Just a "Little" Snow! 12-22-2011

There was just a "little" snow at the Schneider Family's Colorado vacation home! What a fun way to spend a vacation!

Hanukkah poem 2011 by Russ ירחמיאל

(This is an original poem written by a fellow skating coach.  It is such a good poem, I'm passing it on!)

Hanukkah poem 2011 by Russ ירחמיאל

Twas the night before Hanukkah and we were prepared, with candles for lighting, singing, and prayers.

The menorah was placed on the table with care, a sign that the Festival of Lights was quite near.

My Zadie was dancing the Horah with glee and Bubbie fried Latkes especially for me.

The Dreidel was spinning again and again to see the letters nun, gimmel, hay, and shin.

When out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter, Oy vey, someone must have dropped the gefilte fish platter.

We laughed and we sang and we ate for 8 nights.

Happy Hanukkah to all and L’Chaim to Life.

Annabelle and Joel Perform In Broadmoor Skating Club's Exhibition of National Competitors 12-18-11

Annabelle and Joel were honored to be asked to participate in Broadmoor Skating Club's First Annual Exhibition of National Competitors! They skated GREAT!

Photo With Santa In Detroit 12-15-2011

Just before my dad boarded his plane when we were in Detroit, we were approached by Santa and his elves and were told we could get a free photo taken with Santa! I jumped at the opportunity and there were no strings attached. The holiday spirit of giving was there for weary travelers. What a great way to end a very fun and memorable Junior Nationals.

Annabelle and Joel Had So Much Fun Competing At Junior Nationals 2012!

Another Junior Nationals is over for the Schneider-Farris family. The Schneider-Farris kids have taken part in the event for 5 years in a row!

Goals for Annabelle and Joel are to learn new moves and improve and to keep getting better at pairs. We'd like to find a new ice dance or pair partner for Rebekah.

Of course, the goals would be for the kids to all qualify for "big nationals" next season! It's been a wonderful ice skating journey that continues to be rewarding and fun.

• No More "Stand-Alone" US Junior Figure Skating Championships

Parade of Lights 2011 - Wow was it cold!

Last night, Annabelle and other kids from Mountain Vista Homeschool Academy marched in Colorado Springs Parade of Lights and twirled their batons. It was so cold last night and it was snowing, but many people, including the Schneider-Farris family were there to cheer everyone on!

Thanks, "Coach Tiff!"

Yesterday, I put together an article about Tiffany Hyden-Dombeck who coached Rebekah and Joel in ice dancing since they were young kids.

It was so fun to write the article. I was inspired to write it since addition to writing for About.com, I write for Examiner.com and I was asked for articles about coaches that give back and have a passion for what they do. Tiffany certainly has done that.

The article made me appreciate Tiffany so much. Thank you, Tiffany, for giving so much of yourself to the Schneider-Farris family!

• Ice dancing coach Tiffany Hyden-Dombeck goes over and above for her skaters
  

Skiing Is Easy For Figure Skaters

The first time I went skiing, I was twenty years old. I signed up for a set of group lessons at The Broadmoor Ski School.

The instructor showed us a bit about how to maneuver around on skis, and then told us a bit about how to get off and on the ski lift. She told the class to wait for her when we got to the top. I didn't hear those words....

When I got to the top of the mountain, I immediately skied down without any instruction! It was so much fun. All my years of ice skating immediately crossed over into skiing! There was "nothing to it!"

Joel, Rebekah, and Annabelle learned how to ice and roller skate as soon as they could walk, but they also learned how to ski at about the same time. Every weekend, we took a day trip to the mountains to play in the snow and ski.

Our family likes both cross-country skiing and downhill skiing.

Yesterday, we ended our Thanksgiving break with a wonderful day at the Breckenridge Nordic Center. We all "skated" in cross-country skate skis (except Dan who used snowshoes).

The best part was we stayed together and had a lot of fun enjoying the outdoors. When we go downhill skiing, Rebekah and Joel always take off since they ski faster than me and Annabelle and Dan does a snowshoe hike. This was really special! What a nice way to end the Thanksgiving weekend!

• Sports That Figure Skaters Might Be Good At
  

Annabelle and Joel - Pairs Competition 11-18-2011

Annabelle and Joel have qualified for Junior Nationals 2012! They will compete in Lansing, Michigan on December 13. Both kids are very excited that they've added so much content to their pair skating during the past year. Last year, they didn't do overhead extended lifts...this year, they are doing both a press lift and a fully extended loop lift. They also had single throws last year. This year, they are doing two double throws. The kids both love pair skating and that is what counts!

L'Chaim - To Life!

I'm sharing my kids' performance at the recent sectional ice skating event. I'm a very proud Jewish mother...

By the way, I just read about why we say "L'Chaim." We are thanking G-d for creating us and giving us life.

No matter what difficulty life brings, no matter how hard or painful or unfair life is, life is holy and worthy of celebration. Even the wine is sweet to remind us that life itself is a blessing.

May each one of us have the wisdom to bless our loved ones out loud and then to say to them: "L’chaim, to life!"