Not Much New Today--From Italy

Not too much to report today. Eric was hoping they would be able to watch the finals of the able-bodied compound shooters today, but they couldn't secure transportation to the competition field. So he spent most of the day in the hotel. Which to some might sound very nice and relaxing, but not to Eric who wants to be out on the field shooting his bow.

Here at home though I've had a very busy day. I spent my morning taking a test, that if I pass, I'll be able to add the Media/Library Specialist endorsement to my teaching license. That would allow me to be an elementary school librarian. How cool would that be?! I felt good about the test, but don't have the results yet...so I'm waiting on pins and needles until then. Don't know how soon, or if ever I'll actually pursue being a librarian, but it's always nice to have that option!

Then tonight I was invited to go with wonderful friends to FanFest that's going on in downtown Phoenix. It is in conjunction with the All-Star baseball game that is in town right now. The kids and I had a blast running bases, sliding to steal bases, doing an obstacle course with the style of Reebox shoes the baseball players wear, and even arm painting (I wouldn't let them paint their face!) The kids even got to experience riding the light rail, which they thought was pretty cool. I was so bummed that I didn't think to take a camera and my camera phone is just awful, but here's a fun picture of the kids. It's been a fun day for us and we really missed Eric at FanFest. I know he would have loved it. :(

World Championships--Turin, Italy

Eric left early Wednesday morning to begin his travels to Italy. He left Phoenix and flew to Dulles International Airport and waited for 6 hours there to board the next plane. He then traveled to Frankfurt, Germany finally landing in Turin, Italy over 24 hours later.

I've been able to communicate with him a couple of times through instant messaging. Internet costs him $15/hour and he's having a difficult time getting his computer to hook up to the network, so I'm afraid we might not be able to talk as much as we would like.

The good news is there's a website, www.archery.org that has a link for the Paralympic World Championships (make sure you find the Paralympic link and not the able-bodied championships that is also going on there!) and it looks like there will be live scoring available. So hopefully once he begins to compete, we will be able to keep up with his successes. You'll have to stay up into the wee hours of the night though, due to the 9 hour time difference! :)

Here is a brief outline of his shooting schedule:

Tuesday, July 12th--Qualification: Long Distance

Wednesday, July 13th--Qualification: Short Distance

Thursday, July 14th--Individual Elimination

Friday, July 15th--Individual Elimination & Team Elimination

Saturday, July 16th--Team Elimination & Finals, Award Ceremony for Team

Sunday, July 17th--Individual Finals, Award Ceremony for Individuals

So this is how it all plays out: Everyone will shoot at 90 and 70 meters on Tuesday. Then everyone will shoot at 50 and 30 meters on Wednesday. This will give them a qualifying total. Based off that total score, they will be ranked and will enter a head-to-head competition. We will see Eric shooting in the Individual Finals on Sunday! When Eric medals here at world championships, he will automatically qualify to go to the Paralympics in London 2012.

Eric did mention the hotel they are staying at is very nice with "fancy food". For those who know Eric, fancy food is not always a good thing. He told me the shooting field is on the grounds of an old castle and looks pretty amazing. He said the castle is on a hill up above the field. He's hoping to get a picture soon to send me that I'll be able to upload.

He sends his love to everyone and appreciates all your support and well wishes. Please feel free to leave comments and questions if I failed to explain something. :)

An Appendix on the Appendix

Eric had his follow up appointment yesterday with the surgeon who took out his appendix. Dr. Le Le told him that he had a gangrenous appendix and that miraculously, somehow, all the infection stayed contained in the ruptured appendix. They also found a polyp on it they had tested, and fortunately it was benign. We were counting our blessings before, but now we truly know he was more than just lucky. Someone was watching over him, I have no doubt about it.

Our Past Month- ABCD Style

A is for Appendix I really don't even know where to start with this. Super long story short, my husband has a very high tolerance for pain. I attribute it to him losing his arm at 15 years old and all the pain and surgeries he went through with that. So take the high tolerance for pain and an insanely crazy busy schedule, and you get a husband who can live with appendicitis for a week. He finally figured something wasn't right and went to urgent care, was diagnosed with acute appendicitis, we went to the emergency room, and he was admitted and scheduled for surgery the next morning. He had two CT scans (one with contrast, another without) and both showed it hadn't ruptured. It wasn't until the surgery went longer than scheduled and the surgeon telling me they took it out in two parts, scrapped it off his abdominal wall and had to do a lot of "scraping and cleaning" to get it all out because it had been ruptured for a WEEK did it all really hit me. It was at that point the surgeon told me Eric would be very sore for awhile. Thanks doc.

As they rolled Eric out of recovery, the first words out of my mouth were, "Don't be so dang tough next time!" We spent two days in the hospital getting IV antibiotics and making sure he didn't have any infection. To sum it all up perfectly, the day after his surgery, Eric was looking information on the internet about appendicitis and said to me, "I should be dead". We consider ourselves VERY lucky.

B is for Birthday Our baby girl turned 2 the end of March! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, she'll always be our baby, so it's hard to realize how quickly she's growing up.

She is such a little peanut, weighing in at only 22.2 pounds but has such spirit and spunk. She decided to potty train herself at 20 months and stays dry through the night. She has a mind of her own, she's very independent, and her favorite words are, "No, I do it". She loves Dora and Elmo and she and Logan play so nicely together--most of the time! She devours fruit of any kind, but also begs for her candy as she has a gigantic sweet tooth. She squeals with delight whenever Daddy comes home from work. She loves doing puzzles and is just another student in mom's preschool, which I love.

C is for Classes Yay me! Not only do I get to be a teacher of four different preschool classes, I am also experiencing what it's like to be a student again after 8 years. My Arizona teaching certificate is about to expire, and since I'm not teaching in a school district, I am required to take 12 credits of classes to get my license renewed. I started my first online class a couple of week ago, and although it's good for me to review some of the things I learned in college, I really don't like the homework/busy work it entails. Wish me luck...this is a 3 credit class, only 9 more to go!

D is for Disneyland In March over spring break Logan, Natalie and I were able to visit the happiest place on earth. What made it even happier is that we were also able to be there with my brother and sister and their families, and my mom. It was a great and fun vacation. Logan and Natalie LOVED every minute of it. Natalie could have ridden Small World again and again. Depending on when you talk to Logan he would say his favorite ride was the Ferris Wheel in California Adventure, Monsters Inc., the Haunted House, Toy Story, the Matterhorn or Pirates of the Caribbean. Heck, he even claims it's Star Tours and it was closed while we were there! :) He already has his list planned out for when he goes back, and personally I hope it's before he's 9 years old!

One I Would Like To Forget

The last Sunday in December 2010 I was called to be the primary chorister. This was a huge shock, didn't-see-it-coming kind of calling. I was so overwhelmed, especially since I haven't, I repeat-have not been in primary since I graduated at age 12. Needless to say, I spend MANY hours a week searching the web for ideas, preparing posters, flipcharts, props and trying to learn the songs I'm supposed to be teaching. I'm finally starting to figure everything out and feel a little more confident in my abilities.

This takes us to last Sunday, March 20th...

It was Stake Conference. So that morning I was explaining to Logan that we would be going to church but that he wouldn't have primary. I said it was like a long Sacrament Meeting, but that we wouldn't take the sacrament either. He was looking a little confused and said, "I don't have to go to primary?" I confirmed that no, he didn't have primary. Then he shouted, "Yay! No primary!" Interested in why he was glad he didn't have to go to primary I inquired why he was so happy. Hindsight tells me I really didn't want to know his answer.

"Because singing time is sooo boring!"

Ones Not to Forget

Preface: Logan, Natalie and I were driving down a road in Sun City the other day. For those not familiar with the quaint Sun City town in Arizona, it's a community strictly for people over the age of 55.

Logan: Mom, this is a very pretty neighborhood.

Mom: It is, it's a place called Sun City. You have to be old to live here.

Logan: Oh, yeah. Like my dad!

I had to stifle a giggle. He was just so matter-of-fact about it! :)

Tonight we got Natalie tucked into bed and even after 25 minutes of talking and playing, she was still awake. She started really crying and so I decided I better go check on her. I walk in and she says to me, "I done."

"You're done?" I repeat.

"Uh-huh." She confirms

"You're done with what? Sleeping?"

"Uh-huh."

NICE TRY, sweetheart! Go to sleep!

Just a Walk Around the Park

Last night I decided to take the kids for a walk. It was late enough that it was too dark outside to just go around the neighborhood and be safe, so we loaded up and went to our city park. We have a great city park. It has sidewalks and paths all around a big pond full of fish to catch and ducks to feed. It has a fun playground, basketball and volleyball courts and even a fenced in dog park. The best part is that it's all lit up so it was perfect for a night walk at 6:15. (Don't you all wish you lived in Arizona where you can go for a walk at night on January 10th!)

I had loaded up Logan's bike he got for Christmas and he was excited to take it on a real bike ride. (Riding it in house and on our cement slab outside don't count!) Natalie was in the stroller and we were off. We go past the playground and basketball courts. We point out all the ducks in the pond and soon we are to the dog park. Both kids are excited to see dogs running around, doing tricks and playing. As we are about halfway past the dog park, all of a sudden from behind me I hear Logan singing, "Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof!" repeated several times. It brought a smile to my face.

Soon we come to another part of the park where you are right next to the pond and there were lots of ducks sitting in the water next to the bank. I start to hear a familiar tune, but this time the words go like this, "Who let the ducks out? Quack, quack, quack, quack!" I busted up laughing. Don't ask me where Logan comes up with things like that!

We keep riding and are enjoying it so much that we decide to loop the park 4 times in all. On our "cool down" lap, we are just about to where we started when Logan hears a guy saying, "Hey, I caught one!" He stops and notices that a guy who had been fishing in the pond was reeling one in. This gentleman sees Logan's interest and invites him over to finish reeling the fish in. Logan was so excited. He's never been fishing before and I think was kind of surprised at how difficult it can be to pull in a fighting fish. He reeled and reeled and soon he pulled a huge catfish out of the water. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. I'm so thankful for the sweet gentleman who made a point to take note in my 4 year old's interest.

Just as we finished our final lap, I had to take a picture (sorry it had to be from my phone) to capture what a fun night it had been. It was spontaneous, it was last minute and it was priceless.