Rain Rain Go away

So we went to a park in the morning but it started to rain on us. We seriously sat under the slide for a good 15 mins hoping the rain would pass and the first chance it let up, we ran to the car and came home. After lunch and naps it was still bad weather so I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. I have been once when we visited Texas and there is one right down the street from us. Papa was gone and is gone a lot as he works on strengthening his knee. So at about 5pm I loaded up the kids and off we went. We had so much fun and I spent less than $30 and we left close to 9pm, plus they were fed and had drinks, tons of tickets and prices and pictures. It was so worth it! They had a special toddler area and some of the rides were a lot of fun like you put a token in and watch a train go around on a train track. Of course Tiago loved that, lol! Thais favs were the simulated roller coaster ride and all ride on rides. I even got papa and tio salles to stop by for about 30 mins. They had fun but had to get home and shower.

This morning we stayed in as I dont know what to do in this weather, the kids have their bathing suits on but no beach or pool to go too, my poor babies! I know its summer but we spent some time doing some school work and stuff, just stuck indoors. So as I said before.... rain, rain, go away!


King of the mt!

This is where we hung out while it rained, lol!


Our visit to Chuck E Cheese














A look into the future when they go to school, lol!









You know this is bad, if Im up here and she is down there, lol!


Videos
Thais was singing along as she rode this ride. She must have sat on this thing for an hr. She learned to put the coins in herself and everything.


This is one of my favs as I grew up loving to ride roller coasters and while this one is just a small simulated one, Thais LOVED it. There is such hope that me, her and her godmother, will all go on rides together as she grows up.

Camp Good Days

This is the camp i was talking about yesterday that the team went to. This is from the newspaper this morning. It talks about our best friend Salles who's wife and our good friend is battling cancer as we speak. This obviously hits close to home for me with my aunt who is in her 2nd round of chemo treatments and who could forgot our sweet baby Ethan. I am so thankful that Papa gets to be involved in such giving opportunities such as these. Hurt or not he is out there with these kids. Great day, great cause!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhinos play campers, but everyone wins
Soccer team visits local, international kids at Camp Good Days
JOHN BOCCACINO • STAFF WRITER • JULY 30, 2008

BRANCHPORT — Latoya Graham faked once, twice and lobbed a right-footed shot toward the inflatable orange and white soccer goals.

Despite facing veteran Rochester Rhinos goalie Scott Vallow and first-year coach and former Rhino Darren Tilley, Graham remained poised and pushed her shot into the lower-right corner for one of many goals scored by youths Tuesday at Camp Good Days and Special Times.

As soon as the ball crossed the plane, Graham was engulfed in celebration by the Rhinos and her fellow campers. The scene was a perfect snapshot of the day.

Seeing Rhinos' players leading clinics and spirited soccer, basketball and miniature golf games for these cancer patients and recovering cancer victims is nothing new at the Keuka Lake facility. An annual tradition since 2001, this year was different: instead of only a handful of players, 20 of the 23 current Rhinos made the 55-mile trek.

Graham has participated in most of the previous Rhinos' clinics and said she never gets tired playing with members of Rochester's male professional soccer team.

"It's pretty awesome having them here, it's just a lot of fun because we get to know what it's like to be a soccer star," said Graham, 18, a Rochester resident.

"For some of us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's special being able to share this with the rest of the campers. I will remember these moments for the rest of my life."

Vallow often volunteers his time to aid area children in their soccer development, but the subject of helping these campers hits close to home for the Greece resident. Along with his wife, Lindsay, Vallow has a 21/2-year-old son, Brayden, and is expecting his second child in October.

"It's humbling, I will go home tonight and realize how fortunate we are and how lucky we are to be pro soccer players," said Vallow, 31.

"My son is in Rochester, and I miss him just by being out here. We can't take things for granted."

Among the 65 youths, there were 40 international cancer patients from Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, Spain, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic for the two-week Doing a World of Good program. The international campers serenaded Mauricio Salles and the other foreign-born Rhinos before the team practiced and rushed to the field when it came time to scrimmage.

Salles had his own following of Brazilian campers who cheered his every move and delighted in guarding the Rhinos' new forward. The trip held special meaning for Salles, whose wife, Luiza, recently overcame thyroid cancer.

"To have the chance to be with these kids is very good and important for me," said Salles, a Brazilian native.

"This February my wife had surgery for her cancer and it's a beautiful thing for me to be with them.

"Today is the day I don't feel tired; every laugh and smile makes me more and more energized. I love what I'm doing."

Normally a high-energy midfielder/defender, Tiger Fitzpatrick gladly ditched the soccer ball for the basketball and some friendly hoops games with Camp Good Days campers. As a child growing up in Trinidad & Tobago, Fitzpatrick looked up to his sports role models, so when it came time to give of his time, Fitzpatrick gladly obliged.

"When I was a kid I hoped to be in that position (of having kids look up to me), and now that I'm in that position, you always want to recognize the people looking up to you," said Fitzpatrick, a first-year Rhino.

"We're all kids at heart. Whether it's giving them that joy of talking or hanging out with them, it's special to give back to the community. Kids with terminal diseases ... it's just awesome to be out here giving your time."

On Friday, 30 of the international campers attended Rochester's 1-1 tie against the Montreal Impact at PAETEC Park. Tuesday they received Rhinos' T-shirts, cards of Tilley and player autographs.

"I was so excited when I heard they were coming, I love the Rhinos. ... After today, I want to see them more and follow them even more," said Alyssa Williams, 17, of Rochester, a former camper and current counselor.

"They don't have to do this, they want to. Us kids have to grow up so fast. This gives us a chance to be a kid again."

JBOCCACI@DemocratandChronicle.com

Catch up

Those last few posts were kind of out of order, sorry about that. That was all Sunday stuff and thanks for all the comments and prayers for Papa. His injury is much worse than we first thought and if he isnt better in 3 weeks, they mentioned the ugly word, operation. We are doing everything we can to avoid the knife so please continue to keep his recovery in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you posted even though I dont really like talking about because we really wont know any new details for 3 weeks and once again it would change all plans we have made or at least tried to made for this winter. He is feeling ok and not in a lot of pain, just really anxious to get back on the field. The team all express what a loss it is to not have him out there, so we all want him back out there soon.

I on the other hand started back up on my diet and gym. The month of July that I had so anxiously waited for was a horrible month eating and gym wise. Going out to eat with our guests and spending time with them and not at the gym was well worth it and thankfully i only gained 2 pounds all month. But I am back on track, I even recruited one of the latin players wives to go with me yesterday and she hasnt gotten out of bed all day today. Not so sure she will ever go back with me again, lol! At the park tonight Tiago was playing a game where I had to lie down and sit up over and over again, my abs hurt so bad i was in tears but he thought i was laughing, so then he laughed at me, so i laughed at the fact that my 1 yr old was laughing at me, then Thais joined in, and then laughing hurt my abs, oh we were a mess, but it was so much fun!

Monday we had gym class and papa got to finally go to a class. He now knows why Tiago no longer walks any where but runs. It all made sense to him once he saw his son bouncing away on the trampoline. Then today we had dance class and papa had an appearance with a great organization called "Camp Good Days". Quoted from their web site, "Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges." I dont have the photos of it yet, but he was so happy to be a part of it.

I am pretty mentally and psychically exhausted so I am just posting a few pixs then calling it a night and crashing on the couch. Papa's next game is at home on Sunday, so just hanging out till then.


Thais was just too fast to even get a picture of and if you didnt notice.. the picture was taken from in the foam pit. Yes I was in the foam pit, lol!

Stamp time!!!

He looks like he wants to go in, but the minute you touch the door to open it, he goes running!

Thais is having a blast inside, even if she had a pee accident today. She was in tears when she peed in her ballerina outfit. Thankfully I had another outfit.

Tiago has gotten so good at blowing bubbles himself

She always loves bubble time

Look at how tall he looks next to her. This picture freaked me out when i saw it...

A great day made even better

So the day is going great and it even got better. We started off going with doing a new family activity in fishing, then Papa's new team beat Papa's old team 2-0, and then.... my girlfriend Denise and her boys came over to hang out. It was so much fun to finally hang out again away from the soccer stadium. Dont get me wrong, I love having her at the games too, but to sit next to her on the couch and have a drink, is so relaxing also. Eventually we gathered up the kids and walked next door to play park. They were all over the place, it was funny to try and keep track of them but with 3 adults and 4 kids, we did fine. We came back to the house to have some popcorn before they went home.
Thais loved having friends over and Tiago enjoyed having boys who like to play trains too. I got to hang out with Alex who I rarely see and Tony is so sweet with my kids. Thanks Denise for making this place feel a little bit more like home!