Skating Wrap-Up

Well, the skating season is officially OVER!

This will be a little boring for most people, but I want to write this for my own memory, so feel free to skip this post...if you do read it, I'll understand if you don't make it to the end :)

First, I have to go back to March 20th, when five of my skaters attended a test day in Stirling.

I want to make sure that I mention this test day because it was Alyssa's FIRST test day!  She tried her Dutch Waltz and Canasta - unfortunately she made a little mistake when doing her Canasta (she started to do a progressive instead of a swing roll), which resulted in a retry.  Poor Alyssa is such a hard worker, and isn't used to failure, so she was pretty heartbroken with a 'fail'.  I'm always sad for my girls when they have to retry tests, but it's part of testing, so it was a good lesson for her.

Leah tried her Swing and Willow - it was the third time she tried the Swing, so we were all relieved to see a 'pass' on that test sheet!!!  Unfortunately she'll have to retry her Willow, hopefully not two more times though ;)

The other three girls, Jillian, Britteny and Kate all tried the Ten Fox - Jillian will have to retry, but the other two are moving onto the Fourteenstep!

To be honest, I was disappointed with the overall results from this test day - only four out of seven tests passed - the girls all did their best, I guess we just had a tough judge?

Now, I had submitted four other tests to the Stirling test day, but they didn't get in due to scheduling problems.  So, after returning from Florida, I was back on the ice for a test night in Tweed.

The results were a little better at this test night - Jillian passed her Preliminary FreeSkate, Leah passed her Junior Bronze FreeSkate and Britteny passed the elements portion of her Junior Bronze FreeSkate (she only tried half).

Britteny also tried her Junior Bronze Skills (for the second time), and unfortunately has to retry them again.  She tried them back in December and failed, and she was so nervous to try them again, I think she actually skated them worse this time.

And, finally, we had our year end Awards Banquet on Thursday, April 7th.

A picture of me with seven of the eight kids I coach (the eighth skater couldn't make it)....

 Left to right: Keegan, Ella, Britteny, me, Alyssa, Leah, Jillian and Hannah.  Kate is missing.


Three of my skaters won awards: Ella won for Pre-Junior Proficiency, Kate won for Sr. Achievement and Britteny won for Sportsmanship!

The skaters vote for the Sportsmanship award, and it's the second year in a row that one of my skaters has won - makes me a very proud coach!

Here are some of the award winners...

Front Row, Left to Right: Jamie, Leigha, Mykelti and Sydney
Back Row, Left to Right: Kara, Madison, Ella and Britteny

Normally I would have a post or two about the year-end carnival too, but it happened while we were in Florida, so I didn't actually get to see the show.  I was still involved in the preparations before going away, I just missed the big day itself...which was kinda nice because I always find that day VERY stressful.

So, I've put the skates away...for now!  I have at least one skater interested in doing some summer skating, so if the schedule allows it, we'll be back on the ice in July or August!  Until then, I'll be enjoying the time away from the arena...but missing my girls (and my one boy)!

Easter Weekend

A four day weekend, what a GREAT thing!

We usually spend Easter with my family in Acton, but because we just spent a week with my parents in Florida, and then saw my brother and his family on the way home, we decided to stay at home this year.  And, although I would have loved to see the family again, it was nice to not have to do all that driving.

Friday, after church, we spent the day with all of Curt's family - getting together with them is something we don't do often enough, so it was great to see everyone, especially the nephews.

My mother-in-law turned the get-together into a bit of a work-bee; over a year ago, my father-in-law helped build a tree house, and apparently it's been bothering my him that it still isn't finished, so we got together at Dave and Sarah's house so the boys could finish it up.

There wasn't much to do before they could say it was DONE - some shingling, installing the soffit and fascia and some other little finishing details.  So, with my father-in-law, two brother-in-laws, husband and four nephews working on it, it didn't take long to get it done!  :)

I wasn't outside at first, so I missed pictures of the boys in their hardhats and tool belts, which was really cute!  Joshua, the oldest, was out there helping the whole time (which was a few hours); the others didn't last that long, but they were in and out checking on things.

Curt and Mark doing some shingling.  That tree between them is huge and the tree fort is actually built right around that tree, it's pretty neat!  Curt is also pretty proud of the hand railing, which was his idea - they used small branches from around the property as the spindles.

Once the work was done, we had a great BBQ dinner and then called it a night - the boys were all pretty tired after being outside all day!

Saturday was a good day - other than vacations, this is the first Saturday in months that I haven't had to coach!  I took full advantage: slept in, had a late breakfast (Curt made French toast!), did a little shopping (our purchases will get a post of it's own soon!), went out for a late lunch/early supper and then watched The Masters!

It was a great feeling going to bed on Saturday night knowing that we still had two more days before going back to the office.

We had a great start to the day on Sunday - we skyped with my niece and nephew!  It was great to actually see each other in that way, I could see how excited the kids were about Easter and they got to show me all the eggs they found, and the ball they each got.

After the skype call we got ready and went to church; and I have to say, that after missing a lot of church over the winter due to busy schedules, it was great to attend two services this weekend - I didn't realize how much I was missing that worship time until we started singing in the Good Friday service!

The rest of Sunday ended up being a total write-off - I was glued to the TV to watch The Masters...which got a whole post on its own.

I had all these grand plans for Monday, lots of little things I was going to get done around the house - but I ended up waking up feeling under the weather (I have an annoying sinus cold), so I didn't get much done.  It was nice to have that extra day off though!

Masters Sunday

I've been working on a post about our weekend, but we still have tomorrow off, so I can't finish it until our weekend is over!  So, I am going to do a quick little post about this afternoon...watching the final round of The Masters.

Coverage started at 2pm and didn't finish until after 8pm...and, I was pretty much glued to the TV that whole time.  I did a few things around the house, but whatever I was doing had to be within sight of the TV :)

I always enjoy watching the Masters, but this year was different - it was all the more exciting because Bubba Watson was in contention.

I mentioned in my post about Florida golf that we got our tickets through Angie and Bubba Watson, I didn't really explain how that is possible.  Here is a quick explanation: Curt's friend from high school, Henk, married Amy...Amy has a sister named Angie...Angie married Bubba...simple, right? 

I met Angie at a wedding shower for Amy and then met Bubba at the wedding...in the years since then, we've spent time with Angie on a few occasions (when she was in the area visiting Amy, or when she was following Bubba during his round at the Canadian Open).  When we went to Arizona two years ago, we were lucky enough to spend time at Ang and Bubba's house (they weren't there, they were on tour, but they allowed us to use their pool!).  So, that is how we have a little connection to the Watson's.

When we visited with Angie at Bay Hill two weeks ago, she was talking a little about their plans to adopt - we knew they were in the process of adopting, and she mentioned that they had recently completed the 'home visit' portion of the process, so from there, they just had to wait.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised when news broke the next day that they had adopted a little boy!  We were so happy for them as this was something they had been waiting for for years.

Then, fast forward to this weekend, and Bubba is in contention for, and goes on to win, the Masters!  Can you even imagine the emotional rollercoaster this family has been on over the last few weeks! :)

Bubba won in a play-off against Louis Oosthuizen - they both finished at -10, went on to tie with a par on 18, the first play-off hole, and then Bubba parred the 10th hole, the second play-off hole, while Louis bogeyed!  The second play-off hole was not short of drama - both players missed the fairway, with Bubba going into the trees and having to play off of pine needles.  I literally jumped out of my seat when Bubba's shot from there hit the green (Louis' second shot was just short of the green).  And when Bubba sunk his second putt, the tears started flowing!

I know it's not the closest connection, but it's enough to make the win just that much more exciting!

The Green Jacket couldn't have gone to a better guy!  Especially considering he's the kind of guy that sends  tweets like this after his round on Saturday:  Thanks everyone for the support! 3 reasons tomorrow will be #awesome, 1. Jesus has risen 2. See my new baby boy & my wife 3. Masters Sunday and this: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Congratulations Bubba!  The green jacket looks good on you!

Florida - The Rest

Another reason we didn't do as much on this trip is because Curt had some work to do.  That's something we're getting used to when we travel though; now that Curt has his own business, Three Hills Engineering, when he gets a job, there is no one else to do it!  So, he spent probably one solid day inside working, and then a few hours here and there.  He took lots of little breaks, and made sure to hit the pool and/or hot tub during those breaks.   

As you can see here, he didn't seem to mind too much...

One of the activities we did during the week was our annual trip to Webster's Flea Market!  This flea market is HUGE, and you can buy anything from knock-off purses and sunglasses to puppies to antiques - it's always an adventure looking at the different booths.  Curt and I try to collect license plates from the different states we visit, and the flea market is a great place to find those - this year was no exception, we found California and Missouri plates to add to our collection!

Webster is about an hour from the house, and although we had two rental vehicles, we all crammed into the minivan to get there.

 

And, on the way home from the flea market, we stopped at Ruby Tuesday's for lunch!  Ruby Tuesday's is my favourite.  And I think it may be a new favourite of my mom's and Vicki's now too - they ordered a drink called a 'Ruby Relaxer' and enjoyed it so much that we made them back at the house the rest of the week!

Curt took advantage of having an American address for nine days :)  He had a few things shipped to the house from companies that don't ship to Canada.  Unfortunately, when he submitted the address online, he gave the wrong house number - he gave #30621 and it should have been #30612!  It wasn't a problem though, he simply went a few doors down to #30621 and explained what happened, and asked if he could leave a note on the door asking the delivery guy to bring the stuff to the proper address.  The English family staying at the house had no problem with that, and the delivery guys must have been OK with it too because everything arrived with no issues!  

He ordered cigars and tennis racquets.  Vicki helped Curt break in the tennis racquets at the court in our neighbourhood...

We have often heard an ice cream truck driving around the neighbourhood, but have never bought anything until this year!  We heard the chimes so we went out front to catch the truck as it went by, unfortunately, the driver must not have seen us, so he turned down a street and drove away from us.  So, I did what any normal adult would do, I chased after him!  :)  I didn't actually run after him, I just walked around the block until I saw him, waved him down and told him to return to Blossom Hill Loop!

Just look at this picture, obviously everyone really wanted ice cream...I couldn't let them go to bed disappointed...

And, that pretty much sums up our time in Florida.  So, after a wonderful nine days, Aunt Mary, Curt and I said our good-byes and returned to Ontario (my parents and the Mitchell's stayed for another week, we were jealous).


But, as you can see, we had tired Aunt Mary out, so it was time for her to come home...

Sorry Aunt Mary, I couldn't resist!

Florida - Poolside R & R

As I mentioned in my last post, this trip was a little more relaxed than we're used to.  We usually try to do as much as possible when we're away, simply because we want to take in the area we're visiting.  I guess because we've been to Orlando a number of times now, and know it's an area we'll continue to visit often, we don't feel the pressure to do and see everything in one trip.  So, we spent a lot of time at the house, hanging out around the pool - when we did go out, it was usually just for a few hours at time to do some shopping or something nearby (aside from our golf days, which I've already talked about).

Curt and I on our first morning, you can see we're already looking pretty comfortable - I've got a drink in my hand and Curt's got his cigar and a drink nearby :)  I have to mention here that the only time I drink is when I'm holidays with my parents!

My mom and Vicki brought these floating pool chairs with them from Ontario, and although it seemed silly at first, I think everyone agreed that it was totally worth it - they were so comfortable!  They were well used throughout the week...

Some of the previous guests also left behind a few pool toys - this alligator provided LOTS of entertainment for Vicki, Mom, Aunt Mary, Curt and I on our last day! ;)

And, since we spent so much time lounging around the pool, I have one more collage of pics.

Clockwise from top left corner: Mitchell's and Robertson's playing Phase 10; Curt, eating lunch in the hot tub; Aunt Mary napping; Aunt Mary doing a word search; Dad doing a Sudoko; lounging; Curt, cleaning the pool; and in the middle, a group lounging shot.

One afternoon while we were all out at the pool, we watched an airplane doing some skywriting - most of it was very evangelical, stuff life 'YOU + GOD = :)'. 

Here is the ':)' portion of one message...

Looks like a tough life, right?

Florida - The Golf

First of all, we had another great trip! We had planned on doing a lot of stuff when we were there, and didn't end up doing most of it, but I wouldn't change a thing - we enjoyed what we did do, and enjoyed the fact that it ended up being a more relaxed holiday than is typical for us.

We had planned on playing three rounds of golf, but only played two. The first round was at a course called Sanctuary Ridge; it was OK, but nothing special - it was pretty unique in that it had a lot of elevation changes, but I wasn't that impressed. It was close to the house though, and well priced, so it was a good course to warm-up on.  I actually forgot my camera (shocker!), so I don't have a single picture to add here.

Our second round was at a course called El Campeon, one of two courses at Mission Inn. This course was a bit of a drive away, but it was beautiful and totally worth the drive! Apparently it was named the 2009 Florida Course of the Year! My dad played this course with us, and I'm really glad that he chose to play here rather than Sanctuary Ridge.

Some shots from our day at El Campeon...

These two pictures needed to be posted on their own, putting them in a collage didn't do them justice...

We got up close and personal with a gator! We've had plenty of gator sightings while playing golf in Florida, but this was the closest we've ever been.

Take a closer look at this picture and you'll see just how close Curt could have gotten - his ball landed just just on the edge of a pond, and about six feet away was a gator (you can see the gators eye peaking out of the water in the background, and Curt's golf ball in the foreground). Curt wanted to play the ball, but the the rest of us weren't in favour of that idea - he ended up leaving it there and playing a new one, with no penalty :) 

And, although we didn't get to play a third round ourselves, we did get to take in a third round - we were spectators at the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill!

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to have cameras on the course, so again, no pictures to show from our exciting day.

And, unfortunately, Tiger Woods won the tournament.  We didn't see him play at all though (and that was our choice); we saw him a few years ago when we went to the President's Cup in Montreal, and since we're not big fans, we decided to avoid the huge crowd that he somehow continues to attract :)

Some of the more notable players that we did see include: Camilo Villegas, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson,Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson and of course, Bubba Watson!

Thanks to our friends, Henk and Amy, we were able to get our tickets through Ang and Bubba Watson - we met up with Angie on the second green and walked the next nine or ten holes with her.  It was great to visit with her, and her mom, who arrived about six holes into the round.

My dad and Gary also came to the tournament, and although I don't think Gary loved it, I'm pretty sure my dad had a great time.  My dad has only ever been to a Canadian Open, which usually doesn't attract the biggest names, so this type of tour event is a little more exciting.  They kind of went of and did their own thing while Curt and I did our thing, so we were all able to see the players we wanted to.

So, it was a great day, and everything went very smooth - from picking up our tickets at an off-site will-call, to parking at Universal Studios and shuttling to the course and then getting around the course.  It was definitely a highlight of the trip!