JULY 2004
July 30, 2004:
Pictures from Detroit are now on the website. They are so fun!
Pray for me that I continue to skate. My aunt is in the hospital and she is my major financial sponsor. She will be unable to continue to help me and so I will be unable to continue. Please pray my aunt gets well and pray I am able to continue to skate.
July 24, 2004:
I'm back from Detroit and the competition was the most fun ever! I didn't want it to end!
The drive was long. It took about 16 hours to get there and about 13 to get back. I slept alot on the way back. On the way up I couldn't sleep because I was too excited. We stopped a few times to stretch and get a bite to eat. It seemed like we would never get there. It was late when we did and we plopped right into bed.
We were going to visit Animal Cops Detroit but there wasn't enough time. Next time we want to book an extra night at the hotel so we have some time to visit some fun things after the competition. We couldn't afford to do it this time around. But, it was so awesome at the competition. There were so many good skaters and there was so much excitement. I loved it! I skated a clean compulsory program and was very happy because that was a major goal of mine. My free skate was not clean but I felt I did very well considering I just came off a broken ankle (it is still sore) and have not been feeling the best. I also got my picture taken with the current world champion Russian pairs and also go their autograph. I watched them skate their short program. They skate to Ave Maria, which is a beautiful song.
While we were in Detroit we also went out to eat several times with the other Premier FSC skaters and families and I also went swimming once with Ashlie. We hung out alot at the competition and watched all the great skating and looked around at all the vendors. I took lots of pictures. I didn't want it to end. It is always that way with me. It is over so quickly. I can't wait until next month when we compete in Chicago.
July 18, 2004:
Today we picked up our rental car and it is so cool. Wish we could keep it! I'm definately taking a picture. In fact, I'm going to take tons of pictures of my Skate Detroit adventure. We leave tomorrow at 6 am and I think it is about a 14 hour drive...whew!
This week has been kind of tough. My mom was sick and is on special medicine and I kind of have what she has so she took me to the doctor and we will know the results on Tuesday, when we are in Detroit. My ankle is still bothering me some, too. But, I want to compete so will do my best. I'm excited to see all the good skating and maybe I will see some from the website. I hope so!
Gotta get to bed because we have to get up early. I'm so excited. I hope I can sleep. I'll write when I get back.
Oh, last night my mom and I went to the fireworks show that was part of the celebration for the 150th birthday of Omaha. It was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. It was on the river front. We parked and walked downtown and sat on a ledge that looks over a small lake that is downtown. The fireworks were huge! There were two shows going on at the same time that were mirror images. Plus, they refected off the water. It was so cool! It was really loud too. I mean the sounds would echo off the buildings downtown and everything would just shake. I thought the glass on the buildings would shatter. It was nice out so it was perfect. I loved it! There were about 150,000 people that showed up in the downtown area. The cars were all jammed on the roads and couldn't move so the people just got out of their cars and watched it right in the middle of the street. It was so fun!
Going to bed now! Good night!
Love,
Sarah
July 13, 2004:
Evgeny went back to Texas. I loved having lessons with him and I especially loved his ballet classes. Today I had a tough lesson. I have been having trouble with my jumps and Detroit is next week! I'm excited about going but I am not ready with my jumps. My artistic part is great now but the jumps are tough right now. I am still not 100% with my ankle either.
My mom and I are planning to leave next Monday for Detroit. We are renting a car, although I don't know where the money is coming from to go. We have booked a hotel in Auburn Hills that has complimentary breakfast and also a kitchen so we can bring our own groceries and eat our normal meals. We will be there until Friday, when we drive back the 14 hours it takes to get home! I'm checking out audio books on tape from the library and I'm also buying a book called "Games Girls Play" to read along the way. I plan to do a review of it for the website when I get back from the competition. I'm happy with the times I compete. There are 6 groups of pre juvenile skaters and the FS starts at 6:30 am and I'm so glad I am not in that group. My group is at 4:15 pm on Thursday. Compulsories are on Wednesday and I skate at 9:30 am for that skate.
One of my favorite shows on TV is Animal Cops Detroit and I'm planning on going to the shelter where it is aired. My mom emailed them and they said I could come and meet the people who do that show and also who do the job of rescuing abused animals everyday. I'm really very excited about it! We also hope to see the lake. We have never seen the great lakes so hopefully we will get to while we are there.
Will write later. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far.
Sarah
July 8, 2004:
This week Evgeny is here from Texas. He is so awesome! Besides choreography lessons with him, he has taught a couple ballet classes at the dance studio where we have off ice conditioning, jumps, stretch and ballet classes. He is just he best! His classes are unbelievable! He is very fast moving but the challenge is great! I wish he could be here all the time. I have loved my lessons with him so far. He has helped so much with my program. I have had trouble this week with some of my jumps but it's mostly because I'm so tired and dead from all the working out. Besides my trainer, Heath, I have been doing all the off ice classes, my skate lessons and then classes with Evgeny and his lessons. Next week I will have to get lots of rest so I am ready for the Detroit competition. I will be in Detroit from July 19-23rd. I'm not allowed to wear my new skates until I get back from Detroit because it is not enough time to break them in. I can hardly wait to wear them. They are the best! I have them sitting out and I just want to wear them so bad. I walk around the house in them sometimes.
July 4th was alot of fun. First my mom and I went to visit my aunt's. Then, we went to where my mom is staying in their RV. She made fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, beans and ice cream. Yummy! After dinner we drove to watch the Oak Lake fireworks show. We parked at a church parking lot, along with alot of other people, where we had a great view of the fireworks that were going off all over the city plus the fireworks show. It was awesome! I can't believe how many people shot up those huge fireworks that cost about $100 each! Mom and I had bought some fireworks of our own and we shot them off at the church yard (which is acres and acres big). There were other people shooting off their own too. It was so much fun! The only bad thing was the mosquitos. But, we sprayed bug repellant on and so it wasn't as bad. Grandma went with us and I even got her to do sparklers. The fireworks show didn't start until 10 pm and by the time it was over and we got grandma home it was 11 pm and then we had to drive back to Omaha which made it around midnight before we got to our beds. The next morning I had a lesson with Alexei at 6:30 am! I was beat and I'm still trying to recuperate. But, it was worth it! We never had fireworks in Arizona because they are illegal. But here it is crazy! On the 3rd my mom and I sat out in our parking lot and watched the neighborhoods shooting fireworks. It was like being at a show! We are on a hill so we have a great view of the homes around us, especially since our backyard is a cornfield. Houses are developing all around this cornfield so we had a huge space in between and could really see the fireworks good. In the cornfield were thousands of fireflys. It was like they were having their own fireworks show. It was really cool!
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!
Sarah
July 3, 2004:
Happy Fourth of July! I am also wishing Pepper a happy birthday because this was his birthday. 
Today it was rainy and we still had beach workout. The rain let up and it really ended up not being bad out. The sand was wet but the class was still fun and we all jumped off the dock into the lake afterwards. 
My coach took a look at my new skates after workout and really wants me in a size 6 but when we went to Deb's to try the size 6 on they felt too tight so the owner called my coach and we are going to stay with the 6 1/2. My coach also wants a size 9 1/4 inch blade but it seems really short on it so we are staying with the 9 1/2 for now and if it is not right we will change it. After beach workout I had to get right home and shower and get to the rink for lesson. I did my program two times today all the way through so I think I'm on my way back. I don't know that I will be 100% ready by Detroit but that is ok. I'll just do my best and take in the experience.
After lesson we went to Deb's to try on those skates. When we got it all figured out I then had the heat molding done. The blades are being put on right now and I should have them by Monday. I'm very excited! (Thanks Jack! You are the best!) Evgeny is coming from Dallas next week to work on our programs so we will be working hard. We are also working hard in our off ice classes. The club made a deal with Dance Unlimited. We have ballet, stretch, conditioning and off ice jumps there. It's close to the rink and to our apartment so it's nice. This last week was my first week going full out with workouts again and I got so tired and sore! I'm fine today but the first few days were really rough. By Friday I didn't think I could get through lesson. Of course those that went to Virginia Beach are not going through this pain-just me. But I think I'm getting back now and I love doing all this stuff. I still have my personal trainer, Heath, and pilates and am also trying to get in swimming a couple times a week. We are really trying to get a set schedule for this summer training. I still have homeschooling so my day is really full.
Today my mom and I went to the fireworks stand and bought some fun fireworks. We might shoot some off tonight because it is suppose to rain tomorrow. I hope it doesn't. We plan to go to Lincoln to see my aunts and then to see my mom at the RV Park. She is cooking chicken and we want to go see the fireworks show at the lake there. We'll drive back to Omaha later.
I hope everyone has a very safe and happy 4th of July!
Love,
Sarah Elizabeth Kidd 
