Whew!  We've had a busy day.  There was a huge thunderstorm in the middle of the night.  Rachel said she got up to close windows in the school so it wouldn't rain in.  I got up & watched the rain on the lake, which is the view from my hotel window.  Lots of people slept right through it.  From what I hear, the sleeping matresses were good last night.  Now, they're trying to rearrange the rooms to put everyone who snores in one room.  The joys of sleeping on the floor in the school!

Breakfast at the school is across the streeet from where we are staying.  You should have heard Joey describing the way the breakfast ladies made sure everyone only took 1 piece of meat when they went thru the line.  Breakfast at the hotel is yummy.  Dana & I are planning to share a giant cup of hot chocolate tomorrow. 

We met at the school at 9:00 for our training day.  Yes - we had marching lessons first.  We had to stand in lines 4 across.  I'm sure there was a line somewhere but I didn't see it.  We marched around the corner & up onto the front steps of the school for a group picture.  Then, into the gym for announcements.  We had the last slot on the floor, so we went onto the playground to practice.  There is a giant geometric whatchamacallit with ropes to climb on.  When I got to the playground, the whole team was hanging, squatting, sitting 8 levels high on the ropes.  We had a great team picture!  Getting down was an adventure.  We spaced our routines on the concrete playground & then went into the gym.  Everybody did great!  They really practiced hard with Ms. Joey while I was in Greece.  We didn't have any equipment except the balls, so the routine looked a little empty.  Remember I told you about Mary flying home from Greece & then coming back to Europe?  She walked in just as we were rehearsing You Light Up My Life, the song she taught us to sign.  She put down her suitcase, went to her place, & didn't miss a beat!

We had lunch at the school - sandwiches, apples, & drinks in case you're interested.  We picnicked Is there supposed to be  K in that word?) outside in the garden.  AHHH!  There was enough food left over to feed our whole team tomorrow.  Sweet!  We had another practice after lunch & got the routine cleaned up a little. We were only missing 1 person - the closest we've come to having the whole group together.  Steve Whitlock, the head of our delegation from USAGymnastics, watched our routine & loved it - even without any equipment.  He got choked up a little telling the story about the man at the last Gymnaestrada who saw us enter & said something not so nice about the American teams (not knowing that a USAG staff member was sitting behind him).  By the end of our routine, the man had tears running down his cheeks & said our group was what Gymnastics for All is really about!  I'm really proud of our group & can't wait to see them perform! 

Showers at the school - one room at a time & then rest hour.  I'm not there, so I hope I'm telling you the truth.  Tonite, we are meeting at the hotel to go to an Italian restaurant across the street on the lake for a pasta dinner. 

I have to say one thing - team doctors are definitely overworked & underpaid!  I met Dr. John when he got off the plane with questions about a stomach virus we had been dealing with, & he hasn't stopped yet.  4 down with the stomach bug, 1 passed out & a near miss during marching lessons, a shoulder hurt on one of the acro tricks, & various aches & pains.  Not to worry - everyone is well tended to & on the mend.

Enough for now.  I have to write this in the lobby where there is free internet & someone broke a bottle of perfume on the floor.  Smelled much in the gym after practice!