Abby Going to Ireland?

This past week I was surprised to learn that Abby, on her own and unbeknownst to me or Karen, submitted an application and video reel to an Ireland-based dance camp/musical show production called "Take The Floor." Take The Floor, in association with Riverdance, is a dance show that brings together 60 Irish dancers from across the world, a popular traditional band called Beoga, and a creative dance/choreography team for 10 days of intense show rehearsal, and 5 days of live show performances at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. Anyways, Abby told us about her application because she, and two of her dancing friends, received acceptance to the school/show (one of them did it last year). Apparently there were 500 applicants this year from around the world (and at least one of her dancing friends was not accepted, unfortunately). We still need to look into the program a bit more, and check on flight costs, but it seems like an opportunity for a great, lifetime experience for Abby. Here is a short trailer for last year's show, as well as clip below it of the actual performance.

2013 World Irish Dance Championships

Here are some pictures and brief video clips of Abby's trip to the 2013 World Irish Dance Championships in Boston, MA. Unfortunately, Abby came down with the flu and felt horrible most of the weekend. Although she barely had the strength, she pushed herself to dance in the Ceili competition so as to not let her fellow teammates down. Although they didn't "recall," Abby and Mom seemed to have nice day of bonding and shopping on their last day in Boston.

Happy Birthday Abby!

Today Abby turned 17 years old! Wow! As I have done in the past, here is an updated, quick walk down "Abby Road" ...

New PartnerShip Overview Video

Check out this new video I produced for PartnerShip as a multi-purpose company overview. We debuted this at our CAMEX 2103 tradeshow a month ago, but I needed to make a few final edits (thanks to FedEx) before I could release it publicly online. The changes have been made and we will be promoting the video starting next week (in addition to being on YouTube, we'll also embed it into our company website). Anyways, I am very pleased with the overall quality and message. Enjoy.

Minute To Win It at PartnerShip

Here is a fun activity we did at work last week (yes, I am recycling my PartnerShip blog post here as well). Last week Thursday the PartnerShip employees at our Westlake, Ohio office participated in a fun, team-building activity. The event was organized by Brad Alflen, director of sales and customer service for PartnerShip. As part of the event, eight four-person teams competed in six "Minute To Win It" challenges. Each team was awarded one point for every team member that successfully completed a challenge. In the end, two teams tied with 10 points each and had to square off in a sudden-death elimination challenge. Here are the video highlights that I edited together after the event was done.

Irish Dancing for Old Folks

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance School performs all across the Northeast Ohio area. One group that Abby is especially fond of performing for are the "old folks" because it always makes them so happy. So, this weekend Abby performed both Saturday and Sunday at two "old folks homes." Here are some of the highlights as videotaped by Mom.

Mustangs 2012-13 Season Recap

The 2012-13 Season is official over for Andrew (#97) and the Strongsville Mustangs. The only thing we have left is a year-end party for the kids sometime in the next few weeks. Using all of the video footage that was taken throughout the year by Mr. Finch (one of the other parents), I put together the following four segments that recap the entire season. The first segment introduces the team; the second recaps the preseason, the third is just a fun, fictional speech, and the last segment recaps the regular season and tournament play. I plan on burning this onto DVDs (along with all of the other footage I edited together throughout the season) for each of the players. Andrew will be playing some more casual Spring/Summer hockey in preparation for the Fall/Winter again (possibly with the Medina HS Club).