The Week In Review

I got some very good news early in the week. Brett, Jori, Kiernan and Grayson are coming back to visit in September. While here they will take in the Morton Pumpkin Festival, visit friends and family and take care of a few errands. Most importantly they are going to have Grayson baptized at Bethel Lutheran, Brett's and my childhood church. He and Jori have asked me to be Grayson's Godfather. It is a great honor and I gladly accepted. Grayson, as your Godfather, be aware that someday I will need a favor...maybe not today or next week but.....

Nora and I have continued our running. Today we will wrap up week two with a 8 minute run. She has made nice improvements in her stride and endurance. Yesterday we covered the most distance to date, .62 miles. The best part of it all is she is having fun and we are able to do this together.


Off we go.

On Monday Robin and I surprised Nigel with an early birthday present. We got him his first bike. To say he loves it would be an understatement. He is pretty fearless on it and is already cruising around on his training wheels. It works out for Nora as well. She has her own, but it is much bigger and she does not feel as stable. Nigel's is lower to the ground and Nora feels much more secure. They both love riding it and are making great strides. We also bought a scooter for them to aide in improved balance.


Nigel and his new bike.


Nora scooting along.

Early Tuesday morning a big wind storm blew though Central Illinois traveling at 61 mph and bringing 60+ mph winds with it. I am fairly certain that our little town of Eureka got the worst of it. 2700 homes were without power for most of the day, including ours, and you could not drive by a house without seeing limbs and branches all over their yard. Many people lost entire trees, including a huge one in the high school parking lot. We were lucky and only had branches down in our yard. We did have a big branch down on the roof outside Nora's window, but no damage was done.


Down tree at Eureka High School.

Today we had a few big plans for the weekend that are in jeopardy due to a light rain. I volunteered to mow the lawn at our church, and wanted to put up our tent for a little camp out tonight. They say this rain is supposed to pass quickly, but it has been coming down for about an hour now. I need everyone to send their clear skies vibes this way.

I do have a back-up plan. The OLYMPICS! Robin and I love the Olympics, particularly the summer Olympics. We watched as much of the opening ceremony as we could stay awake for, and I am watching women's volleyball as I type. The US women are playing Japan and have a 1-0 lead, but are trailing in the second set. USA! USA! USA! I think my affection for the Olympics is tied to two major events in my life. First, the Robinson family moved to Illinois prior to the '84 summer games. Those were the first games I really remember watching and they are tied to a major change in our lives. Second, my personal branch of the Robinson family tree moved to Colorado just before the '96 summer games. Robin and I broke newly weds and did not yet know many people. So, our entertainment for two weeks consisted of a 6-pack and the Olympics. Oh the memories.

Update: Japan has tied the US at one set a piece.

Cheers!