My Daughter, the Cheerleader?

We had a big day on Friday! We went to Boyd Orchard with my mom for lunch. We had to go early, so as not to interfere with naptime. We chose one of the hottest days of the year to go and play on their big hay playground. It was close to 100 degrees with high humidity that day and I was MELTING! I don't know if you can tell that from the pictures. Maura loved the swings and the climbing section, but when I took her to the top of the 40 foot slide, she began to have a few reservations. She clung to me tightly and looked with trepidation down the monstrosity of the slide. We waited at the top for a second, then WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

We began sliding! Notice, the look of joy on my face and terror on hers!

At the bottom, though, she giggled and turned around to go back up. What a daredevil!

Later that day, we went to Brent's football team's first scrimmage. It was a crazy event involving four different middle school football teams all playing on one football field. You can imagine the chaos that ensued. There were also three different cheerleading squads cheering in front of the crowd. Well, let me just say that I think my daughter might very well have a future as a cheerleader. Now, those of you who know me well know that it wouldn't be my first choice of hobbies for her, but I like to try to keep an open mind about these things. Here's how it went down.

The cheerleaders start practicing beside us. Maura is instantly drawn to all the clapping and yelling. She stood, transfixed, and watched for several minutes while they continued with their cheers. Then...

She turned around and started a cheer of her own. She was clapping, she was dancing, she was doing everything but turning cartwheels!

This was by far her best cheerleader pose. She puts her hands in the air and yells "GO!" Even now, if you ask her what a cheerleader says, she says "GO!"

Here's Brent in action. If you can't tell, he's the one in the white shirt on the far left yelling at his team. They actually played really well, tying the league champions in the quarter that they played them. He's got high hopes for this years team. I, on the other hand, am not so sure of my own chances of being able to control my child while at the football games. Last year it was so easy to just put her in a front pack. This year, I'm going to have to keep at a full run to keep her from joining the cheerleading squad! It should prove to be an interesting autumn.