In Which We Watch Some Murderball And Connor Has A Blast

Connor looks likely to pull an all-nighter tonight, so I'll be up watching dramas for a while.  I'm not sure what the issue is-- maybe he's just reviewing how exciting the quad rugby game was today!

We caught the tail end of the game between Portland and Las Vegas, and then watched the Seattle Slam play the Boise Bombers.  While Eden, her friend and I all really enjoyed it, Connor had a blast-- he was so into the game that every time there was a break between quarters he got mad and pouted until they started playing again.  He clapped, yelled and grinned his way through the entire game.  It was awesome.

Quad rugby isn't going to be a viable sport for Connor when he gets older for a few reasons; he's not able to propel a wheelchair under his own power, he has no peripheral vision, and also he has just one kidney, so he's barred from all contact sports.  And trust me when I say that quad rugby is a full contact sport; by the end of the first half one guy on the court had blood soaking the wrap around his hand all the way to the wrist, and we saw some truly spectacular flips and collisions.  It's a really fast-paced and exciting game to watch, and it definitely can get brutal.

It was also a great opportunity for Eden and Connor to see some really competent, tough, capable athletes who use wheelchairs.  For that matter, it's really difficult to find accurate, positive portrayals of disabled people doing anything on television or in other media, and so I will jump at any chance I get to give the kids access to amazing role models like the men and women we saw today.  I'm hoping someday I'll be able to turn on the television and tune into a quad rugby game; now that would be a reason for me to actually have TV reception again!

The Seattle Slam won, and they'll be playing in the crossover finals tomorrow to determine which team will advance to Nationals in Kentucky later this year.  Unfortunately they're playing in the morning, so I won't be able to take the kids since we'll be in church.  We'll be cheering them on in spirit, though!

~Jess

In Which We Get Fired Up

This weekend we're headed to Tacoma to check out the US Quad Rugby Pacific Sectionals!  It's a major tournament that will determine which team from the Pacific Northwest will be headed to Nationals in March.  We'll be rooting on the Seattle Slam, our local team, and I'm super excited about taking the kids.  Eden has really enjoyed the roller derby bouts I've taken her to, and I suspect quad rugby (AKA murderball) is going to be right up her alley as well.

I think there's a general attitude in the United States that disabled sports can't possibly be as interesting or exciting to watch as typical sports teams, which explains the pathetic lack of media coverage of the Paralympics in past years.  It also explains why we've spent a bunch of time explaining that the Special Olympics and the Paralympics, while both awesome for different reasons, are definitely not the same thing.  That gets old really quickly.

So this year I am thrilled that NBC will be covering the Paralympics in a much more complete fashion, and for the first time it will be possible to actually see the events live!  It's about time someone in the media world figured out what a bunch of us already know-- that not only are Paralympic athletes every bit as elite and legitimate as their Olympic brothers and sisters, but also that the sports they play are, pardon my French, completely badass.

I mean, seriously.  Look at this and tell me you don't want to see it live:



Of course, quad rugby isn't played at the Winter Paralympics-- we'll have to wait until the Rio games for that.  Instead, there's ice sledge hockey.  This is every bit as fun to watch as ice hockey, I assure you.  Also, we won the gold back in 2010, though I couldn't watch the dang game until after it was over.

So hooray for more coverage this year!  I can't wait for the games to begin!

~Jess

In Which We Have A Pretty Good Day

Connor had a better day today, thankfully-- no seizures, and he seemed to be feeling pretty good.  Hopefully yesterday was a one-off and he isn't getting sick again or anything.  He did spend quite a bit of time napping on me both in church and later in the afternoon, so I'm a bit surprised that he actually went down to sleep tonight without a fuss.  Yesterday was definitely a strain on his system though, so that may be why he's wanting some extra nap time.  Either that or he's getting sick.  My vote is for the extra recovery nap time.  Keep your fingers crossed, people.

We didn't spend much time at home today; after church I dropped Eden and a friend off at the mall, and then once I picked them up we headed over to my parents' house to spend some quality time watching the Super Bowl and eating corn chowder.  I'm the first to admit that I'm not a huge football fan, but judging from the sheer number of fireworks and air horns I'm still hearing outside over four hours after the game ended though, I'm probably in the minority around here as far as that goes.  That's okay.  I enjoyed the game, and I also got to eat homemade corn chowder, which makes for a great night as far as I'm concerned.

I'm just really, really glad I'm not trying to drive around in Seattle right now.  From the videos my friends are posting, it looks like the zombie apocalypse up there right now, if the zombie apocalypse only affected people wearing blue and green and involved lots and lots of beer.

Hope everybody stays safe and has lots of fun!

~Jess

In Which We Get A Move On

Well that was a busy day yesterday! 

We all got the chance to sleep in a little bit because instead of heading to school, we were going to Connor's Special Sports Day.  Over 300 kids with special needs from around his school district participated.  Connor did the softball toss, the 50 meter race and the 100 meter race (which was more like 60 meters, but that's okay-- who's counting?).  Eden came along as Connor's racing partner, and she pushed his chair in the races and helped him throw the softballs.  It was pretty awesome, and the kids both had a blast.  Here's a photo of the two of them together after their first race-- Eden's face is obscured enough by her hair that I can post it.  My kids are adorable.

So Connor came home with some ribbons, which he was extremely proud of.  We ate some lunch, and then it was time for Eden to meet some of her extended family for the first time; they're up here visiting us for the weekend and exploring the area.  It's always great to have relatives in town!  So we got the chance to visit for a while, and then it was time for Eden's swim practice.  So we all drove down for that and watched the little miss practice for her upcoming swim meet. 

After that we came home, ate some dinner, put a very tired Connor to bed and then visited for just a bit with the other set of relatives that are in town this weekend.  And then Eden worked on her homework for a while on the computer before bed. 

 So basically we were on the move all day!

~Jess