Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just wanted to send everyone some love on Christmas today! No matter where you are, I hope you are enjoying this Holiday with family and friends, and spreading the Christmas cheer! I'm so grateful to be home with my family this Holiday season, even though here in Michigan we have no snow! :( Also wishing everyone a healthy and happy new year! My resolution this year is to go FAST and bring home some medals!! xxxx

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Homeward Bound!

It has been an amazing 3 months training in Colorado, as well as Argentina and Austria, but I am so stoked to be headed home (Michigan) tomorrow for a 2 week Christmas break! This is been the longest time I've been away from my parents, and for those who don't already know, I'm a Mommas girl, therefore I cannot WAIT to see her, as well as all my family and friends.  My birthday is also in 2 days, pretty excited to be able to celebrate that at home! I've been kicking ass training, and cannot wait for the season to kick off in a little less than one month! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone :)

Teammate and homegirl Meghan!! 

My Awesome Roommates!

We Love Selfies <3

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

I Love Europe!

I experienced a lot of "firsts" in the last 2 week! The first time I've ever been to Europe, first time I've ever rode a train, first time shredding the alps, first time learning German, and the list goes on! Needless to say, my trip to Austria was a success.  The main purpose of going, to train, was awesome! We had three boardercross courses in one area, first time I've ever been able to say that, which was so beneficial.  Getting to train different courses and different features expanded my experience on courses even more and taught me so many things about my riding.  I worked through my weakness on the courses with the help of my awesome coaches, and also learned a lot about myself. I learned more about how I work mentally on a course, as well as what I need to do to be successful.  I can easily say that I know I improved a lot after this camp, but also know that I have a lot to still work on. Those things will now be worked on in the states, leading up to my first competition.  There is always room to improve, and I cannot wait to see how far I can exceed my riding skills throughout this year with the help of the ISTC.


Not only was I able to spend a lot of time training, I was able to explore Austria.  Our snowboard bags did not arrive until 3 days after we did, so the team took a trip to Innsbruck, where we shopped, and explored the beautiful city! I was so breath-taken by how different this city was from anything in America.  We also saw an amazing church; the beauty of it simply gave me the chills! The culture of the people in Austria is also very different.  Unlike Argentina, people here actually did know pretty good English, which was very helpful because the only things I could say in German was hello and thank you! Therefore learning German is next on my list of things to do!





The landscape and scenery of Austria was also so beautiful!! Nothing like the mountain ranges in America.  The Alps is definitely a must see place for those mountain lovers out there!



I cannot describe how grateful and blessed I am that I am able to experience traveling the World.  I am gaining so much knowledge on different cultures and general geography of the world.  A huge thank you to my family for helping support my dream, and making this life so amazing! xoxo


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Next stop, Austria!

My next journey begins tomorrow. I will be experiencing Europe for the first time; I'm going to Austria for another 2 week training camp! I cannot contain my excitement.  I am so stoked to get back on a boardercross course. These last few weeks in Colorado I have been working my a$$ off in the gym and on snow, and I feel better than I've ever felt! Putting all my skills together on a boardercross course is going to be great!!



Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Fall in Summit County

Well I've been in Colorado for about a week now, and am loving every bit of living here! Since there is not nearly enough snow for the resorts to be open to train on my snowboard, my team has been continuing our summer dry-land training program, spending about 3 hours a day at the gym.  I've also had the amazing opportunity to explore Summit County, which has been breathtaking.  Benji Farrow, member of the US half pipe team, has been a wonderful tour guide this past week, showing me around Summit County, and taking me to different areas to see amazing views. In fact, Benji, his sister Hannah, and myself hiked a 14er this morning.  Woke up at 5 am, started our journey at 6:30 (had to be back for gym time at 1:30), and hiked about 6 miles, 4.5 hours, and to about 14,000 feet!  It is incredible what this world has to offer, if you just take the time to explore! These are life experiences I will never forget!!

P.S. all these amazing photos were taken by Benji Farrow!!
Thanks Benji :)












Thursday, October 9, 2014

New Home In Colorado!

I just moved to Silverthorne, CO, to spend the next 6 months training with the ISTC full time!  Making the decision to switch teams was by far one of the best decisions I could have made.  I have an amazing coach, an awesome crew, and who doesn't love Colorado?  I feel right at home being here, and cannot wait to see what this season has in store! I know it's going to be a good one!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Argentina was a Blast!

After 2 and a half weeks in Argentina, I am finally back home! This trip was an absolutely amazing experience.  It was the first time I had ever left North America, so I was able to experience different cultures, lifestyles and see different sceneries.  Speaking of sceneries, Ushuaia was breathtaking.  It was along the Patagonia mountain range, and it was by far the most beautiful mountain ranges I have ever seen.  I constantly thought to myself "wow this just doesn't even look real, it looks like it came right from a postcard."  The weather was not very good while we were there. Since I crossed the equator, Argentina was in it's winter.  It was very rainy and cold in the town of Ushuaia where we stayed, and then we drove 30 minutes up the mountains to the resort cerro castor.  The weather at the mountain was extremely windy and cold.  There was quite a few snow flurries as well.  In fact, we had many "weather" days, where we didn't even snowboard because the conditions were too dangerous.  The food was very hard to find gluten free, so I had a difficult time eating, especially when we were given the same foods day after day.  So being back in the states, you bet I'm indulging!
But onto the real reason I went to Argentina, to train.  I can honestly say that after these last 3 weeks I have grown so much as an athlete and person.  I was surrounded by Olympic and World Cup athletes; watching them and learning from them was just extraordinary.  The difference between these athletes vs. the athletes I compete with on my tour (Nor-Am) is crazy.  The skill level, focus, dedication, and perfection blew me away.  Being able to ride next to all these people was an experience and learning lesson in itself.  Also, the course we trained on was a World Cup level course, therefore it was the largest, fastest and most technical course I have ever rode.  The experience on a course like this benefitted me so much to not only improve my riding, but gaining confidence with myself, and to show me things I need to work on to get to the next level.  I fixed a lot of equipment issues and really focused on small improvements to my riding that helped me ride that much better.  Snowboardcross legend, Lindsey Jacobellis, coached me quite a bit and gave me a lot of advice on my snowboard career!  After this trip, I have so much more confidence and excitement going into my season because I know I improved in all aspects of this sport, in just a few short weeks!
I am so grateful to be able to have opportunities like this in my life and travel the world!


Yes I ate this crab!






Wednesday, September 24, 2014

I'm at the bottom of the world!

I finally made it to Ushuaia, Argentina and I am loving every bit of it!  Being out of my country and away from my comfort zone is definately an amazing life experience.  The weather hasn't been too nice the few days we've been here so far.  Where we are staying, Ushuaia, most of the days its cold and rainy.  We have been riding at Patagonia, which is about 30 minutes from Ushuaia, and the rain eventually turns to damp snow, and very windy! Regardless of the weather, stoked to be on my snowboard and shred with some amazing people!  I'm here with the Australian World Cup Team, as well as 2 riders from the US team, including my roommate for the trip, Lindsey Jacobellis, my coach and teammate Senna and a Norwegian.  It's only been a a little over a week and I'm having such an amazing time, I can't wait to see whats in store for the next week while I'm here! :)









Monday, September 8, 2014

photos to add to the portfolio!

I have finally received my photos from recent photo shoot with my sponsor, C3 Development! So in love with them! Thanks for such a fun day and for the amazing work on the photos!

Enjoy :)




 











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