The Competitors

I wanted to share a few of my favorites from this weekend. Enjoy!

The End of an Era

Well, I have to say that this weekend was one of the longest of my life. I spent 3 long days in the blistering AZ sun photographing the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials - Track and Field. Through the sweat and near heat exhaustion, I managed to have a great time and get some fantastic shots. The weekend consisted of elite competition from nearly 200 athletes that traveled from not only around the country, but from around the world. The athletes were all trying to claim one of the 44 spots (27 men and 17 women) on Team USA that will be headed to Beijing, China in September for the Paralympics.

Troy competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints. He was 2nd in the 100m and 400m and 3rd in the 200m. He had some of his best times in recent years, but his times, unfortunately, were not enough to secure himself a spot on Team USA. I know that he was disappointed when his name was not called at the banquet; he has trained as hard as his body would absolutely allow him too. He has pushed his body to the limits and then some and his dedication far surpasses that of anyone else I know. He did his best--both in training and at the competition--so he can never look back with any regrets. So even though we will not be headed to Beijing this fall, I want Troy to know how proud I am of him. He is an incredible husband, father, coach, athlete, and so much more to so many people. So as his racing career ends he is now able to focus his time and talents to coaching and helping train a whole new group of young athletes that hopefully will one day call themselves a member of Team USA. I love you, Troy!!

The good news, though, is that now Troy has some vacation days that will actually NOT be used for racing. This may not sound like a big deal, but we have not had a family vacation in a LONG time that did not involve racing or work so now we can. YEAH!! As soon as his name was not called we both said--"We are going to Lake Powell!" I can't wait for July to come and sit back and enjoy the lake!

I have many, many pictures to show you from the weekend, but that is all you get for tonight. I will try to get some more up tomorrow so come back and take a look!

Paralympic Track and Field Trials

Starting tomorrow (6/12/08) the nation's most elite track and field athletes with physical disabilities will be at ASU competing for the chance to be part of Team USA in Beijing, China in September. You really should come and check out the events. I promise you will have a great time and leave feeling very inspired. For more information you can check out the website at www.2008ParalympicTrackTrials.com.

Jodi Davis Photography will be the official photographers of the Trials so stop by and say hello. Maybe even bring me some cold water because I have a feeling that I might be suffering from some heat exhaustion by the end of the weekend!

Most importantly though Troy will be competing so come see his races. He has been training hard and put his all into making the team, but it all comes down to this weekend. He will have to beat his personal best in order to make the team so please come and cheer him on!!! He needs your support. The best times to see him race are on Friday night from 6-9 or Saturday morning from 8-10 at the ASU track. Hope to see all of you there!!

I will be posting pictures of the events next week, but I promise it will be much more exciting in person.

The Dreaded Day Has Come

It is true, Brigham learned how to climb out of his crib last night. I knew this day would come, I mean he is 2 and Brooklyn was climbing out of her bed before she was 18 months, but I was still hoping I could keep him in his crib a little bit longer. He has always gone to bed so easily. Just plop him in his crib and he would be out before you knew it with no fuss at all. I guess I was spoiled long enough. It took me 2 HOURS and at least 20 times putting him back to bed before he finally fell asleep last night. Even while typing this little bit I have stood up 4 times to put him back to bed and I am sure that it will still be many more times before he is actually asleep. I have to say he looks so cute when he gets up--he walks to my office and just stands there staring at me waiting for me to put him back to bed. What a spaz! Oops there he is again--gotta go!