Day 1 in Beijing (Aug 7, 2008)

We practiced yesterday. It was really good to get out on the field and sweat some! We had a great practice. I think we all had butterflies as we took the main field. We had an hour on the stadium field our only hour before the games. Its absolutely beautiful! Amazing! Even better than World Championships. Just Beautiful! We left soaked and a bit tired. 3 hours of practice. The weather is similar to the south, hot and humid. Its easy to get loose and stay warm which is always good! Last night we listened to our veteran Olympians talk about their Olympic experiences. It was energizing and fun to hear Bustos, Nuvey, and Berg talk. Inspiring. We are a unit, a team, ready to go as one. We are using these next few days to continue our preparation. Enjoying our time here in the village, last night we enjoyed watching the USA Men's Basketball team walk through the village. The entourage kept getting bigger and bigger as they walked! All the volunteers were so excited and snapping lots of photos. It was fun to watch from the balcony of our building. The baseball team also arrived yesterday some of the guys have played or play with Casey so it was nice to see some familiar faces. They seem really excited to be here and were taking it all in. Lots of exciting stuff happening all around, we are enjoying it all, but knowing we are here for one reason! Last night dinner was quite amazing! I made a grilled shrimp salad that was out of this world, and topped it off with a Mc Donald's apple pie, only half. :) We woke up and headed out to the dining hall for some eggs and salmon for this morning, Cat and I were able to sleep til 5:30. Still trying to adjust. The coffee here is a highlight too. We are headed out to practice, looking forward to another day on the field.

#27


Monica and me.









Olympic Athlete Village
LOOKING OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW AT THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE. THIS IS WHERE ALL THE ATHLETES STAY. ITS AMAZING


















AN ENTRY WAY AT THE VILLAGE. LOTS OF SCULPTURES AND ARTWORK. THERE IS SO MUCH DETAIL AND BEAUTY PUT INTO THE VILLAGE












Athlete Dining Hall









All the Coke products you want!









Olympics Mascots


















Olympic Stadium, the "Birds Nest"


















The sun at 9 am