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Fun at the Halloween Skate today – trick or treat was postponed to the weekend because of Hurricane Sandy, which meant the girls plus Ben, Theo, Gage and De's friend Crystal had plenty of time for the RMU halloween skate party.

We spent this weekend at the South Atlantic Non-Qual Regionals in Wake Forest, NC.   It was a busy and eventful competition weekend. 

Jenya had a very good PrePre free skate, placing 6th out of 14 with some tough competition.  She had two clean axels, no falls, and a nice combo spin, so she was very happy.  She also placed 4th out of 8 for her PrePre compulsory.

 

Ana skated No Test and placed 5th out of 12, despite having a very rough time because of technical problems with her music.  When they started playing her music it was so badly messed up that she didn't even recognize it.  She also had a lovely compulsory, placing 2nd out of 6. 

And Ben and Ana skated Pre-Juvenile Pairs, placing 1st by simple expident of being the only PreJuv pairs team!  They had a bad fall on the pairs spiral, but were able to pick up and go on.  It was very scary for us watching them, and Ana has some interesting bruises since she landed on the bottom with Ben on top of her, but the kids were tough and handled it very well.  And the audience was very supportive – lots of clapping and cheering for the kids when they got back up and kept skating.

Plus, the hotel was great – the kids loved the towel swan they left on the bed!

After the competition we stopped by Lunn's parents place on the way home, so we got a nice mini-visit to DC out of the trip as well. 

Skate Pittsburgh was this weekend, and all three girls skated.  Ana & Ben did pairs, their first time moving up to PreJuvenile and a longer, 2 minute program.

 

Ana also did PrePre Restricted (no axel) free skate, and placed 1st (out of 7), as well as PrePre compulsory (2nd out of 5).  She skated extremely well, definitely gave it her best. 

 

De skated Basic 6, and won her group of 5 skaters.  It's funny, there was another girl in her flight that I bet is also a gymnast or a dancer – same mix of great hands, super high spiral, and wonky spins.  Funny.

 

And Jenya did PrePre Unrestricted (with axel), placing 2nd out of 4, and PrePre compulsory, where she was 1st (out of 7). 

Today all three girls competed in the Junior PA State Championships road bike race, in the 10-12 year old bracket.  It was at the California Grand Prix in California, PA.  They all raced very well.  Jenya came in 2nd, very close behind the winner.  Ana came third, and De was fourth.  Jenya and Ana both fought very hard for their finishes – very impressive.

 

Jenya and Ana got medals, and they all received little gifts – water bottles, bike lights, things like that.  It was a very fun time.  The coach from Team Citius, Fred, was there and was as usual wonderfully helpful to the girls – he's so great with kids, they are very lucky. 

Last night De went to a baseball game with the Jewart clan.  Earlier this spring she had won a trip with her coach Alex and his daughter/her friend Maddie as a prize in the end of year celebration, so this outing was it.  She had a great time, despite her almost complete lack of interest in baseball. 

Jenya and Ana both had skating tests today — Jenya tested Juvenile Moves in the Field & Ana tested Pre-Juvenile Moves.  Both girls passed!

   

 

A really nice day at Mentor Sunshine skating competition today.  Ben & Ana competed pairs for the very first time, and did a lovely job.  There were two other pairs teams there as well, so they got to watch the other teams and actually compete, which was really cool.  And they won, which is pretty nice too. 

Ana also competed her singles (no test), and placed 2nd (out of 5). Because they scheduled Jenya & Ana at the exact same time, Crystal couldn't put Ana out for her event, but Ana handled it like the capable young person that she is, and did a nice job.     

De skated her Basic 6 routine, with a lovely high spiral, nice presentation, gymnastics hands, and a spin that really doesn't spin.  But she looked great, and she placed 1st (out of 5).   

And Jenya skated a nice pre-pre compulsory and placed 1st (out of 9), and her pre-pre free, which placed 6th (out of 7).  One clean axel/loop, one not quite clean axel, and some spin problems, but also some very nice looking footwork and I really like her spiral.  

I think this is the first skating competition where all the kids came home with a 1st place, so that's kinda neat.  Our own little picket fence.  Very happy children on the way home.

 

Nostalgia for the tiny carosel, and practicing the new lift in the entryway.  And LOTS of waterslides and fun in pools, but my camera’s not waterproof, so no pics of that.

Quick tour of the Jelly Belly warehouse, and it was so much fun that it almost made us late for skating.  Fun tour, great gift shop.