Shawn Johnson East Gets Tattoo Tribute For All 3 Kids!

As Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East navigates life with daughter Drew, 5, and sons Jett, 3, and Bear, 14 months, she's learned that raising kids in the spotlight is a careful balancing act. 

So it's a good thing the athlete is literally one of the best in the world. 

That's not to say the 33-year-old—who won gold in balance beam at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and collected three silver medals for her floor routine and the team and all-around competitions—feels she always scores a perfect 10.

Take a recent Waffle House outing near their home in Nashville. 

Out with husband Andrew East and their brood after church, "Two different girls came up and asked for pictures, probably 8, 9 or 10 years old," Shawn recounted in an exclusive interview with E! News. "Drew was so confused, and she's like, 'Mommy, why did they want a picture with you?'"

But she required no such careful contemplation when Drew landed her first cartwheel on the beam. As you might imagine, the gymnast flipped. 

"I don't mean this in a harsh way, I could care less if it's gymnastics," Shawn recalled of the moment, noting that former NFL longsnapper Andrew feels the same about their kids potentially taking to the gridiron one day. "There's something so incredibly endearing and makes you feel so proud as a parent, to see them actually excited about something, and to come home and be like, 'Oh, Mom, I did this.'"

While the idea that Drew could be following in her chalk-dusted steps is sweet, "To see them proud of themselves is the greatest feeling in the entire world," insisted Shawn. "So it was so much less about gymnastics or the beam or cartwheel or whatever, as it was that she was so excited to tell me about something. Just being able to celebrate that for her and celebrate that for our kids is what I love."