When Gabby Douglas Came to Town, Urbandale Youngster's Birthday Got a Lot Better

Josie Birdwell got a ninth birthday surprise today that will be hard for her dad to repeat on her 10th and subsequent birthdays – a chance to get the autograph of someone she hopes to be like when she grows up.

The surprise was hastily arranged. When her dad, Gary Birdwell, learned that West Des Moines-trained Olympic gold medal gymnast Gabby Douglas would be signing autographs at the Urbandale Hy-Vee store, he pulled his daughter out of class.

Douglas was at the Hy-Vee store autographing boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in advance of the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions, where she will be performing with other members of the London 2012 Olympics gold-medal U.S. women’s gymnastics team. The gymnastics extravaganza is Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.

Josie told her dad not long ago “how neat it would be to get to meet Gabby,” who also won a gold medal in the women’s all-around finals – the first African-American to do so.

“I’m a really big fan,” Josie said.

The family was vacationing in Storm Lake during the Olympics and Josie, who takes gymnastics classes at Sapphire in Urbandale, stayed up late to watch Douglas win gold while the rest of the family slept.

Hy-Vee customers were lined up waiting for a chance for an autograph, which Douglas graciously offered during the one-hour session.