Go Madison!

January through March was filled with Cheer. Madison Cheer team that is.

Justin and I (and occasionally Nathan and Hyrum who would play on the sidelines with Brock) traveled to Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Idaho Falls, and Idaho Falls for each of the cheer competitions.

Doing the same routine day after day might get old for the team members but every event left me amazed! These kids are talented and in particular, Justin is freaking awesome! Practice, determination and skill over the last 10 years has paid off! Pictures just do not capture enough!

He was doing flips about 5 years before he started actual gymnastics. His first flips were off the couch at 19 months old.

Cupids Classic is one of the biggest cheer events of the year and this year was exceptionally exciting for Justin, and for me watching. After all the teams had performed and while the scores were being calculated, there was a cheer off (similar to a dance off). Justin had the crowd on their feet cheering, yelling and congratulating him as he did three different running passes and a standing pass (video on my FB page and in family files). It wasn't surprising that he took a medal for that too even though it wasn't part of the actual cheer event.

Ever since Justin was a little boy we've had this odd mental connection. I remember when he was about 3 and it was just the two of us while the other kids were in school and I would think of something for lunch. Minutes later he would wander into the room and ask for the exact same thing. It has happened throughout his whole life, at time getting a bit weird for both of us.

Cheer competitions were no different (can you see him looking right at me as they set up for the routine?). He would be on the floor surrounded by teams and I would be in the crowd without him knowing where I was and undoubtedly we would have eye contact. It happened at nearly every football and basketball game. It happened at every cheer competition and it even happened at the state cheer competition in Boise where the building was packed with thousands of strangers.

At a basketball game we decided to leave early to beat the crowd and as we left the benches I realized that Justin thought we were staying for the whole game. He has his own car to drive home so it wasn't that he needed us to wait, it was just that I wanted to somehow tell him we were leaving so he wouldn't look for us. I turned around just as I left the upper level of the gym and there he was looking right at us and waved goodbye. HOW did he know? The game was still in full swing. He was still cheering. But, he looked up just as I looked his direction.

At the state competition his team had just finished performing and I was standing up to go greet them backstage. Without thinking about it I turn back to see which direction they were heading and there he was standing at the curtain right before disappearing into the crowd looking at me with a quick wave. HOW? How do we know when the other is about to leave the room or where to even look in such huge crowds? Though we wonder, we don't question it long. We like knowing that we can mentally find each other anywhere.

P.S. I still think of things to make for meals and he will come and request the same thing. Or, we will have a similar suggestion that we throw out at the same time. It's kind of fun when it happens.