Cécile Rey pauses and concentrates for a moment before performing her next move.
But then she notices the camera and her attention is turned…
Hey, girls! Happy April Fools Day! It’s me, your ever-lovely Cécile Rey. Are you going to play any pranks on anybody? Not me… *shudders* I actually came over here so I wouldn’t get pranked myself! There are not allowed to be any pranks near where we’re practicing gymnastics – that would be dangerous. So I’m in the safe zone. Phew! Plus, I wanted to perfect my beam moves. Care to watch?
Here I raise my leg to begin my back walkover.
Bend back, kick over, and…
Stick the landing!
What do you think of my splits? I’ve been working hard on them lately. All that hard work stretching and stretching really paid off! I can finally go all the way down. But not just on my side splits.
Look, I’ve perfected my right splits, too! Mama, though you may know her as Madison, knows how that is. She was so excited recently when she could go all the way down on her right splits! But then she forgot to keep practicing them… if you don’t do it, you lose it! So she’ll have to stretch more before she can go all the way down again.
Would you like to watch me perform a cartwheel? Mama (Madison) can almost do this on a low beam on the ground – she tried once at her friend’s house back in Texas. They have a low ground beam outside! Mama wants to do gymnastics again this summer, so she’s working on her skills at home.
Unlike Madison, I can do both left and right carthweels. Hehe. She might be good at right cartwheels, but she’s terrible at her left. You should see it. I mean, I almost died laughing…
Madison: HEY!
Me: Heh, heh, sorry. You’re right. Everyone has moves they still need to work on. Even me. But especially your left cartwheels…
Madison: Okay, missy, just get on with the post!
And I stuck the landing again!
Here’s a picture of me doing a front walkover. Actually, these are harder than back walkovers.
I’m still working on my aerial cartwheels. Okay, they’re horrible. I always fall off when I try to do it on the beam, so I have to keep practicing on the floor. I’ll get it one day, though – you’ll see!
But I’ll keep practicing and trying my best.
You know why?
Because, in life, there will always be somebody who is better than you.
But that doesn’t mean you stop trying your best every single time. Because, at one point, that person was where you are – trying and trying to get that thing down, and finally succeeding. And they’re still trying and succeeding on the next thing.
Okay, I’m done giving wise advice. LOL! Better take a break and get some water – if you don’t stay hydrated, how can you be your best?
Bye, girls! I hope you have a great April Fools Day. Don’t fall for anything! Don’t eat any suspicious oreos or walk under any doors without making sure there’s not a bucket of blue cheese AND don’t believe people when they tell you that you’ve got something on your face!
Yours truly,
Cécile Rey
I love these kind of posts! Cecile is really funny. XD
Oh, and Cecile, I think your plan to do gymnastics on April Fools’ Day was a good idea. ;)
~Christian Homeschooler
Thank you so much! Cécile says thank you. ;) XD
Happy April Fools Day! Sorry I haven’t commented on here in a LONG time, but I still read all your posts! I’m a gymnast, too! ~Mya
Happy April Fools Day! Aw, thanks so much for reading my posts! :D That is soooo cool you’re a gymnast too! Would it be okay if I asked you a question about a certain move? Do you know how to do bridge kickovers? I’m trying to learn how to do one at home, but I want to build up my core muscles so I’m strong enough to kickover. Do you have any tips?
Hi! I know you were asking Mya, but since I am also a gymnast, I have a few tips for you!
Condition. Doing even just 25 sit ups each day will help. You can also do hollow holds, (I’m not sure if you know what those are, it’s where you lay on your back and then sort of sit up your body is in a hollow position. Your legs should be lifted off the ground.)
If you don’t mind me asking, how close are you to getting a bridge kickover? My friend is trying to learn how to do one, too, and she usually does it when someone spots her. If you can, try and get a friend, parent, or sibling to spot you. If you have any more questions about gymnastics, you can count on me to answer them!
Oh, and I <3 the shot of her doing an aerial. I'm really close to getting mine! And I also love where you said, "There is always someone who is better than you,, but that doesn't mean you don't try your best every single time." That is totally spoken from the heart and is very true!
Hello Rutvi! Thank you so, so much! To answer your question, I could do one very well when my coach spotted me. I could do one sort of sideways and lopsided on a sloped mat on my own. LOL :P But I haven’t tried at home yet. Should I kick over from a couch or stack of pillows or something to start off with and then work my way down to kicking off from the ground? (With someone spotting me, of course)
Thank you so much! That is so cool that you’re really close to getting your aerial. I hope you get it soon! :D
Thanks! Doing it off the couch helped me when I was trying to get it. And just keep practicing. It might sound corny, but even if you fall a million times, you’ll eventually get it right-that’s speaking from experience!
You’re welcome, and thank you so much! I’ll definitely keep practicing. I really hope I get it! :D
I pretty much have the same advice Rutvi gave you!
Thank you, Mya! :D
HOW DID U GET HER STUCK IN THE AIR?????????????
It took a TON of tries to get her to pose like that – I’ve had a lot of practice! Actually, in the photo of her doing the aerial cartwheel, she wasn’t reall stuck in the air. I held her, then took the photo in a way you couldn’t tell. It took a while to get the shot I wanted! :P
P.S. I STILL have your red doll boots! If I can remember, I’ll bring them on Sunday. :P
cool! My Grandpa already joked with me the “Your shoes untied” I looked down forgetting I was wearing Cowboy Boots!
Thanks! LOLOL! I love wearing cowboy boots :D . Until mine got ruined when our laundry room flooded. :(
On Christmas Day last year, our entire basement flooded!
Ooh, yikes! That’s awful! :O
Did anyone get pranked while Cecile was in the gym?
Everybody did! XD! Lucky Cécile got to hide away from it all! :P
WOW you responded fast!
Yeah! I was responding to comments, then refreshed the page, and you commented! So LOL! Good timing! :D
Molly agrees with you, CeCe. No Pranks! She went into the writing zine at our house, which is a lot like your gym area. XD. It is NaPoWriMo, after all.
LOL! XD
Did you, Madison, prank anyone? I pranked my dad by using black duct tape to cover the sensor on the remote control, and I VERRRRRRY carefully taped mentos in a bottle of coke in a way that would make it fall into the bottle when someone opened it! My brother was the unlucky person to open it! ?????????
I did! I put ketchup on my lips and walked around the house. The goal of the prank was to say “Yeah, right. You can’t fool me. I know what day it is!” when they insist that you have something on your face. Nobody mentioned it except my dad, but he could see past the joke! LOL! XD