Annabelle Got Almost Straight "A"s!

The first semester at Mountain Vista Homeschool Academy is over. Annabelle got her report card today. She got very high grades! Go Annabelle!

(Click on the image below and her very wonderful progress report will enlarge!)

Sal Mancini Sings and Plays the Guitar 1-21 and 1-23-10

My kids are so lucky! They now are learning to play the guitar with Sal Mancini! He comes to our house once a week and teaches us all together. It's great fun.

Sometimes, Sal sings for us! Last week was one of those days.

Sometimes we play the piano or keyboard. Sometimes we pull out the violins!

Also, last Saturday, we went to a cafe in Castle Rock and had the honor of seeing Sal perform. I took a bunch of videos and photos.

Rebekah and Joel Get to Star As Guest Skaters In an Ice Show!

On Saturday, January 23, 2010, Rebekah and Joel performed as guest skaters in an ice show in Windsor, Colorado. They got VIP treatment! They had a private dressing room and were given flowers after their performance! What an honor!

We Had a Blast Skiing on 1-17-10

Ever since Annabelle was a baby (she's 10 now), we have taken day trips to Ski Cooper in Leadville, Colorado for a day of skiing and fun. Dan goes cross country skiing or snow shoeing, while the rest of us downhill ski.

On the Sunday of Martin Luther King weekend, we went again. It was a great day!

Friends Versus Jewish Friends

This was forwarded to me from Lori McHugh! It's GREAT and TRUE! Now, some of my friends are not Jewish, but also fit in the description below. Enjoy!

Friends vs. Jewish Friends


FRIENDS: Never ask for food.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Always bring the food.



FRIENDS: Will say 'hello.'

JEWISH FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.



FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Call your parents mom and dad



FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Cry with you.



FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing and just being together.



FRIENDS: know a few things about you.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.



FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds' butt that left you.



FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, 'I'm home!'



FRIENDS: Are for a while.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Are for life.



FRIENDS: Will ignore this.

JEWISH FRIENDS: Will forward this.

An Article I Wrote Previewing the 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships Was Published in Professional Skaters Magazine!

I am so excited! Jimmie Santee, the director of the Professional Skaters Association, asked me to write a 2010 U.S. Nationals Preview! What an honor! I just receieved my magazine today. It's a three page article with beautiful photos!

Videos of Billy and Jo Ann Schneider (and Richard Griffin) From 1974!

It takes awhile to convert old films to disk, but today, I finally, got two treasured films on disk. Both videos are from the 1974 US Nationals which took place in Providence, Rhode Island. My brother, Billy, was in junior men and I competed with Richard Griffin in junior dance. I don't remember how Billy did, but Rich and I came in 4th at that nationals. These films are silent and were taken with my dad's Super 8 movie camera.

Dealing With Conflict in Skating

This story has never been put in writing, but something that has recently happened made me remember it.

When I was a child, my family chose to take ice skating lessons from a very talented figure skating coach. He had not yet made a "name" for himself, but he worked hard and knew what it took to make champions.

I am not going to mention his name, but those in the skating world will know who he is. To make things easier, I will just refer to that coach as "X."

The problem was that "X" did not get a long with many people in skating. Even though that was an issue, our family believed it was best to work under him. We did not want to take sides and tried our best to remain neutral when it came to conflict at the rink.

Although we wanted to remain neutral, our family was affected though. When we were growing up, sometimes other skaters wouldn't associate with us since we took from "X." They would not sit with us at the rink. In reaction, those who took from "X" became their own little group. We had to do that. Other skaters just didn't want to be friends with skaters that took lessons from "X." (Maybe their coaches felt that was best? I was too young then to understad conflicts in figure skating.)

As time passed, "X" did a good job, and thanks to "X," my brother, Billy, my sister, Lynnellen, and I, became accomplished figure skaters. We worked with "X" for many years.

And...

"X" eventually trained a world champion.

Years passed. Eventually, Billy decided to change coaches and went to Colorado to work with Olympic figure skating coach, Carlo Fassi. "X" decided not to teach me or Lynnellen when Billy made the switch. We found a new singles coach.

I think about this story because I realize that children should not be subject to conflict among figure skating coaches or among other skaters. Why should we have to had dealt with other kids not associating with us at the rink for so many years? If "X" had issues that could not be resolved, why did it have to affect us? When I look back, it just does not make sense.

If there are issues among skating coaches that affect children, skaters, and their families, I believe those issues need to be resolved quickly and should not go on and on. Skaters and their families (and friends) should not have to take sides. A successful figure skating program means that there cannot be division at an ice rink or club. Rink management or the Professional Skaters Association should do what it takes to make things better, and they should do that quickly.

Our Car Gets Towed Up The Schneider Family Vacation Home's Driveway!

These two videos are really funny! We could not get our car up the driveway, so we called AAA! (Our car got stuck in LOTS of SNOW!) Dan was the hero!