Hello! Addison here! Right now I'm in Virginia beach with all my besties from home, and some new friends! my favorite part about camp so far is nap-time. But tomorrow we are all going to Busch Gardens! All of us LOVE Busch  Gardens. But last night we tried Jenny's (one of the moms) homemade smoothies. They were AMAZING!!! I am having so much fun! It was so exciting meeting new friends. :)

Addison

So now we're already at the end of day 5 here in Virginia. This is my only off-ice camp I've been to so far in my life. My favorite time of the day is swimming after a long, hard practice. Today we were doing some water exercises, and got hit by big waves a lot . Its crazy that tomorrow is the last day, and I will miss all of my new freinds, and of course "story time". Today we got a smoothie for a snack in the evening, and it was delicious, just like the rest of the food here. I'm going to miss a lot about this camp.   

Vanessa

Hello dearest friends and family! Hannah here! I'm having so much fun here in Virginia with all of my friends! We all love watching Anastasia and swimming in the pool after the practices. We are getting use to the running a little more and the waves are so big! Lauren, Christina, Addison, Jillian and are all part of the "wave crashers club" where we jump over the waves wich is so fun! I also love the view from the beach which I can also see from my bedroom window. I'm looking forward to Busch Gardens on Friday and the Board Walk next week! I miss you all at home and can't wait to see you soon! 

Virginia beach is an amazing camp that is fun for all ages of skaters. You will wake up to an exciting start in the morning at about 6:15 and go to get a quick breakfast.You will have three practices with plenty of time to rest and get to know each other. Try to make new friends and enjoy the atmosphere while your there. Make sure to be prepared to have a real workout that will do wonders to your physical condition both on and off the ice.The meals are a filling meal that will make you satisfied with yourself before going to another workout or going to nap and prepared for the next day. The first couple days are the hardest since you have to adjust to the way of your everyday life at Virginia Beach. Each day is a little different but it wil be pretty much the same. Drink lots of water when you ar working out because it can get quite hot. Virginia Beach camp is a lot of fun for everybody that will support you in many different perspectives.

Emily

This is by far the hardest but also one of the best camps I've ever been to so far. I've made many new friends and many great memories. I believe this camp is helping me very much. The ocean is really pretty, and the waves are quite big. These days have flown by so fast, and I can't believe it's almost over. The food here is so good. I also got to know a girl named Dasha and she was here two days, she is very nice and funny. We have three practices every day and the hours go by very fast. Today the water was warmer and it was very plesent to swim. The weather has been very nice the last days, although today was very hot. I'm glad I got to go to this camp. 

Juni Marie

Today the waves were cold, which is bad, but I think there was also good in today. I think that the excercises are getting easier, because I think my body is getting used to the sand. Also I didn't think I would like the excercise and would get really tired and fail to perform, but overall I think that I am not as exhausted as I thought I'd be. So overall I think that I will enjoy this experience and want ato do it again to get even stronger.

Joseph

    Today the waves were really high. It hard to remember everything that happens because I'm so tired. At last practice we got to do cartwheels, which were fun. Running is the hardest part of our workouts, but the most fun is when we dip after each session. All the food is really good, thanks to the moms. I really enjoy nap time because everyone is tired and the whole house is really peaceful. Dasha gave us these motivational pins before she left, mine said Current State: SORE, which kinda explans everything right now. Meal times are always amussing with this group and full of laughs.....Thanks Lauren:). Tonight we will enjoy being with each other and probably having lots of laughs but most of all relaxing after a hard day of work. Bye!

The house is big. And it is good because the beach is close so we don't have to walk miles and miles to get to the beach. The funnest part is that the ocean is right there by the workouts and we can just get in the water, except when there is a red flag.  The hardest part is running miles to the houses and back.  Some skaters have to run 13 minutes one way and back again.  I met a new friend, her name is Emily.  She is a skater from North Carolina.  My favorite part is when when have time we can go in the pool. But I have to ask first.  I like swimming with Hannah, Addison, Jillian,and Emily. My roommates are fun and funny too.  They are Lauren M., Savanna, and Addison.  It's a crazy room.  But the best part is we are all together.  They were strangers but now we are all friends. 

Veronica

Well as you can imagine it is no easy task keeping a house with hard working skaters and coaches clean but somehow we are making it happen.  All of us moms here are trying to keep the kids going throughout the day with clean clothes, healthy food, and quality rest in between.  The skaters are all very supportive of one another and it is such a pleasure watching them work.  The house is so close to the beach we occassionally look up and see them doing drills out our front window.  In this few minutes of quiet that we have since all the kids are resting up for the third workout of today, we are silently prepping for dinner and just dropping this quick note to let everyone know that we are all working hard and having fun!  Can't wait for our other skaters to join us next week! 

Wishing everyone back in Omaha well!

Heather Barkley

Hi there fellow bloggers! Christina Mantsorov here!! I am one of the skaters participating in the camp this year. This is my fifth year going and every year there are new adventures and possibilities. Today was honestly hard. We worked with the medicine balls and did a bucketload of sprints. Today as a group we connected in many ways. We were stangers with the people who don't live in Omaha, but now I personally think we are more connected and will stay connected throughout the week. My roomate, Jillian,  and I slept a lot because the first workout was the most challenging of  the day. We had our jokes and our laughs today, such as when my schoolmate and long-time best friend, Eva, and I went into the ocean and we almost got swallowed by a ginormous wave!!! Well, duty calls, so see you tomorrow on the VB Camp blog!!! We miss everyone back in Omaha already!