New Skates!!!

Today, I went to the rink with my Mom and Mary and Samuel (my youngest siblings).  Mary is 4 and Samuel is 2.  They all skated, which was great.  I worked on my spins - camel spin, back spin, scratch spin, and sit spin - getting them faster and cleaning up my technique.  I got a couple of them really, really fast, which made me really dizzy.  It was kind of scary on some of them because they were so fast and not always centered, so they went a little... all over the place.  But I got a couple of them super-centered and the feeling was awesome!!!
My mom says they were really strong spins and the exits were nice.
After our time at the Lloyd Center, I went to Sherwood to meet with Jim and Diane to get my feet measured and pick out new skates.  I'm super excited about the new skates because there is a cut-out in the back that makes it much easier to point my toes and bend my knees.  The boots are really pretty too.
They're similar to what one of Diane's other students is using right now.  I want to send out a great big thank you to everyone who donated so that I could get these new skates.  I would especially like to mention my Grandma and Grandpa Allred, Grandma Hanks, Aunt Christie, and Aunt Kristin.
I'm also excited because I will be getting new blades too.  We haven't figured out which ones we will get to pair with the new boots yet, but they will have Huge toepicks, great for jumping.  The gold seal blades have the perfect rocker which makes it easier to rotate on a spin, but a little harder to balance, so we might go with those.
In other news, my foot still hurts from a mosquito bite I got.  The bump there is getting huge and it makes everything just a weensy bit harder.  That will pass.  Dishes are also bugging me a lot day to day, but that too, will pass.  Onward and upward.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Joanne!

Love, Bonnie :)

Ice and Rest

So yesterday was the seminar with Randy Gardner and Tiffany Crosswhite.  I did 2 hours of off-ice work with Tiffany that included Pilates (killer!) and something like a ballet exercise that was supposed to help strengthen our calf muscles.  With Randy we worked on weight change, and crossovers together, and individually we worked on jumps and spins, where we got scored.
I took a bit of a hard fall on my left knee and I am still trying to recover. Time for a good rest.
Samuel (my littlest brother) is making me laugh. Ouch!!! My tummy muscles are sore too, from the big Pilates session.  My daddy keeps giving me my ice pack and saying Ad astra per aspera (he spelled it for me too). Gonna have to look that one up.

All the best,

Bonnie

Vulcan Ice Academy

Working on jumps again today.  High fives from Diane on my lutz!
The Lloyd Center ice is packed.  Lots of people here that I don't normally see.  Randy Gardner is here this morning.  He is giving a seminar over the weekend that I'll be taking part in, at least the Saturday part.  My dad says the arena reminds him of the Vulcan school from Star Trek 2009.  He's such a nerd! That is actually a good thing tho.

Wow! Thank You!!!

Got to the arena really, really early today.  Diane has me warming up with toe loop, salchow, loop, axel and lots of backspin when I land so I can prep for double jumps.  After that, I worked on my forward and backward camel and sit spin so I can start pop-over and jump spins.  Exciting stuff!  I am so stoked!
I can hardly believe the huge outpouring of help that has come from my family and friends to help pay for equipment and testing.  Thank you all so, so much.  Please feel free to share my blog with everyone you know.  Every donation helps a ton.  More updates to come, as often as I can get them here.

All the best,

Bonnie

Seattle Ice Fest & Thanks!

Hi Friends,

Here are some pictures of me at the Seattle Ice Fest.  Enjoy!
https://picasaweb.google.com/Shannon.Perez/BonnieAtSeattleIceFest2011

Best,
Bonnie
P.S.  Thanks to everyone who has already donated.  Your generosity is inspiring!

It's been a while!

Well everyone, it's been a long time since I've put an entry in this blog.  My dad says it's about time.
For those of you who haven't heard, I took first in the Seattle Ice Fest at Olympicview Ice Arena at Mountlake Terrace, WA.  That was at the Freestyle 2 level, but I am gearing up to compete at a higher level.
This August, I am planning on doing the U.S. Figure Skating pre-pre testing.  I have also been blessed to have a new, awesome member of my coaching team: Tiffany Allred from Allentown, PA.  Tiffany is an expert in human movement and physical fitness.  She is also my aunt! :)
I want to thank everyone who has made or will make donations to help me continue my skating career.  I appreciate all you are doing and I promise to work hard to put every penny to great use on the ice.
I'll check in again soon.

All the best,
Bonnie