Saturday, November 3, 2012
Fire and Ice 11-2-2012
Annabelle and Joel skated a clean short program at Fire and Ice on 11-2-2012. It was their last Fire and Ice before we leave for Midwesterns 2013 that will take place in Cleveland on Thursday, November 8.
Rebekah passes two pre-golds and one gold dance!
Rebekah and Jo Ann just returned from a week and a half in Connecticut. We went there specifically for Rebekah to work with Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov with the goal of taking dance tests at the end of the week.
We had a wonderful time since my dad came. We stayed in a really nice hotel in Avon, Connecticut which is right next to Simsbury, Connecticut where the International Skating Center of Connecticut is. Rebekah did two to four hours of ice dancing every day.
Every day her dances got better and better!
On the first Monday we were in Connecticut, my friend, Tom McHugh, drove an hour from Bethel, Connecticut just to ice dance with me. Tom and I know one another from something totally different than figure skating, but share a common love of ice dancing. Tom drove for over an hour to link up with me and we had such a nice time together. We did preliminary, pre-bronze, bronze, pre-silver, silver, some pre-golds and gold dances together and also some roller skating dances! It was so fun!
We also enjoyed eating out a lot and we enjoyed the beautiful area and the Avon Old Farms hotel. One day, Rebekah and I visited the Mark Twain House.
On Saturday, we checked out of our hotel in Avon and Rebekah had one last lesson with Melissa and Denis. We then drove towards Katonah, New York which seemed to be about two hours away, where Rebekah's test would take place on Sunday at the Hickory Hill Figure Skating Club. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn in Armonk and had a nice dinner together in the hotel on Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, we checked out of the Armonk hotel and arrived in Katonah at the Harvey School Skating Rink around 8:30 am. Rebekah skated on the club's dance session to warm up for the test and then it was time for the test session at 10:15 am. The test session went quickly. Soon, Rebekah was done with the Blues and Paso Doble and we waited to see if she'd be back on the ice for the Argentine. When she was, we knew she passed the pre-golds!
Then, after the Argentine, test papers were passed out and we found out she passed the Argentine too. It was so exciting to find out she passed by all three judges and over and above by all three too!
We left Katonah and headed back to Connecticut to the home of our friends Tom and Lori McHugh. After visiting with Tom and Lori and also enjoying the videos Tom filmed of Rebekah's tests, we headed towards Hartford and went out to eat a great restaurant called Maggie McFly's in Southberry. We had a relaxing meal together with Tom.
At the end of the meal, I glanced at my phone and there was a text message that our flight out of Hartford was cancelled for Monday at least due to Hurricane Sandy coming towards the East Coast. We didn't panic, but made arrangements for an extended stay in our hotel.
I let Melissa and Denis know we were going to be in Hartford for a bit longer. Melissa suggested that Rebekah start working on the other gold dances, so on Monday, before the storm we went back to the rink in Simsbury. Things were quiet there, but some skaters were still skating even though a storm was coming soon.
After Rebekah sort of mastered the Quickstep steps and timing and some of the Westminster Waltz, we headed back to our hotel. We got some food and water at a convenience store. Then, we went out to eat at Friendly's restaurant. The restaurant staff told us that Friendly's rarely closed even in a hurricane! I ordered turkey with all the trimmings!
Then, after we ate, we went back to the hotel and settled in before the storm. The power only went out for a brief moment as we watched the news. Eventually, the news in Hartford made it clear that the worst was over. We went to bed knowing that things would be okay.
The next morning, the sun peeked through the clouds and I felt that something scary was over. After eating the hotel breakfast, we went back to the rink and Rebekah learned the rest of the gold dances. Rebekah got to train with her new friend, Adelaide, who also trains with Melissa and Denis. After skating, we wanted to go out to lunch in West Hartford at a vegan restaurant, but the road there was closed and many traffic signals were down.
We headed back to our hotel area and had a nice meal at Ruby Tuesdays. We went back to the hotel and we went swimming and then settled in for the night. The next morning, Wednesday, we packed up and got on a plane for Colorado (my dad went back to Chicago).
As we boarded that plane, we all knew we'd been on a wonderful adventure that the three of us would never forget ....AND Rebekah came home with a partial gold ice dance test!
Every day her dances got better and better!
On the first Monday we were in Connecticut, my friend, Tom McHugh, drove an hour from Bethel, Connecticut just to ice dance with me. Tom and I know one another from something totally different than figure skating, but share a common love of ice dancing. Tom drove for over an hour to link up with me and we had such a nice time together. We did preliminary, pre-bronze, bronze, pre-silver, silver, some pre-golds and gold dances together and also some roller skating dances! It was so fun!
We also enjoyed eating out a lot and we enjoyed the beautiful area and the Avon Old Farms hotel. One day, Rebekah and I visited the Mark Twain House.
On Saturday, we checked out of our hotel in Avon and Rebekah had one last lesson with Melissa and Denis. We then drove towards Katonah, New York which seemed to be about two hours away, where Rebekah's test would take place on Sunday at the Hickory Hill Figure Skating Club. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn in Armonk and had a nice dinner together in the hotel on Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, we checked out of the Armonk hotel and arrived in Katonah at the Harvey School Skating Rink around 8:30 am. Rebekah skated on the club's dance session to warm up for the test and then it was time for the test session at 10:15 am. The test session went quickly. Soon, Rebekah was done with the Blues and Paso Doble and we waited to see if she'd be back on the ice for the Argentine. When she was, we knew she passed the pre-golds!
Then, after the Argentine, test papers were passed out and we found out she passed the Argentine too. It was so exciting to find out she passed by all three judges and over and above by all three too!
We left Katonah and headed back to Connecticut to the home of our friends Tom and Lori McHugh. After visiting with Tom and Lori and also enjoying the videos Tom filmed of Rebekah's tests, we headed towards Hartford and went out to eat a great restaurant called Maggie McFly's in Southberry. We had a relaxing meal together with Tom.
At the end of the meal, I glanced at my phone and there was a text message that our flight out of Hartford was cancelled for Monday at least due to Hurricane Sandy coming towards the East Coast. We didn't panic, but made arrangements for an extended stay in our hotel.
I let Melissa and Denis know we were going to be in Hartford for a bit longer. Melissa suggested that Rebekah start working on the other gold dances, so on Monday, before the storm we went back to the rink in Simsbury. Things were quiet there, but some skaters were still skating even though a storm was coming soon.
After Rebekah sort of mastered the Quickstep steps and timing and some of the Westminster Waltz, we headed back to our hotel. We got some food and water at a convenience store. Then, we went out to eat at Friendly's restaurant. The restaurant staff told us that Friendly's rarely closed even in a hurricane! I ordered turkey with all the trimmings!
Then, after we ate, we went back to the hotel and settled in before the storm. The power only went out for a brief moment as we watched the news. Eventually, the news in Hartford made it clear that the worst was over. We went to bed knowing that things would be okay.
The next morning, the sun peeked through the clouds and I felt that something scary was over. After eating the hotel breakfast, we went back to the rink and Rebekah learned the rest of the gold dances. Rebekah got to train with her new friend, Adelaide, who also trains with Melissa and Denis. After skating, we wanted to go out to lunch in West Hartford at a vegan restaurant, but the road there was closed and many traffic signals were down.
We headed back to our hotel area and had a nice meal at Ruby Tuesdays. We went back to the hotel and we went swimming and then settled in for the night. The next morning, Wednesday, we packed up and got on a plane for Colorado (my dad went back to Chicago).
As we boarded that plane, we all knew we'd been on a wonderful adventure that the three of us would never forget ....AND Rebekah came home with a partial gold ice dance test!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Fire and Ice 10-12-2012
This is the best they've done with the short program so far in an exhibition format...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Joel and Annabelle's New Team USA Jackets!
The kids are thrilled to be skating in their new Team USA jackets!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
US Figure Skating Skate Challenge Memories
Annabelle and Joel had a wonderful experience competing in the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Challenge that was held in conjunction with the 2012 US International Figure Skating Classic. It was fun for the kids to get team jackets, and get to sit in the Kiss and Cry and be treated like international athletes.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Fire and Ice 9-7-2012
Joel and Annabelle skated a clean long program on Friday, 9-7-12. They are so happy!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Remembering Happy Smiles At the Rink
This photo brings back a great memory. Every Monday, the kids and I would go to Colorado College and skate and have fun. This is what skating is all about...the smiles!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Joel takes Nica Digerness Through All Three Preliminary Dances 8-19-2012
She came to the Colorado Springs World Arena and skated with Joel every day for a week and had ice dance lessons every day for a week with Jo Ann, who coaches ice dance at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
This came together quickly since Nica visited the World Arena for a week in June of 2012 and took some ice dance lessons with Jo Ann. She did so well at the dances, that her singles coach in Greeley, Kristin Conroy, encouraged her to come back to the World Arena and test the dances in August at the Broadmoor Skating Club.
Nica did a great job and so did Joel!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Fire and Ice 8-17-2012
Joel and Annabelle skated a clean long program for Fire and Ice on 8-17-2012. It was Joel's birthday, so that was a great gift for him too! I'm so proud of the kids. Their long program is really a difficult program.
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