Level 4 State Meet

Right before all State Meets the entrance hall to the gym is decorated, wishing the competing athletes luck.

Morgan’s mom Cheryl took on a huge project, making gorgeous keepsake plaques for all 27 girls on the level 4 team.  Thanks Cheryl, great job!!

Maisie’s state meet this year was held in Savannah so since we had to make the trip we figured dinner at Uncle Bubba’s was a must. 

We’ve only been to Savannah once before and that was just a stop-off for dinner as we drove back home after one of our cruises out of Port Canaveral, Florida.  That was the first time I had Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits and I just HAD to enjoy the dish again on this trip and it was just as wonderful.  For Maisie they made special garlic sautéed shrimp and French fries, all without wheat, egg or dairy so she enjoyed a delicious dinner too.

Our meal at Uncle Bubba’s was really a late lunch/early dinner which worked out well as afterwards we were able to check into our hotel and take a little stroll along River St. where we of course checked out the candy stores, yes stores…plural.  This picture was at Savannah’s Candy Kitchen where we watched the taffy being made and packaged.  Maisie loved that the candy maker threw freshly made and packaged pieces to her…unfortunately she didn’t care for the taffy and after one bite had enough.

Maisie was delighted to find this mechanical Santa in one of the shop windows along River St.  There is a similar Santa in the window of the perfume shop where we stay in Aruba and each year she looks forward to seeing that Santa.  There is one big difference in this Santa though, the one in Aruba has a mechanical “tick” when moving his arms in and out with the light but this one moved smoothly.    

Maisie was really dragging and not feeling well so we headed back to the hotel early and she took a long, hot bath with Epsom salt to try and ease her achy body and then she put on her pj’s, snuggled into bed and rested until it was time for the Friday night fireworks.  The window of our room was a perfect viewing spot for Maisie as she doesn’t care for the noise of the fireworks, she wasn’t feeling well and it was already cold and late, so it all worked out well.  It wasn’t ten minutes after the show ended that Maisie was fast asleep.  Unfortunately it was a fitful sleep as body, head and tummy aches bothered her throughout the night.

On meet day, during warm ups Maisie really didn’t look good.  Her floor warm up was okay but she struggled to do a simple pullover on the bars and her dismount included numerous extra steps, her vault…well it was if she was a floppy fish and on the beam, she wobbled or fell off with each and every skill.  Her coach Megan, came and found me in the stands to let me know that Maisie wasn’t feeling well, shaky and hungry.  She had eaten quite a bit, right up until she went on the floor, but try as I did, she chose not to eat the protein I tried to give her and I think that along with her already not being well just added to the problem.  I had packed nuts, fruit and veggies in her bag so the coaches sent her off to get some food into her each opportunity they could. 

Once the competition started Maisie was doing better and really pulled it together doing an especially wonderful performance on both beam and floor.  By the third rotation her vault just wasn’t up to her usual standards nor was her bar performance.  We headed up to the awards and she just made it through before we had to rush off to the restroom as her stomach was giving her problems.  After that she felt somewhat better but not her usual high energy self.  I really wanted to just take her back to the hotel but she was wound up and really wanted to spend time with her teammate Taylor so we stopped off for dinner together, got them their promised treats at River Street Sweets and then headed back to the hotel where the girls hung out until bedtime.

I think that Maisie’s beam and floor performances were her best to date as they both seemed sharp and solid.  As always I’m super proud of my A-Maisie-ing Maisie and so yep, I’m posting another shaky proud Mama video.  I will say, I’m thankful that level 4 is over as I’m ready for some new music and routines.

There were so many girls in each division of this meet, there was no way I could get a picture of all the girls who received medals so mostly just my A-Maisie-ing Maisie with her hands in air for the obligatory hand-in-the-air photos and score photos. 

Vault:  Eighth place (tied)  9.15

Bars:  Eleventh place  9.15

Beam:  Second place  9.475

Floor:  Sixth place  9.325

All Around:  Fourth place (tied)  37.1   

Maisie & Taylor wanted to hang together after the meet and our first stop was dinner for the two hungry girls and their Moms. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes then we headed back over to River St. so that the girls could get some special treats at the candy store.  Walked back to the hotel where the girls were happy to lounge on the bed and play on the DSi while Brandi and I just sat and chatted, a nice way to end a long day.  

I posted another recipe from our Thanksgiving dinner, Cauliflower with Seared Peppers and Caramelized Onions & Garlic.  Click on the link or the picture to be taken to Cook Lisa Cook and the recipe.

More delicious recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook including: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon Frosty,  Mango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Apple Pancakes, Baked Egg & Avocado, Health(ier) Peanut Brittle, Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms, Broiled Sushi, Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter, Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Baked Meatballs, Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars, Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Hearty Sausage, Mushroom & Cheddar Mini Quiche, Strawberry Soup, Chicken Tenders, Mango Melon Banana & Chia Smoothie, Lacy Cheese Crackers, Dried Cherry Almond Tart, Thai Cucumber Salad, Grilled Thai Chicken, Chili Maple Mustard Ribs, Curried Grilled Thai Chicken Salad, Copycat “KFC” Original Recipe Fried Chicken, Double Chocolate Mousse Cake, Cauli-Rice, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Fritos Crusted Pollock, Chicken Satay Noodle Salad, Mini Cheesecake Bites, French Fries Hash Browns, Soup Day Soup, Thai Curry Shrimp with Shirataki Noodles, Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon with Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze, Bacon & Cheese Zucchini Fritters, Fried Green Tomatoes, Crispy Zucchini Chips, Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar, Shrimp & Vegetable Madras Curry, Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, Maisie “safe” Bacon & “Cheese” Zucchini Fritters, S’mores Granola Bars, Marshmallow Pops, Broiled Tomatoes, Steak with Bourbon & Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce, Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken, Sweet Italian Sausage & Roasted Chestnut Stuffed Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp, Curried Chicken Salad, Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms, Roasted Spatchcocked Turkey and Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples.

Enjoy!