GO DAWGS~!!!!

Yeah I know, it's not football season yet - but we did have a fantastic week in Athens. Actually I should say Hannah had a fantastic week in Athens - as you may or may not know she attended the UGA Gymnastics Camp this past week.

I must say that the UGA campus is pretty impressive. I haven't been there since the early 80's when my best friend Chris was a undergraduate there. It's a site to see to drive around that campus at all the buildings and activity - even in the summertime!

We took Hannah over on Sunday - after spending a great weekend up on Lake Keowee. Hannah and Patrick got a chance to try out a new tube (with a little help from their older cousins Eric and Hayley).



I think these are my new favorite pictures of Hannah and Patrick - LOVE how blue their eyes look!

This tube was set up with 4 different seats in it - which worked out perfectly because Hannah & Patrick could share the front seat with their cousins on either side. Can't imagine why no one wanted the seat where you hang off the back of the float!

So we had to have Hannah in Athens at 2:30 Sunday afternoon - we arrived at the Coliseum where the gymnastics training facility is located - what an awesome gym they have (and I would expect no less from the #1 gymnastics team in the country!). UGA just won their 10th NCAA Gymnastics title this year!

After checking in the girls headed straight to the gym to start their rotations. So we headed out to explore Athens. We ended up down the Atlanta Highway (which the B52's made famous in their song "Love Shack"!) - and stopped at an Academy Sports store to shop (after already spending some money at the UGA bookstore on apparel!). For those of you who haven't been to an Academy Sports it's like a Sam's or Costco for sporting goods. Awesome place to shop! Anyway - we're walking down an aisle headed to the fishing gear (of course) and this guy with a red hair buzz cut walks by. Owen asked me if I knew who it was and I said "no" (of course!). Turns out it's the starting quarterback for GA this season - Joe Cox. So Patrick takes a pen and his little Georgia Bulldog note paper that we had just bought and got Joe Cox's autograph. He was very gracious to Patrick - and Patrick thought it was just the coolest thing ever!

We picked Hannah up at 7:30 that evening and headed back to Anderson - surprised she didn't fall asleep in the car after being on the Lake all weekend and then in the gym all Sunday afternoon. Emma Kate's mom picked Hannah up each morning and took them to Athens, then I picked them up each afternoon around 6pm. Each afternoon on my way over I also made a stop at the Starbucks in Commerce, Ga for an iced Latte - swear it was the only thing that got me through the drive back to Anderson from Athens. Which, really, isn't that bad - it's only about 70 miles from here to Athens - about an hour and twenty minutes. And it was well worth it for Hannah to learn gymnastics from some of the best gymnasts in the USA.

I'll share some pictures now of Hannah at camp. She gained some new skills this week - the one I think she's the most excited about is her back walkover on the beam. Won't be too much longer and she'll be doing her back handspring on the beam (talk about scary!!!). Enjoy the photos!

Here Hannah's getting some help on her dismount from the high bar.

She's taking a "leap of faith" from the low bar to the high bar. These bars are really far apart - they don't look that far apart on TV but they really are. Funny how gymnasts make it look so easy to transition from the low bar to the high bar!

Here's she's working on getting onto the low parallel bar.

And of course we couldn't go to UGA without getting a picture of Sanford Stadium!

Here Hannah's in mid air doing her front handspring off the vault.

Here she's working on her front tuck (front flip in a tuck position). Sorry for the slight blur - all these pictures were taken through a glass window on the second story looking out over the gym floor - the white thing in the corner of the picture is the balcony which they wouldn't let the parents onto - evidently last week there was coaching coming from the peanut gallery! So it was closed the week we were there.

They also worked on leaps and other tumbling passes.

Here's Hannah doing her back walkover on the floor before heading to the beam.

And doing her dismount from the beam.

So all in all a great week - I'm really proud of Hannah for getting up so early in the mornings - she had to be up around 5:30 or so each morning and for giving every rotation her all. And she's already looking forward to next year. I think next year she'll be ready to be an overnight camper instead of a day camper - although I don't know if Owen and I will be ready for her to be an overnighter!

That's all for now! Hope to see you guys soon!