Super Angie...last day of Kindergarten

 It was a fun but sad day to say goodbye to Mrs. Andersen. We really feel blessed that she was Tanith's teacher this year.

 We had a lot of fun, playing games, eating treats, coloring

 and even doing some science experiments!

Look at the kissy mark on Tan's face! We love you Mrs. Andersen!!!

Super Angie...Ladies Night

My skate for hope group number was "ladies night" and it really was a ladies night. We had such a great time skating in the Show, meeting the headliners, but mostly just enjoying the atmosphere. The show is like nothing else and it's a privilege to take part in it.

Pic of me and our US national champion, Max Aaron.

Super Angie... loud

I arrived home yesterday. I have been in Columbus Ohio for the past several days and I performed in the breast cancer fundraising show skate for hope. It was an amazing experience as it is every year i dobit. But this year, I felt so much love from the crowd. When I did my step out move and did my hydro blade the crowd went crazy. They were so loud. I will never forget that

Super Angie.. ohio

I'm in Columbus Ohio. Today is dress rehearsal for skate for hope. We had a big storm coming through last night it was my first tornado watch, which was very interesting to me. I slept like a baby though I didn't even realize it was stormy during the night.

Super Angie...Life is Good

Life is good.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be back in Colorado. Our health is already improving and of course my mood is better. I love our church ward here. So welcoming. So friendly. No cliques. Everyone is celebrated and talked to. Everyone is excited new people are here.

I just feel so happy. No complaints.

Super Angie... boys are away, girls will play

 Right now, Rick and the boys are away in Utah, doing scout stuff. So Tanith and I are having a blast. At the farmer's market, she used some side walk chalk to draw this great cat. I'm amazed by her artist skills.

 She makes me so happy- even if we both got sunburned playing at the pool

 JUMP! SLASH! REPEAT!

 Of course its a good time for a giant cookie. Mmmm

 AND a Bratwurst!

 She joined me at the ice rink a few times too. What a great little skater. I just enjoy watching her. Today she enjoyed skating around cross eyed!

 What a cutie!

 I even broke down and took her to McDonalds...something I NEVER DO! We never ever eat there, but I wanted to let her have fun playing on the Playland. She really enjoyed it.

 Blue snowcone? OF COURSE!!

And time at the park. I have really enjoyed our one on one time. Love this little girl.

Super Angie... Friday

Our Friday started out by skating. It was Brennan, Tanith and I and then CC came. Man! She has improved A LOT. She now has an axel and sometimes a double sal! Great lay back too. The music player at the rink in Breckenridge SUCKS! It skips constantly and sometimes won't even play a CD- even though it has already played it before. Ugh. Frustrating!!!  My contact was really bugging me. Eventually I took it out and then after 40 minutes, my eye stopped hurting.

CC and I had a lot of fun  working on spins. We spent 30 minutes just practicing different spin combos. I'm really happy to report that my camel/sit/back sit is coming along very nicely. I took some belly flops while trying back pancake spins. It was just really fun.

After wards we picked up our paintings. On Tuesday Tan and Bren both painted a canvas painting and I painted a ceramic bowl. They all turned out soooo good. :) I really LOVE ceramics! :)

After grocery shopping and some down time at home, I got my hair cut. Went to Southern Exposure in Dillon. Jenni had recommended Deanna.  She was excellent. I also really like Vicki- the owner.

FINALLY we went to Lake DIllon park.The kids had a blast until Brennan got spinning to fast in this tea cup kind of thing. He literally couldn't stop. I feel horrible- I thought he was squealling for fun. He was yelling for help. Poor guy. When Tan stopped him, he fell out of it and still, 50 minutes later, feels like he is gonna puke. :( It was super windy at the park, so we came home.

Now its time to watch the Chipmunks and munch on Cherries!

Super Angie...snow!

Woke up yesterday to snow!! We were supposed to go to Colorado Springs for my lesson but I canceled it. Instead we just hung out and enjoyed a cozy day. Also got a lot of unpacking and decluttering done. I now have several bags ready for donation. :) I rescheduled my lesson for today. Again, we woke to snow, but I knew I needed to go. The roads were crazy and the tunnel was closed for a while. But I made it with time to spare. We went to a different rink in the Springs that I haven't been to before. Such a productive lesson. I really love working with Todd because he is nit picky. If a finger is out of place, its not okay. Must be fixed. We actually changed a bit of choreography which was cool. I really feel like I'm progressing in everything. I am working on Silver Moves in the Field. Hard but good. I am understanding more and more how small things apply to bigger things. It makes learning the hard things worth it because I can see how they feed into the rest of my skating. The weather down there was 40 degrees warmer then in Keystone. HAHAHA So funny! I surprised my friend Jenny with frosty drinks from Wendys and french fries. Then I got my skates sharpened and had dinner with Todd at Texas Road House...mmm...salmon! Love their salad as well. The drive home was incredibly gorgeous, finshing with a lot of snow falling while we drove through Breck. I love COLORADO!

Super Angie...summer

The end of the school year brought about many changes. Tanith is now in 1st grade. Brennan is now in 4th. Dallin is now in 7th! But the biggest change...we have moved to Colorado! We said goodbye to our favorite frozen yogurt places. Cried at our last days at gymnastics. Went to Kneaders a few more times. I skated with my friends, one last time. And we all cried when we hugged our favorite teachers goodbye. Lucky for us, many of our friends, playdates, and teachers plan on visiting us soon in CO. I'm happy to report that all three kids did great in school this year. End of the year concerts and Fine Art Showcases proved to be amazing and Tanith's musical was just darling. Our last Sunday at church was very special. I sang in Relief Society with Darren Lewis and was asked by Aimee Lewis to share some memories of our Temple Sealing. Over all I'm very happy to be gone from that ward, but there are some lovely people there that I will miss. Since we arrived in Colorado, we have rocked climbed twice, hiked three times, skated three times and go swimming a few times. I took the kids to the park and did laps of Keystone lake. We have had warm 70 degree weather and 30 degree snowy weather. We have seen lots of humming birds, crows, squirels and a few little foxes--my favorite! Movies, games, and watching the kids play down in the courtyard, in the bushes and pine trees. I feel so blessed we are here. Happiness level is through the roof! Unpacking is coming along. Its a pain in the butt- of course. The kids have so much stuff- toys and clothes. Oh well, all in good time. We went to Ready Paint Fire yesterday. Brennan and Tan painted canvas paintings. I painted a ceramic bowl. I simply love painting at RPF. :) Life is good!

Super Angie...Dramatic

Here is my dramatic skate from Nationals. 

Super Angie... Lite Entertainment

Here is my Lite Entertainment program from Nationals. I won Gold with this fun program.

Super Angie...just breathe

So Rick is gone right now. Which means, I'm freaking out. Normal, but its true. Managing the day to day life of a busy mom and busy kids and a busy household, is hard for me. I'm sure others just laugh and think I'm freaking out for no reason. And that's fine. Go ahead and judge, but don't forget what the bible says about judging....

Rick is climbing a mountain in Indonesia. Dallin is being a teenage. Brennan is doing great in school. Tanith gives great hugs. My boots are at Harlick being fixed, so I'm without skates. Allergies are HORRIBLE. I'm helping with a wedding tomorrow. Dallin is going to CO this weekend with some cycling buddies. I have to help him prepare for this. The breaks are going bad in the car.

I'm learning to take a deep breath and just focus on the moment. Its something my coach has been teaching me, and something he continues to teach me through skating. A skating lesson that is applied to life. I'm 37. Its never too late to learn these things.

This week I have: volunteered at school, taught nursery class at church, read scriptures and held devotionals with my kids. Said family prayers, cuddled, watched TV. Helped with biking, done laundry and dishes. Put a basket on Tanith's bike. Bought new tubes for Dallin's. Grocery shopping. Costco shopping. Helped a friend. Exercising. Handled online registrations. Yard work. Housework. Made phone calls. Gotten out of my comfort zone. Driven back and forth and back again. Blogged and managed some of Rick's online stuff.

When I look at it that way, I have been able to manage okay with my husband being gone. I'm still worried...is he ok? But I'm harnessing all my inner strength and remembering...

I AM SUPER ANGIE

Super Angie...Dramatic

Here is my USFS Adult Nationals  2013 Ladies Bronze level dramatic program. I won GOLD with this program. I'm so honored to have competed against the strong field I did. THIS is what I trained and sacrificed so much to accomplish.

I felt so many emotions before skating-- but once I laced up my skates, all my nerves went away. I was trained. I was ready. I was confident in my skills. The ice felt like home.

Thanks to my husband for his support in my skating.

Thanks to my coaches, Todd Gilles and Meg Evans.

Thanks to my dad for making the trip to AZ for my first Nationals!

Thanks to the Gilles family for this hospitality, support, advice and friendship.

And thanks to all my friends and other family members. Your cheers, texts, emails, phone calls and hugs were appreciated. Its been a long year, full of lots of ups and downs and a lot of learning. I'm extremely proud of myself.

Super Angie...The Broadmoor

 While staying in Colorado Springs with the Gilles family, Bonnie took me to the historic Broadmoor Hotel.

 I really enjoyed this time with Bonnie and she knew a lot about the history of the area.

 I was taken by all the little details. My mom would have loved going there.

 And it was a GORGEOUS day! We ate lunch outside, right by the lake. Simply gorgeous.

 The grounds were beautiful.

 I just enjoyed all the little alcoves and hidden spaces. If I lived nearby, I would most certainly come weekly for a stroll around the lake.

 Bonnie and I. Love her! She is like a second mom to me.

Cheyenne Mountain

 What a gorgeous blue bird Colorado day!

 The memorial for the plane crash carrying the US figure skating team.

 Tara!

 Peggy!

 Jill!

 Dorthy and Scott

Thanks Bonnie for the beautiful day out. I will always remember this special day.

Super Angie...super cycling

 Dallin did his first Crit. race at Rocky Mountain Raceway

 He met up with his FFKR Jr team. He got a flat before the race even started but his team manager took care of everything for him.

 It was exciting to watch him race with the adults

 He had lots of support from the Sr team.

 A few Sr riders road with Dallin and Jack, to give moral support and advice.

 We had a lot of fun cheering for him. Brennan and Tan rang cow bells

Dallin, Travis and Jack. Great teamwork!

Super Angie...letting go

This week was a week of letting go. Its hard to let go, you know? But I learned, that once I do let go, I can then move forward and progress.

Rick and Todd came home from Mexico. They had a very successful climb of Orizaba. They did it in a very epic manner and I'm so proud of them. It was so nice to have them back. I missed Rick something awful.

I had 8 hours of lessons with Todd this week. Can I just say...WHOA! Exhausted.

He really pushed me--which is what I needed. And I fought that pushing for a while. Finally when I dropped the ego and really loosened up, I became free. Its hard to go back to basics, but its what I needed. I grew a ton this week.

I now only have 4 weeks left till Nationals.

Super Angie... Psalm 118:24

I made a goal to read the LDS church magazine (THE ENSIGN) from cover to cover each month. So I started today. I actually read quite a few different articles this morning, but one in particular struck a chord with me.

"This is the day which the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it."  I don't think this refers JUST to Sunday. But rather, to every day we live. ENJOY THE MOMENT.

Comparing skating to life... Its not a race. Its a journey. Enjoy the moment.

Recently I had the great opportunity of staying with my coach's family in Colorado Springs. They all welcomed me in and instantly I felt a part of the clan. While in town, I had 5 hours of lessons, spread over 3 day. I worked so hard, that I actually lost weight and  dropped a dress size! lol Anyway, back to lessons learned.

In life, I strive to be the best I can. I make mistakes. I stumble, but I think I always get back up and try again. I want to return to live with my Heavenly Father again, and so I try to go through life, with this ever in the forefront of my mind. I want to be the best I can.

In skating...I want to be the type of skater I KNOW I can be. But I also realize to get to that level (not level like doing a double axel, but level of beauty) I have to step down, I have to break down barriers, I have to be humble and teachable. I have to stretch. I have to be willing to make mistakes and fall, because that is how I will grow.

My coach wants my spins to be better. So do I. I have to really work at that. I have to disconnect muscle memory that has been there 15 years and break it down. I have to go forward with faith- that if I  listen to my coach, I can correct these issues and problem, and I can reach higher. Its gonna be really hard to change this behavior- to change these habits. But if I'm humble, teachable, and practice, I WILL succeed! I also have to have faith in MY ABILITY! I can't just rely on the teachings of my coach. I have to believe that I, Angie Miske, WILL be able to do it.

Questions: How can you find joy in the journey of your life?
How can you bring joy into the lives of those around you?

If I slow down on my crossovers and warmup drills, They look better. I skate more efficiently. If I slow down, I look more confident. If I slow down, I skate better. Slowing down doesn't mean I won't still have the speed on the ice I am known for. It means, I will have better edges, more power. I will still be fast- but fast in a different way. I have to SLOW DOWN to enjoy the moment. If I do this, I really enjoy the process of learning and growing. If I do this, I can more readily see the joy all around me that is there, daily on the ice. If I rush. If I approach everything with a "this is hard" or "i don't want to" attitude, the joy won't be there- because its HARD!

Life is hard. There are ups and downs constantly. There will always be things that way heavy on our minds. School, work, relationships. Life is constantly shifting. BUT what good does it do us to stress over things that aren't happening right this minute. Recently with a friend, I was lamenting about a stress I have in my life. There was absolutely NOTHING I could do about this stress at that very moment. I could complain about it- but that didn't solve anything, and actually just made me feel sick to my stomach. My friend reminded me to stay focused on what I was doing right then. If I didn't, I would miss THAT moment. I would be so concerned about the future moment that I would miss out on all the joy that could happen right then.

On TV, sometimes you will see elite level skaters who make a mistake and then the rest of their program, they are so concerned about that past mistake that they can't enjoy the rest of the their program. OR they are skating okay, but are so concerned about a jump that happens later in the program, that they can't enjoy the beginning of the program. I think the advice of my friend could be applied here as well.

THIS IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE...REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.

Go forward friends, bringing JOY to others, and enjoying the journey.