Yannai's Blog

End of Summer Blog

yannaisblog — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:55:25 +0000

Wow, that was fast. It seems like just a minute ago we were writing the mid-summer blog, and now we’re about a week away from fall… August was packed with lots and lots of music. In the first half of the month, I attended a strings camp at the studio where I usually take my violin and piano lessons. It was a great camp! My favorite part was getting to try out new instruments. I received private viola lessons the entire week, and even got to play the bass! The clip below is from the mini-recital on the final day.

Here I am with the bass - it's huge!

Also during the first part of the month I got to enjoy three Philadelphia Orchestra concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). The venue is an open-air venue and I enjoyed this year’s variety in the concerts. The season’s opening night featured Yo-Yo Ma, whom I saw last year too, and his performance this year was equally amazing. The second concert was different, because it included a 125-member chorus (Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia) that sang along with the orchestra in their performance of Beethoven’s Ninth. The most fun concert was the last one I went to, the Cirque de la Symphonie concert, which featured live cirque performances, such as aerial flyers, acrobats, controtionists, dancers, jugglers, balancerrs, and strongmen. It was pretty cool! It was family night at SPAC and before the concert one of the trombonists from the orchestra gave a presentation to the audience. I raised my hand and got to ask a question. Watch it in the clip below. I can’t wait for next year’s SPAC summer season.

In mid August my mom and I drove to Ontario, Canada, where I attended a Suzuki Institute at Wilfrid Laurier University. What a week! It was packed with classes and activities virtually from morning ’til night, but it was great learning and great fun. The hightlights for me included playing in the orchestra, harp class, the barn dance (where I got to fiddle with the band!), and of course meeting a new friends.

Here I am fiddling with the fiddlers in the barn dance

Playing harp in harp class

Here I am with my harp teacher Hillary

Here are clips of my solo recital and a duet with student-teacher Dave:

Here I am with my friend Jake minutes before our finale orchestra concert

Jake is one of the new friends I met at Suzuki Institute. He came all the way from Montana! We not only have music in common, but he is also an airplane enthusiast as I am, so we had a lot in common. After the institute was over, we drove to Niagara Falls and spent the day together with our moms. I look forward to keeping in touch with him, he may be visiting me in New York as soon as this upcoming November.

Jake and I at Niagara FallsJake and I getting ready to go on Maid of the Mist. We were prepared, but we actually didn't get all that wet...

Before we knew it, September rolled around and it’s definitely starting to feel like fall here. Labor Day, however, was still nice enough for a day at the beach, so we spent it at Lake Sacandaga.

Getting ready to swim in Lake Sacandaga

Had fun in the sand too!

It's cold!

For Rosh HaShanah we had a party with my homeschool friends – the Kilinskis. Those who follow my blog already know them pretty well We baked sweet Challahs, honey cake, and made Shana Tova cards.

Braiding Sweet Challahs

The baked challahs. Don't they look delicious?

Anissa and I enjoying apples and honey (and peanut butter...)

Mixing the batter for the honey cake

Anissa and I making Shanah Tovah cards

Did I mention we also enjoyed some outdoor time in the garden and on the trampoline?

Here we are picking tomatoes from the Kilinskis' garden. We got to take a whole bowl full home. I don't eat that stuff, but my mom says they were delicious!

Check out the awesome sign my parents made for my first day at school! Of course, not much schoolin’ is going to go on around here until mid October… First I get to go on vacation to California to visit family and then I get to spend time with my grandparents (aka Lola and Saba) who will be visiting me here. I hoped you enjoyed this little glimpse into my summer. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I post again.

Cool sign for the new school year

Mid Summer Blog

yannaisblog — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:38:20 +0000

So we’re about half way through summer and it’s definitely been a while since we’ve updated the blog. Here’s a glimpse into what I’ve been up to in the last couple of months. As you’ll notice, swimming has taken up a lot of my time this summer. The swim season is over, however, so August will be all about the music with two upcoming music camps.

July 29 – Letterboxing
Went on my first Letterboxing (more on letterboxing) expedition with my 4-H group. We followed clues to find three boxes in a nearby nature preserve, but apparently the boxes had been removed. We ended up using a GPS on one of the moms’ iPhones to try Geocaching (more on geocaching), and found a box full of with little trinkets.

Going letterboxing in Woods Hollow Nature Preserve

Trying to figure out clues to find a box

Looking for our second box... Unfortunately, no luck.

Beautiful summer evening in Woods Hollow Nature Preserve - Ballston Spa, NY

July 23-25 – Adirondack District Long Course Championship
This was a great meet for me. I swam the 200 IM and the 100 Fly for the very first time. Well, at least I attempted the 100 Fly; I was disqualified in that event, the last of the meet, but I was still proud of my attempt. Overall I swam fast enough for six personal best times out of nine events! Now we go on break until September.

Teammate Abby and I during meet warm-up

Teammate Jordan "flying" behind me during warm-up

Warming up before my first event

Warm-up is always chaotic

Lining up for warm-up sprints

Getting ready for my swim

July 17 and 21 – Saratoga County Fair
Took the craft items I made throughout last year with my 4-H group and entered them for display in the Saratoga County Fair. As a Colverbud (under the age of 9 at the start of the year), my items were not judged for merit ribbons. I did receive a participation ribbon for each of my items and some nice comments on my entry cards from the 4-H volunteer that interviewed me. I even earned a paycheck, which arrived in the mail today! $1.38 for each of the 9 items I submitted. The next day, as a visitor, I bypassed most of the exhibits and went straight for the rides. I had a blast! I did stop at one booth to make a rope using an old-fashioned crank contraption.

Being interviewed by 4-H volunteer regarding my craft entries

4-H volunteer admiring my work, which included a bat house, paper combat airplane models, holiday luminaries, a picture frame, a handmade carved stamp, and a dyed shirt.

: Can you see me? Zero Gravity – a.k.a the dizzy ride – was, hands down, my favorite ride at the fair. I rode it three times!!!

July 11 – Six Flags New England
Spent a really fun day with my friend Jordan from swimming (and our moms) at Six Flags New England. This time I made sure to wear shoes and sure enough – I was sufficiently tall to ride the Bizarro rollercoaster. They still deemed me too short for the Batman ride… Oh well, next year… The highlight of our day was getting to go on Taz’s Daredevil Dive.

Posing at the entrance to the Bizarro rollercoasterPosing in a Six Flags phone booth

Jordan and I getting ready to sky dive

July 8 – Anissa’s Half Birthday
As we did last year, my friend Anissa and I spent some fun time together celebrating her 8-1/2 birthday. We had lunch at Red Robin’s and then went to Tree Paad for some fun activities. I’m already looking forward to celebrating her 9-1/2 birthday

Anissa chose to go to the same restaurant we went last year. She even ordered the same thing!

Anissa and I with birthday balloons after lunch. If you're wondering about the smile - it's my best Giada deLaurentiis impersonation

Here we are sliding down the big slide at Tree Paad. It was really hot and they didn't have any air conditioning, but as you can see, we didn't let that ruin our fun.

July 3-4 – Colgate Classic
Weekend swim meet at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. I got to swim 100 Breaststroke for the first time, and I swam a personal best in the 50 breaststroke too! Overall, my performance was a “mixed bag”, but it was definitely a fun weekend.

Take your mark...

June 26 – Playdate with MaryKate
I love going to swim practice, but sometimes it’s also fun to hang out with my swimming friends outside of the pool. My friend and teammate Mary-Kate and I enjoy being goofy together. Here are some pictures of the two of us playing at our place.

Mary-Kate and I playing Cuboro

Mary Kate and I all smiles

Mary-Kate and I being goofballs

June 20 – Father’s Day
This year I went all out to make a special Father’s Day card. With Ema’s help, I used big scrapbooking paper and other crafting materials and made a card that included drawing, photoshopping, stamping, and even metal engraving. One of my favorite parts was carving my own stamp, a craft I learned in 4-H as part of our Letterboxing activity.

June 6 – Meter Madness and Rollerrama

Meter Madness is our only short-course meter meet of the year. It is a pentathlon, meaning that I got to swim five events: 50 meters of each of the individual strokes and 100 meters IM. After the meet, my friend Jordan and I went roller skating at rollerrama. I’m getting the hang of it… It was fun!

Jordan and I putting our rollerblades on

Getting used to the rollerblades

Jordan and I rollerblading at Rollerrama... I'm getting better at this.

Jordan and I after about an hour of rollerblading... It's great exercise!

May 28-28 – Springfield Meet
First long course meet of the season. Spent the weekend in Springfield, MA, and swam some really good swims. The 12 & Under swimmers swam in the morning session and in the afternoon we got to go to nearby Six Flags New England. I had been there a couple of months earlier with my cousins and got to ride on all the big coasters. This time, for some reason, they were measuring me as too short for the big coasters. I was disappointed, because I LOVE big coasters, but I still had a great time.

Check out how I suprise to win my heat way from the side in Lane 1:

Jordan, Mary Kate, and I at Six Flags New England. There I am again with my Giada deLaurentiis smile...

Encore

yannaisblog — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:38:22 +0000

For those of you who haven’t yet seen it on YouTube, here’s a clip of my Honors Recital encore performance of ABBA’s Intermezzo no. 1. I hope you enjoy.

Music!

yannaisblog — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:17:40 +0000

It’s spring, and with spring come spring recitals. In addition to my recital with the Performance Pianos Studio, where I played both piano and violin, I also participated as a cellist in the Capital District’s Suzuki Festival and had the opportunity to play as a member of a string orchestra. I had so much fun!!! I hope you enjoy the clips.

Piano Recital

Violin Recital

Suzuki Orchestra

Family Reunion

yannaisblog — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:05:18 +0000

Once again it has been a while since I posted. March was all about the swimming championships, after which came a break between swimming seasons. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about not having anything to do during the break, since the break happened to coincide with a family reunion we had right here in New York! Not everyone could make it, but there were still plenty of us: My grandparents – Lola and Saba Steve; my aunt and uncle Aviva and Daniel with my cousins Yuval, Ofek, and Ori; and my aunt and uncle Avital and Avinoam with my cousins Dori and Ariel. They all came all the way from Israel! Even my great aunt and uncle Barb and Uncle Sal made it for a weekend all the way from Reno, NV! For nearly three weeks we were busy with fun activitues, such as excursions to Boston, picnics, and visits to attractions like Adirondack Extreme and Six Flags New England. We even had a belated celebration of my birthday at Adventure Racing, where we all had fun driving go-carts, climbing walls, and playing laser tag. The reunion ended with a trip to New York City, where I got to revisit my favorite – The Intrepid Museum, and also the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park. With so many professional photographers in the family, my mom took a “vacation” from snapping pictures, so we don’t have a whole lot to show for this awesome visit. We’re anxiously waiting for picture CDs to arrive from all of those who did take pictures while they were here (hint hint.. )

Below are a couple of pictures of me in driving the Adventure Racing Go-Cart course.

This was fun!

Minor collisions, waiting for rescue...

New Header

yannaisblog — Sun, 02 May 2010 04:57:34 +0000

Well, it’s been a little over a year since we started this blog, so we thought it fitting to change the header image to a more current one. I guess standing knee deep in a lake in March (when it is clearly still too cold) is something that I like to do! The lake is different – last year’s picture was taken in Mirror Lake near Lake Placid and this year’s picture is from Lake Moreau – but other than that, it doesn’t appear that I’ve changed all that much…

End of Season

yannaisblog — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:42:49 +0000

Tonight was my team’s (Schenectady-Saratoga Swim Club – Go Sharks!) end-of-the-season banquet. It was a fun evening for swimmers and their families. I received the “Travel Agent” award from my coach. She explained why, but I forget… I also got all my ribbons and medals from Silver and Gold Championships along with a team trophy. My parents didn’t bring a camera tonight, so there is no “evidence” of this event. Instead, I’ll share a highlight from Golds. This was my last event of the two-day meet – the 50 yard freestyle. It was also my birthday. So although I was already 9, I was allowed to swim in the Boys 8 & Under category, because I was still 8 on the first day of the meet. Based on entry times, I was ranked 9th overall; this put me in the fastest lane (lane 4) in the second to last heat. Well, to spoil it even before you watch, I swam a personal best – a 36.52, I won my heat, and came in third overall (my best ranking at Golds this year). At the end of the clip, watch the head of the guy with the baseball cap – you’ll see my fists go up in the air celebrating my swim. Enjoy!

Adirondack Silver Championships – Day 1

yannaisblog — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:23:56 +0000

Today was the first day of two days that I’m swimming in Adirondack Silver Championships. The day started out great with me posting a new personal best time in the 25-yard butterfly. My second event (25-yard breaststroke) also went great. I didn’t beat my personal best, but I did come in first overall. My third and final event for the day was the 50 butterfly. I was disqualified in all my previous attempt in this event, so this was my chance to swim it at championships and try to earn a Gold Championships qualifying time (Gold Championships are in two weeks). When the time came for my heat, I stepped up on the block. The starter said: “take your mark”, and then she recanted and said “stand up” (I’m not sure why), but I lost my balance and fell into the water!!! I had seen this happen to other swimmers and in many cases the swimmer was DQ’d, so I thought I was DQ’d and I took my cap off and was ready to leave… Well, turns out that since the official said “stand up”, it wasn’t considered a false start and I did get to swim. Watch me swim in the clip below, I did great! And yes, I did qualify for Golds

Tomorrow I swim 25-yard freestyle and 25-yard backstroke. These will be my last two 25-yard events, because I will be turning 9 at Golds and will be swimming 50′s and 100′s from there on.

Sharks Silvers Psych Party

yannaisblog — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:05:39 +0000

Here are a couple of pictures of my teammates and I from our Silvers Psych party. Adirondack Silver Championships is this weekend - Go Sharks! I will be swimming in five events… stay tuned for a report on that.

My Teammates and I enjoying our pasta dinner at the psych party. Jordan (beside me), Connor and Matthew (behind me), and Ben (in the back)

Back row (from right): Connor, Neil, Nick, and Matthew. Front row (from right): Jordan, Mary Kate, and Yannai.

Purim Party

yannaisblog — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:56:59 +0000

This week we had a Purim party with the Kilinskis. We told the story of the Purim, made hamentaschen, and decorated masks. Check out the pictures to see how much fun we had.

Amaya, Anissa, Annika, and I showing off the masks that we made at our little Purim party. Click on the image to view more pictures.