State Games 2008

Wow. Today was a really short day - considering I had to spend 3 hours of it driving. We got to Greensboro around 2pm today. Lexie skated at 4pm. They did the awards at the 5pm ice cut. And we left shortly after that. We stopped and got dinner on the way home. And got home at 8pm. The couple who run the Tae Kwon Do studio that Lexie goes to afterschool at came to watch her skate. They also bought her a necklace with an ice skater on it. Which I thought was really nice. I bought a disposable camera (since my digital camera is unreliable) to take pictures at the competition. But it will probably be a while before I get them developed. I will post pictures then. And I also ordered the dvd. Generally, I think the dvds are way to expensive to buy but since she did such an amazing job. I just had to. She is my one-and-only the love of my life. Her coach said that she straight out rocked today. You know that's what I say - notice the name of my blog:) A lot of other spectators - people we didn't even know came up to say how great she did and congratulate her.
Are you wondering yet what place she got? 1st place (4/1). Woo hoo. The other skaters really skated well too. They were much older. I wish I could share my pictures now.
Only a few bummers from the trip. It poured down raining and hailing for nearly an hour of the drive back. I had to drive really slow. At times it felt we were never going to get home. And when we got back in the car from eating dinner rain got on one of her comic books I just bought her. Which I told her to leave at home anyway. And I got mad at her for messing up a pig-tail about 5 minutes before her warm-up. So I was really lucky that she skated well since I upset her really good right before she had to take the ice. Otherwise it was a great day. And I'm going to go curl up with my daughter now and watch Underdog neither of us have seen it yet.

Photos added...

Five Days to State Games....

The week prior to a competition is the most exhausting times of my life. I get so tired watching my daughter and the emotions that she goes through leading up to a competition. I will be so glad when this week is over. I got a call last night from my daughter's coach moving her lesson from 8am to 11am this morning. Then after I let her stay up til nearly 9pm because hey she didn't have to get up at 7am - I got another call saying that hockey has the ice at that time so we had to move her lesson to 7am which meant getting up at 6am on a holiday. Any other week and I'd have said lets just skip the lesson this time. But knowing she needed the practice we drug ourselves out of bed at 6am this morning and we were at the rink at 7am sharp. It could've been worse it could've been a school day and we could've been there at 6am. The program looked almost well enough this morning that I should be worried. You know it is bad luck for her to skate well right before a competition. She is still having some issues with the camel and fell on lutz so not a perfect day. And we got into an argument after her lesson because when she is ready to go home she purposefully skates as bad as she can so that I'll say lets go its better to stop than keep practicing poor habits. God give me the strength to get me through this week. And to not make her quit because of the stress that it puts on me. The afternoon practice ice sessions on Saturday went really quickly so she won't be able to skate on their ice beforehand. Which is also bad luck because where the zam end is changes from rink to rink and it can sometimes throw off her skating. Or any skater's skating for that matter. It also gives even more pressure to get as much practice as possible in this week.
We're not doing any competitions for a while after this week is over. She can finally get that split jump of hers looking like an actual split jump. And get ready to pass MIF. I hate MIF and watching lesson after lesson of moves. But I'll be so glad this competition is over I don't think I'll mind it.. for a few weeks anyway. Well if I don't go completely crazy in the next five days I'll let you know on Sunday how the competition Saturday goes. And if I still have it remotely together on Sunday my friend Kate invited Lexie and I over to go swimming. That should be fun. We could both use some down time.

....Family

I spent the day with my brother and his family on Sunday. He's getting ready to rent his old house and I offered some help. His family got a little too big for it and they bought another house many years ago. It's been a while since I had been in it the previous tenants had lived there for years. There were marks on the inside of the closet of the boys at different heights and their ages. I remember when my mom used to mark our heights on the wall. It gave me some quality time with them. I helped my brother and Matt & Bryan with the house. Afterwards, watched "One Missed Call" with everyone and got to hold baby all through the movie which was nice. Its almost like holding a baby Bryan but no 18 month old Matt on the other shoulder:( Bryan's girlfriend came over so the house started to get full and noisy. It was kind of hard to follow. My brother said it must not be very good because he tried to watch it ten times and couldn't get into it. I got to drive Matt's new car (well new to him). Red used to be my favourite color when I was a kid. Its in the top 3 now. If you don't count different shades of green as more than one. Otherwise it'd be teal, sea green, emerald, lavender, then red. Its funny how our preference change like that. I think red was my favourite color as a kid because my brother said it was his and it just stuck. I still would've loved that car as kid. Did I tell you Matt was most like me of my nephews and nieces? He is.
Okay time for the trip down memory lane....
My brother and I did some reminiscing about growing up which we tend to do a lot of these days when we're together. Lexie likes to tell me how she wishes that we weren't poor whenever I tell her I can't afford to buy her something. The economy is hitting most people hard - that doesn't make us poor. I tell her that she doesn't know what poor is. We used to pick our own food out of the garden and eat the same thing everyday for a month because it was whatever was 'in season.' I think sometimes Lex doesn't appreciate how good she has it. She has a tv in her own room with cable. I would've loved THAT as a kid. Other people had cable. They were rich; WE were poor. My brother and I did have a tv in our room it didn't get any channels we could only play atari on it. And being 10 years younger I always got beat. At everything. Atari, cards, checkers, arm wrestling... it sucks being little. And when my brother let me win stuff it was so obvious he was letting me win it wasn't even fun. It also sucks sharing a two-bedroom house and one bathroom with four other people & only one television (that only got 3 channels and 2 of those not very clear) . But I think it made me appreciate things more. Sharing a small house with them made me closer to the two people I loved most. These days I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The tiny house with five people.... (approximately 1982.. lest you think it was longer ago than that because of the truck)

May Day Vs Field Day

Today was Field Day at Lexie's school. We didn't have Field Day when I was a kid - we had May Day. And apparently that is different. I always thought they were the same thing - they just changed what they called it??? I don't know.
So this morning I'm driving her into school. At the rink at 6am. At the store getting snacks for Field Day - and I have to have her at before school by 7:45 and me at work at 8:30... I was incredibly pressed for time. So during all that driving we're chatting away discussing which is better Field Day or May Day.
So as Lexie says "In the last century when you were in school" - as if the 80's were 100 years ago we had May Day. May Day starting with walking around a May Pole wrapping ribbons around it. And consisted of fun events we could sign up for - like 100 yard dash, broad jump, potato sack races, and hula hoop contests. And we got ribbons for the places that we got.
And Field Day they play outside, throw water balloons, and have centers. I said that doesn't sound like much fun. Lexie said May Day doesn't sound like much fun. It sounds like P.E. Nobody this century would think that is fun. I'm glad we have Field Day now instead of May Day. I told her I don't think I'd like her Field Day. Even as a kid I don't think I would've liked being hit by a water balloon - SO NOT my idea of fun. And this is how I tie this into skating. I asked her how she likes it when she does a skating competition and doesn't get a medal. I was equating that to not getting a ribbon at May Day. Lexie said, "I think you should just be happy you got to do the event and have fun doing it and not worry about having something to show for it." What a great answer. But I also know how much she cried and was so very upset those few times she didn't get a medal at a skating competition. Its not much fun.
So weigh in - what do you think? Field Day vs May Day? Is it a this century vs last century *cough cough*? Or is it where you live? What'd you do as a kid? Which do you think you'd like better?

On another note, Lexie got her yearbook yesterday. Melanie was pictured along with her classmates. And a beautiful "In memory of..." at the end of the yearbook. With this year drawing to a close its hard to not think of Melanie. Missing her Field Day today. Not going to third grade. And hard to not think of what those kids went through losing her. Next year, those kids will be in different classes some will probably be at different schools. The world moves on. Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever.