A Special Treat

For those of you who have no idea what synchronized skating is and what Lauren has been doing since age 4, check this out. One of the Dads posted Illinois Skating's 3rd place finish at the Dr. Porter Classic on You Tube. I love the web. The music they skate to is from the movie "Speed." See if you can spot Lauren. Ten points if you find her! And turn up the volume!

Party Night

We're having a few very good friends over tonight for some holiday cheer and I'm busy doing my thing today when the doorbell unexpectedly rings. Flowers for me!? Although Rick often brings home flowers for me (cuz he's "THE MAN"), almost never are they delivered. I gently tore open each stapled corner searching for the card. Alas, amidst the greens and roses, was the card. "Love, Michaelene" I have been blessed in my life to have so many wonderful friends and Mikey is certainly high on the list, if not at the top. I think she may even be my "best friend," most days anyway. I'm sure she sent them in anticipation of a great evening of food and beverages tonight.

The said flowers are now the centerpiece of my table. Thanks Mikey.

IllinoiSkating Rocks the House

That's right folks. They took a lot of people by surprise, I'm sure, but not me. I knew they could do it. The competition was stiff. Twelve universities including Western Michigan, Michigan State, U. of Michigan, Notre Dame, Indiana U. and U. of Wisconsin. The girls skated a very fast and clean program and we all knew it the second the music stopped. There is nothing quite like that feeling of knowing you whooped ass. When the results were in, IllinoiSkating took the Bronze! Third out of twelve. Not bad for a team that took seventh out of nine at the same competition last year. These girls practice hard four days a week including the dreaded Friday morning practice that they all despise. I'm sure they have all walked away from this incredible experience today understanding what their hard work and dedication can accomplish. It was a perfect example of being in control of your own destiny. The long and short of it all is we are just so proud of them all including our new coach Audrey. As a first year coach she has shown that she means business. Good for her but even better for Illinois skating.

I would also like to give an honorable mention to the Illini parents for being able to "synchronize" their cheer. We improved tenfold from the Kalamazoo competition!


And just one more picture of our baby with her medal that you can't actually see but I swear is at the end of that ribbon around her neck!