Author: Ruth

De's first synchro event on her Beginner 2 team.  They participated in Capital Critique, which is a critique, not a competition.  It was in Ballston, VA, at the Ballston Commons Mall, one block from where Lunn & I lived when we first moved to DC.  Except there wasn't an ice rink there when we lived there.

 

Ana once again won a costume contest with her same red dress and big ret hat outfit — she won the RMU halloween skate costume contest with this same costume two years ago.  Today she won the PALS costume contest at their halloween party.  And De got an honorable mention for her Army outfit – which is actually Jenya's TOI costume from two years ago.  Jenya created a Pinkamina costume, very nicely put together, but I don't think many people at PALS knew who she was supposed to be.  

Ana won a very cute little trophy with a pumpkin on top, and De got a pirate duck as a prize.

The girls are enjoying a wonderful new website that has very engaging, educational puzzles.  It's called Puzzle School, and it has these neat learning puzzles which include things like how to build basic electrical circuits, basic web site programming, and a lot more.  What a great homeschool resource!

Jenya spent a week at a ceramics camp at the Carnegie Art Museum earlier this summer, and today we were able to pick up her finished work.  She made all kinds of ceramics – bowls, plates, bookends, little statues — and she decorated all of them with ponies.  

The girls took apart one of our old desktops.  Jenya has been studying for her CompTIA A+ certification, so she wanted to name and identify all the different parts, ports and components.  The twins had a great time dissassembling every single thing that could be dissassembled.  Fortunately it's an old dead computer so if we can't get it back together that's ok.  

Jenya discovered that there was a My Little Pony convention this weekend in Baltimore, and all the girls desperately wanted to come, so here we are.  It's been a lot of fun so far.  They had face painting, games, movies, dancing, lots of people in costumes, and of course lots of stuff to buy.

The girls with Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor.

Ana with her favorite pony Fluttershy.

Ana's at music camp for a week, with the Children's Festival Chorus.  This is her first time at a sleep away camp.  We took her up there yesterday.  She's in the same dorm with several of her Troubador friends, and Ben is also at the camp, tho in a different dorm.  They sent us a picture today – looks like she's having fun!

Great competition at Mentor Sunshine Invitational.  Lots of PFSC skaters were there.  

Jenya's free skate – and her first time competing Preliminary, with a clean double salchow and a clean axel! She got 2nd out of 7.  

 

A wonderful short trip to Myrtle Beach – Linda invited us to come and join her extended family on their annual beach vacation.  The girls had a great time with all the other kids – 5 boys, all fairly close to the girls in age.  We stayed in a nice little motel right next to the beach, and the kids played in the pool, built sandcastles, all the usual beach things.  We also went to a pier and the kids went fishing.

On the way home we spent a night in west virgina, with little cabins and a campfire.  In the morning we went whitewater rafting, and then played in the lake with all the big inflatables, slides, and zip line.  

Jenya tested her Preliminary Free Skate today, and Ana tested her Intermediate Moves.  Both of them passed!