June 2007

 

June 21, 2007:

Today's the first day of summer and it sure is showing it here.  I think it was 113 degrees today!  But,  I live at the rink so I really don't feel it.  Oh, tomorrow is my mom's birthday!  She doesn't want her birthday, but JJ and I are going to make her celebrate it anyway. 

I'm having so much fun at the rink!  I try to get there really early and skate and then I help out at the Skate Rattle and Roll skate camp.  I love helping out because the little kids are so much fun!  Then, I skate again and work again and then skate and then help with Learn to Skate.  I am also taking off ice classes.  They are awesome!  I especially LOVE Master McGowan's tae boxing class!  My legs are so sore.  You would think my arms would be sore from the punching but it's my legs.  We do a lot of bouncing around though and lots of lunge type exercises.  Pilates is great and also I'm doing a dance class at the rink.  Then, I help out with the off ice jump/strength/flexibility class and also do it as well.  Finally my mom and I go to the YMCA for cardio a couple times a week.  I used to go more but now with all these classes there just isn't time.  I'm so glad I'm back in Arizona because I have met so many new friends at the rink and am learning so much.  I love my new freeskate.  It's the same music but new choreography and my footwork is so hard.  I'm still working on it to get it down.  So, basically I'm at the rink from early morning until evening. 

Tomorrow I'll not be at the rink too much because it's my mom's birthday.  I'll be at the rink and my mom is suppose to pick up my brother and he is going to come watch me skate and then we are going out to eat for lunch and to the mall.  Then, tomorrow night I'm going to the FOB concert with JJ, Melissa, and Rastam.  I can hardly wait!  It's going to be so much fun!  I can't wait to tell all about it.

Ok, my dog, Max, wants to go out so I'll end this now. 

Love,

Sarah

June 12, 2007:

Ok, so I did not go to Sedona this past weekend but that was ok because it was a trip my brother planned with his girlfriend and it was her birthday present!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBYN!  But, my brother, Josh, took me golfing instead as a birthday present for me.  It was my first time golfing and it was so much fun!  The best part of the whole golf experience was being with my brother Josh and also getting to drive the golf cart!  Yep!  I drove!  Of course I crashed into a tree and almost got us into the lake but other than that I did pretty good.  Josh actually told me that I did really good golfing because I could hit the ball straight, whatever that means.  Josh likes to golf and now I'm going to have to start learning too so I can keep up with him.

It  was good we didn't go to Sedona because the Desert Breeze competition was at Polar Ice in Chandler and my mom and I helped out on Sunday.  We put some of my dresses on the sale rack and then we worked the registration table.  It was a lot of fun!  The competition is a basic skills competition and goes up to the preliminary level.  I also worked  on Saturday with the Learn to Skate classes.  Then, on Monday I worked the Skate Rattle and Roll skate camp so was busy working.  A really cool thing happened at the competition.  I met a little skater named Ally who skates at the other Polar and her family visits my website and so it was cool meeting her.  Good Job Ally!  Keep working hard! 

I love my freeskate and I am looking at skating to some gypsy type music for my short program.  It will be a lot of fun!  I also had pilates today.  I love that class!  I take it twice a week.  I usually try to work out at the YMCA every day for my cardio but this evening my mom and I are staying home because she hurt her back last night and isn't feeling up to going anywhere. 

Ok, until later,

Sarah

June 3, 2007:

School is out!  YEA!  I'm glad because my summer is going to be very busy with skating and working hard with my moves in the field, skating skills and programs.  I'm tired of studying and really want a break with school and want to concentrate on my skating.  I ended up with all A's and one B in Algebra.  Math was really hard for me this year.  I think I have geometry next year.  I also think I'll be taking a foreign language next year and the rest I'm not sure on yet.  I have to take a look at what is offered and decide soon.  I'm going to stay with Arizona Connections Academy.  I like it a lot! 

This month I know I'll be helping with the Learn to Skate classes several times a week and also help out with the Desert Breeze competition that is held at our rink next week end.  It is a basic skills competition so I won't be competing.  I'm not ready anyway, even if there was a competition for me.  But, helping out at the rink is allowing me to earn free ice time to practice and I love that!  I also love helping with the Learn to Skate classes.  I love working with the little kids.  They are so cute and fun to work with.  I'll have to share some of my experiences in the future.  Sometimes I help out with other skating events at the rink, too.  It's all fun!

 I thank God for allowing me to return to Arizona and also for having the opportunity to work with Aleksandr last month.  That experience just helped me get my focus back and I thank God for that.  I will share more about my skating goals later but basically I'm going to be working hard on passing some moves in the field tests as well as other skating skills.  I don't know what will happen with regionals this year but we'll see by the end of the summer.  I am also going to be working on my skills, such as a consistent double axel, triple salchow and triple loop as well as higher doubles with my other jumps and working on getting my spins to a higher level and also getting points up on my spiral sequences.  I have a lot of work and so I will be really busy this summer working on all of this.  I'm working out at the YMCA.  My mom and I go almost every day.  I work out longer than her but she just reads while I keep going.  I do my cardio workout there and love it!  The YMCA that we go to is awesome!  I do the elliptical machine and also the treadmill.  My mom rides the bike.  That is about all she can do right now.  I go for over an hour, even an hour and a half.   

I am planning on doing some gymnastics this summer too.  There is a gym close to us called Southwest Gymnastics and that is where I want to train.  I love gymnastics and want to keep it up so we are planning on registering me for that too.  One more thing?  I have to add in ballet somewhere.  I want to go to the Arizona Ballet to take a class once or twice a week.  We got the info sent to us so are trying to see if I can do that too.  No wonder my mom is so tired all the time and not well.  We all need to pray for her because she is NOT well and keeps having to go to doctor appointments.  They think she has a form of narcolepsy and fibromyalgia but they keep doing tests and trying things.  Just pray for her.

I think some of you know that we live in a really little apartment.  It is cute but it is very small.  We are thinking of getting into a two bedroom in the same complex before the end of the year.  We are waiting for the right one to open up.  When that happens my mom said we are going to get our Sarah Bears going again.  I'm excited to think we will get my bears out there once again.  I miss that being a part of my life.  The Prayer Bears are what we really want to get going. 

This coming week is going to be very very busy.  My mom is getting me to the rink by 6:45 am because she is babysitting Tammy's youngest baby, Josie.  I think Josie is about 7 months old.  So because she is babysitting, I have to be at the rink really early.  Then, around noon I'll be done and Tammy will bring me to her house and my  mom and I'll then go home for lunch.  After that I want to workout at the YMCA and from there we will be trying to get the things organized for me, like the gymnastics, ballet, etc.  This year I still want to start violin too.  My mom is really trying to figure out all of this stuff.  It's hard because we don't have money to do so much but there are programs out there for me and we are just trying to find them.  Arizona State University has a great program called Herberger Kids and we are hoping to get me in by fall.  I could do dance and music there.

Our church youth group is done for the summer so right now at church we are just going to the Sunday services.  I really like our church.  I miss the youth group but it won't be long and I'll be in the high school group meeting new kids.  I'm really excited about it. 

Another fun thing I'm doing this summer is picking out fun and healthy recipes and cooking.  My mom isn't a fan of cooking and is letting me try things.  She says it's boring cooking for two but I like it.  I'm kind of a mess in the kitchen, or so my mom says, but I'm learning and it's fun.  We have lots of Taste of Home and Quick Cooking magazines and I go through them and pick out things to try.  I love it!

 Next weekend I'm hoping we get to take a trip to Sedona.  My brother and his girlfriend invited us there.  They will be there for the weekend and asked us to come up and maybe go to Slide Rock.  I have to talk with my other brother, JJ, and see if he wants to go too.  It would be a fun little side trip, especially now that it's getting hot here.  It is a little cooler up in Sedona.  If we go I will take pics to share.

Ok, I will be having a lot to report on as the summer goes and  I'll try to keep up as much as I can.  I want everyone to know that God has been so wonderful and I am so happy He has brought us back home here in Az. 

Love you all,

Sarah