. Kaori had driven Annmarie to the wrong location. We managed to find the correct address and get Annmarie there just on time!
Annmarie had a better meet and was able to compete with her teammate, Mackenzie Benitez, who is Level 6. She placed 3rd on Bars (8.55), 4th on Beam (8.65), 3rd tie on Floor (9.3) and 4th All Around (35.2). I'm very proud of her!
Annmarie had her second gymnastics meet. This was was in Irving at a huge convention center. She is the only level 7 on her team, so she competes by herself. This meet, she had a fall on bars, and although she recovered well and kept going, it meant a lower score. Her highest score was floor at 9.05, but she didn't place in any events or even for the All Around.
One cool thing that happened at this meet though was seeing Coach Mila that used to be one of the owners of Jonah's gym when he was competing. When she was competing, her name was Ludmila Eschova, but she married Igor Grebenkov and became Mila Grebenkova. Anyhow, the screen before the meet started was displaying trivia about former gymnasts and one of the trivia questions was about her--she was the answer to the question. I thought it pretty amazing that the person who was the answer to one of the questions was right there at the meet and I think I was the only person who even noticed.
Annmarie had her first gymnastics meet of the season in Denton. We braved the cold and fortunately had clear streets for the drive. We left really early to be sure to get there on time, pending any bad roads or traffic, so we ended up getting there like an hour earlier than she needed to be there. We hung out in the convention center where it was and had some hot chocolate. Grandpa and Grandma even came to the meet. Her highest score was on beam and bars, 8.85. She placed 5th on bars and 6th All ARound.
It was fun to watch her new routines, as this year she is in optionals and has unique routines instead of the same as everyone else. Her new coach is Jazz, and she seems to like her a lot. She is really helping Annmarie improve.
Annmarie spoke at Stake Conference this month. Lately they have been inviting primary kids to speak. She did a fantastic job. One of the other speakers was Andrea Taylor. She is the mission president's wife of the Dallas East mission, and that is the presidency that Grandpa is in. They are from Arizona and were in the same ward as my best friend Shar Cardona. In fact, Shar told me that Andrea is her best friend there in Arizona. So it was fun to meet Andrea and cool that she spoke on the same day as Annmarie.
The other update is that Annmarie's other coach, Paige, is also leaving for another coaching job. Right now, it is up in the air what will happen with gymnastics. Coach Bill, the owner, has left because he was arrested. His wife is running the place in his absence and trying to find a new coach for the optionals girls. The lower teams have other coaches from the staff taking over. But it's frustrating that Annmarie might not have a coach. We are waiting it out to see what happens.
We finished out August with Annmarie's coach, Coach Makayla, leaving Precision for another coaching job that paid more money. It was a rough day for Annmarie, as she really loved her coach. She is now competing Level 7, which is optionals, and to lose her coach right when she is starting to learn her routines has been difficult.
And Westley performed again at the Opry. We seem to be taking over that place with Annmarie, Eliza, Corey and Westley all having performed there in the last couple of months.
