2.12.09
We took a day off from Special Olympics, and returned Thursday afternoon to Floor Hockey. Justin joined us for these events, the floor hockey venue was so close to his work! When we got out of the car, I realized I had left our camera in our other car, in Justin's work parking lot. I was so mad! My mom reminded me of my trusty camera phone; thankfully Justin upgraded me for Christmas!
I didn't know what to expect with floor hockey. Back in middle school, we played floor hockey for a week out of the school year, but it was NOTHING like the floor hockey we witnessed. The only player with a hockey stick is the gollie. The other players have rod-like sticks and the puck has a hole in the center. The players can "pick up" the pucks with their sticks and chuck it over the heads of the players.
We were watching the games for a while (there were also 8 or so games going on at once!) when the Honduras Floor Hockey Team came and sat by us. All of the girls were drawn to Tian, talking and smiling at him. Eventually, one of the girls grabbed Tian from Justin and took Tian to her teammates and the girls went NUTS! I think Justin was freaking out inside, but not to worry. I followed Tian and sat right in the midst of the girls going gaga! As Tian sat on one of the girls laps, I noticed she had a medal hanging around her neck. It was a GOLD! She didn't seem to think winning the gold was THAT big of deal as I pointed at the medal and "tried" to take pictures of it with my phone.
Tian was passed around to each girl, given kisses, and some of the girls took pictures with Tian on their laps! You would have thought he was the first baby they ever laid eyes on! Needless to say, I didn't get any pictures of the games, and only took pictures of Tian with the cute girls!
Well, it looks like I can't upload the cell phone pictures at the moment. Like I said, the phone is new to me, camera pictures is WAY new to me, and it will take me a while to figure posting those pictures! They are way cute, so I will have to get out the user manual and upload those pictures! Until then, I will publish this post anyhow!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Are Canadian's ALWAYS this LOUD?!!!
During a short break in the speed skating competition, the Canadian Floor Hockey team came into the rink and guess where they sat? Right next to us. Trey quickly became "friends" with the coach, who just so happened to sit next to Trey!
We didn't know just how loud their team could be until the racers began skating, and the Candadians started hollaring! I thought Trey would HATE the loud whistles and screams, but he was screaming right along with them!
Addendum added 2/26/09
After talking with Melissa Lamson, a friend who volunteered with the Floor Hockey, I was told a Canadian Floor Hockey Coach had a heart attack during the Special Olympic Festivities. Melissa thought it was probably the coach which sat next to Trey at Speed Skating. It would have happened the day after this picture of Trey and the coach happened. We hope all is well.
Speed Skater "Becky"
2.10.09
This is speed skater "Becky" from the U.S. Her parents, along with her twin sister (Becky is a triplet!) sat next to us and made sure we cheered for their daughter. Like we weren't going to?! How could you not! Becky is 32 and has been skating for 24 years. Unfortunately, when she started off, she fell immediately, but definitely made up for it in the end! She was amazing! Becky's mom gave Trey a pin to wear in memory of the event!
This is speed skater "Becky" from the U.S. Her parents, along with her twin sister (Becky is a triplet!) sat next to us and made sure we cheered for their daughter. Like we weren't going to?! How could you not! Becky is 32 and has been skating for 24 years. Unfortunately, when she started off, she fell immediately, but definitely made up for it in the end! She was amazing! Becky's mom gave Trey a pin to wear in memory of the event!
Speed Skater "Sarah"
2.10.09
Before these girls began to skate, this sweet skater by the name of Sarah stood at the starting line either having a seizure or "stimming out." I thought for sure they weren't going to start the race because she couldn't stand still for any period of time. The officials finally shot the starting gun and they were off. Before the race, Sarah had a very nervous look about her, wringing her hands and pacing, but once she heard the starting gun, she was all smiles and determination was written across her face! There were many times I thought for sure she was going to crash into the walls as she rounded the corner, but she never did. I over heard a spectator saying she always takes her corners wide, therefore, she never wins. She didn't seem to mind she was in last place. She was too busy having the greatest time, skating really hard, with the widest grin. As she would round the corner and pass by our section, everyone started chanting her name, which turned on the waterworks for me! Sarah inspired me. I was so grateful to have experienced such determination and power by such an unexpected source!
Speed Skating Videos
2.10.09
Apollo Ono just might get a run for his money if ever competing against this fast skater!
I was amazed at the talent he had. He made skating look so easy. I would probably crash around the first corner, this skater just whooshed by without a care in the world!
Apollo Ono just might get a run for his money if ever competing against this fast skater!
I was amazed at the talent he had. He made skating look so easy. I would probably crash around the first corner, this skater just whooshed by without a care in the world!
Special Olympics-Speed Skating
2.10.09
Day two of the Special Olympics!
Today we headed out to Idaho Ice World to watch Speed Skating. The stands were packed with spectators; it was difficult finding a place for the three of us. I eventually asked someone from Japan if I could sit next to him, without speaking a word (we obviously didn't speak the same language) he got up and gave us his seats. One thing I have noticed about the Special Olympics spectators is that they are all so kind and friendly! We had wonderful seats!
We saw the same sweet ladies from Virginia Beach, Virginia at Speed Skating! We all must be on the same "spectator circuit!"
One touching moment during our speed skating adventure was a sweet athlete who wasn't too skilled at ice skating, let alone SPEED skating. In fact, he was so uneasy on his skates, he fell two times within his first lap around the rink (he was racing in the 400 meter). I didn't know if he was going to finish. He was passed up twice, therefore; he raced alone for the last two laps. Each time he passed by our section of the rink, we cheered for him as loud as we could! Finally, when he huffed and puffed across the finish line, he rose his hands in the air as if he had won the gold medal. The other two racers approached him with open arms as they all embraced in the middle of the rink. He was so proud of himself, and so was the rest of the crowd. He finished, and that was all he cared about. The tears definitely began to roll down my face! If we could all finish a difficult task with such enthusiasm!!! I called my mom AND Sommers after witnessing this amazing racer, still bawling like a baby!
A sweet athlete who just finished her race. And this was her cheering section, and probably her biggest fans..... (her teams color of uniform was my favorite color of them all!)
Cheering! Trey asked me if he could stop clapping. I asked him "why?" He said, "Because my hands are hurting!" He was enjoying himself so much and clapping so hard, he was hurting!
Trey Mesmerized!
Day two of the Special Olympics!
Today we headed out to Idaho Ice World to watch Speed Skating. The stands were packed with spectators; it was difficult finding a place for the three of us. I eventually asked someone from Japan if I could sit next to him, without speaking a word (we obviously didn't speak the same language) he got up and gave us his seats. One thing I have noticed about the Special Olympics spectators is that they are all so kind and friendly! We had wonderful seats!
We saw the same sweet ladies from Virginia Beach, Virginia at Speed Skating! We all must be on the same "spectator circuit!"
One touching moment during our speed skating adventure was a sweet athlete who wasn't too skilled at ice skating, let alone SPEED skating. In fact, he was so uneasy on his skates, he fell two times within his first lap around the rink (he was racing in the 400 meter). I didn't know if he was going to finish. He was passed up twice, therefore; he raced alone for the last two laps. Each time he passed by our section of the rink, we cheered for him as loud as we could! Finally, when he huffed and puffed across the finish line, he rose his hands in the air as if he had won the gold medal. The other two racers approached him with open arms as they all embraced in the middle of the rink. He was so proud of himself, and so was the rest of the crowd. He finished, and that was all he cared about. The tears definitely began to roll down my face! If we could all finish a difficult task with such enthusiasm!!! I called my mom AND Sommers after witnessing this amazing racer, still bawling like a baby!
A sweet athlete who just finished her race. And this was her cheering section, and probably her biggest fans..... (her teams color of uniform was my favorite color of them all!)
Cheering! Trey asked me if he could stop clapping. I asked him "why?" He said, "Because my hands are hurting!" He was enjoying himself so much and clapping so hard, he was hurting!
Trey Mesmerized!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Special Olympics-Figure Skating
2.9.09
So, I vowed to be a fan, and today was the beginning day of our Special Olympics adventures! We were off to the Qwest Arena to catch some Figure Skating! I strapped Trey and Tian into our trusty stroller, and we were off, through the rain and wind. We parked on the 4th floor of a parking garage, Trey thought it was so cool to ride the elevator down, IN the stroller. (the elevator had a huge glass window to see out of while you travelled down the floors. Trey thought that was a bit scary at first, but later really enjoyed our "ride!")
After being searched by security(our diaper bag had water to make up Tian's bottle. They thought it was a bit suspicious. COME ON!) we entered the Qwest Arena. We parked the stroller in the wheelchair area, and quickly saw our friends the Young's. It was so nice to see some familiar face. Trey enjoyed seeing his friend Jaxsin and sitting next to Jaxsin's sweet and cute sister Abbey (I think Trey has a secret crush and cute Abbey)!
The Figure Skating pairs we watched were some Unified teams. Unified Teams have one disabled athlete paired with one who doesn't have any disabilities but is equal in skill level. In some pairs, you couldn't tell who was the one with the intellectual disability! Trey has a fear of anyone in a mask or mascots. Well, in the arena, there were no mascots, but their was a skater with a very large birthmark. The birthmark covered a majority of his face, and I knew this was going to freak Trey out. Before Trey saw the skater, I told him, "Remember, there are some people here that look different then us but we still love them and cheer for them." He took one look at the skater, got a little nervous look on his face, and then started to cheer for him!
One pair really pulled at my heart strings! The pairs names were announced, the figure skaters came out and began their routine. The woman was a little older, a little on the heavy side, wore pants instead of the traditional short skating skirt and wore a knee brace. Angie said to me, "Did you catch their names? They are a mother and son team!" I just wanted to cry! How proud that mother must have been of her son. To be able to skate with him, to watch his progression and to see him succeed must have been an amazing and inspirational experience!
Something that caught me a little off guard was the lack of music. The figure skaters we saw did their routines without music. I just hope the athletes were able to hear our cheers, because we were going nuts!
Trey and especially Tian grabbed the attention of two sweet women from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The just thought Tian was the cutest thing ever, and how could you not?! Tian was definitely flirting with them!
Unfortunately, we only got to watch 6 teams compete, the competition was running ahead of schedule.
After the skating ended, we walked around the Olympic Venue. A band was playing, the torch was roaring, and the kettle corn was a poppin'! (guess what we had for a late afternoon snack!) Trey was really enjoying himself until he caught a glimpse of TWO mascots! McGruff the Crime Dog and the Special Olympic mascot, an Eagle, were making their appearances, and Trey was NOT happy! He quietly cried in the back of our stroller, in fear of them. Poor little guy!
So, I vowed to be a fan, and today was the beginning day of our Special Olympics adventures! We were off to the Qwest Arena to catch some Figure Skating! I strapped Trey and Tian into our trusty stroller, and we were off, through the rain and wind. We parked on the 4th floor of a parking garage, Trey thought it was so cool to ride the elevator down, IN the stroller. (the elevator had a huge glass window to see out of while you travelled down the floors. Trey thought that was a bit scary at first, but later really enjoyed our "ride!")
After being searched by security(our diaper bag had water to make up Tian's bottle. They thought it was a bit suspicious. COME ON!) we entered the Qwest Arena. We parked the stroller in the wheelchair area, and quickly saw our friends the Young's. It was so nice to see some familiar face. Trey enjoyed seeing his friend Jaxsin and sitting next to Jaxsin's sweet and cute sister Abbey (I think Trey has a secret crush and cute Abbey)!
The Figure Skating pairs we watched were some Unified teams. Unified Teams have one disabled athlete paired with one who doesn't have any disabilities but is equal in skill level. In some pairs, you couldn't tell who was the one with the intellectual disability! Trey has a fear of anyone in a mask or mascots. Well, in the arena, there were no mascots, but their was a skater with a very large birthmark. The birthmark covered a majority of his face, and I knew this was going to freak Trey out. Before Trey saw the skater, I told him, "Remember, there are some people here that look different then us but we still love them and cheer for them." He took one look at the skater, got a little nervous look on his face, and then started to cheer for him!
One pair really pulled at my heart strings! The pairs names were announced, the figure skaters came out and began their routine. The woman was a little older, a little on the heavy side, wore pants instead of the traditional short skating skirt and wore a knee brace. Angie said to me, "Did you catch their names? They are a mother and son team!" I just wanted to cry! How proud that mother must have been of her son. To be able to skate with him, to watch his progression and to see him succeed must have been an amazing and inspirational experience!
Something that caught me a little off guard was the lack of music. The figure skaters we saw did their routines without music. I just hope the athletes were able to hear our cheers, because we were going nuts!
Trey and especially Tian grabbed the attention of two sweet women from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The just thought Tian was the cutest thing ever, and how could you not?! Tian was definitely flirting with them!
Unfortunately, we only got to watch 6 teams compete, the competition was running ahead of schedule.
After the skating ended, we walked around the Olympic Venue. A band was playing, the torch was roaring, and the kettle corn was a poppin'! (guess what we had for a late afternoon snack!) Trey was really enjoying himself until he caught a glimpse of TWO mascots! McGruff the Crime Dog and the Special Olympic mascot, an Eagle, were making their appearances, and Trey was NOT happy! He quietly cried in the back of our stroller, in fear of them. Poor little guy!
(Tian doesn't look too happy to be watching Figure Skating, but truly, he was happy the entire time!)
We had planned on watching Floor Hockey that evening with Justin and the Young's. Our families went our separate ways for dinner, came back for Floor Hockey and found out THEY finished early as well. THREE hours early! We were a little disappointed, but knew we would be back!
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