Steven Helmer Publications

The one that talks about how exhausting a child's extra curricular activities can be. My oldest daughter had her annual ice show this weekend (four 3-hour long shows in 3 days) and, while fun, it was a lot of work. As I joked with one of the other parents as we put away tables after the last show yesterday, my daughter is the figure skater but I was getting as much exercise as her. The show, Rapunzel's Story, did prove to be a big hit. There were some snags early on, such as the music cutting out at inopportune times (though, to their credit, the skaters kept skating as though it was still playing), a few other minor malfunctions and competition from prom, but we pulled together and made it work. I think the most memorable thing for me had to be my daughter's unintentional comic relief during the Saturday night show. She was supposed to sneak out during a scene change and hide out of sight until she made a surprise appearance a couple scenes later. They forgot to call...

If you happen to be around the Beaver Dam, WI area this upcoming weekend (April 20-22), Rapunzel's Story is a must-see event. Our area skaters (including my daughter), coaches and parent volunteers (including me) work very hard to put on a great show every year and this will not be an exception. The show will feature music from Justin Timberlake, Meghan Trainor, Garth Brooks, Michael Buble and various other artists and at $8 per ticket ($7 for seniors and $5 for students), is well worth the money. Show times are at 7 p.m. on Friday, 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. If you have kids, they can skate with the show's characters after the Saturday afternoon performance for no additional charge (skates will be provided). The show is at the Beaver Dam Family Center, 609 Gould St.

My daughter's ice show ( Rapunzel's Story ) is next weekend and, a week from today, is the full dress rehearsal. That means we are all scrambling to get everything finalized. I've always been involved in some capacity with other ice shows, whether it was working concessions or selling flowers. But, this year, I've been involved even more. In addition to finding raffle table donations (we have 56 prizes in total this year), I've been taking on pretty much any task that has needed me. This includes taking ticket pre-orders, helping with painting the scenery (something that is not my strong suit) and even helping out in the costume room. Heck, I'm even in charge of the afterglow party now. Because of all of this, I'm definitely looking forward to the show. But, I'm also kind of looking forward to it being over so things can get back to being a little closer to normal.

I didn't get an opportunity to post anything last night because we were at the rink until pretty late. However, my oldest daughter had her ice show audition as planned and did really well. She was the fourth skater on the ice and, despite some nerves and a case of the stumbles during warm up, put in a solid performance. Her program wasn't flawless. But, she was the first (and one of very few for the night) skater to be told she didn't need to re-do any moves afterwards. We'll have to wait at least a couple weeks to find out if she got any sort of featured part in the show. At this point, I think she has a chance but, at the same time, she's still a little bit of a long shot because there is a built-in pecking order with the older skaters (rightfully) getting an edge as well as (even though nobody admits it) skaters who have parents with deep pockets.

Our annual ice show is in April (it's based on Rapunzel) and, tonight, skaters are able to audition for a featured role. My daughter, Azalea, will be the fourth one taking the ice. She's been working on her audition program for about three weeks and seems ready to go, though I am a little concerned about one of her jumps (it's at the very end and she sometimes has a hard time hitting it because she's starting to get tired). I think it will ultimately come down to presentation, however. As I told her (and her coach has confirmed), the panel of judges (which is basically all the coaches from our rink) are looking for skaters who can interact with the audience. So, in addition to the moves (and maybe a little more), she needs to remember to make eye contact and look like she's having fun. Since her program is performed without music, I told her to pick a song she really loves and pretend she's skating to that. She tried that during her last practice sessio...