"Representing the State of New York..."

...our Girl!  We never ever thought we'd hear that announcement!

Today the Girl took part in the State Games of America 2013, which is being held in Hershey/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (one of the reasons I was too tired to write much last night was because, among other things, we'd had a very long drive to get here).

She was figure skating, of course.  She qualified for this nationwide competition by placing well at the Empire Games in Lake Placid in February.  Since then her coach has put her up one level, so she has been learning some challenging new manoeuvres. All in all, she has had to put in a lot of work to get here.

We were anxious for her when she took to the ice for the warm-up - she seemed a bit uncertain - but when it came to performing her routine she pulled it all off beautifully.  The field was strong, though, and mostly older girls.  So, no medals this time, but she still has every right to feel proud of herself - and we are incredibly proud of her.