Things have been busy here -- and I haven't written in forever! The guys went to boy scout camp this weekend. Ron took Andy, Benjamin and Elias to camp and I stayed home with James. It was a quiet weekend, not only because the guys were gone, but also because Brigid flew home for the weekend to surprise our parents. They were really surprised! No one spilled the beans -- a major miracle.

The guys had a terrific time at camp. They did sack races, 3 legged races, the obstacle course, lots of crafts (leather stamping and that kind of stuff), and even made their own custom neckerchief slides! I have put those away in a special place so that we always know where they are. They came home today absolutely FILTHY. I have never seen them so dirty -- the dirt and grime was rolling off of them because there was so much of it. I sent them to the shower immediately and supervised the cleaning. I even gave them one of those puffs to scrub with. It didn't work too well; Benjamin and Elias still have dark grey knees after two trips through the shower. Ron went straight into the shower as well, and then had a short nap to get ready for the rest of the day.

We are getting ready for the big race on Saturday! El Tour de Tucson is Saturday morning. Since Ron is doing the whole enchilada (109 miles), he starts at 7am. I am doing the 80 mile ride and so mine starts at 9am (much more civilized). I am getting kind of nervous about it. 80 miles is a long way, and I don't want to get nauseous at the end like I did with my last long ride. I have decided that I am just going to use the liquid nutrition rather than taking in solid food during the ride. Spencer (my coach) feels that that is why I got so sick on the last ride -- too many solid calories in and, as he said, "the gut does not like sharing blood supplies with major muscle groups." There are around 10,000 people doing this race. That is a lot of people on one bike route. I worry about crashing... on the other hand, the likelihood of a car hitting me is unlikely with so many other people to hit. I know, that isn't a very nice thought.

Benjamin has failed his vision screening. I know this was practically inevitable because of his parents' abysmal vision, but I had been hoping that no one else would need glasses. Elias had his semi-annual assessment by the speech pathologist this past week. She is happy with his progress, but does think that his speech therapy needs to continue at least another 6 months. I don't really care how long it goes on as long as the issues are resolved. He doesn't mind going for his therapy sessions and he is making progress and that is all I ask.

Ron is crossing the picket line every day. It is terrible -- and has a tremendous effect on his morale. He is unhappy about it and Raytheon seems to be digging in their heels for the long fight. Arizona is a right to work state so I don't know what will happen. We don't know if they have brought in replacements yet, but I am betting that they will. The fact that Ron doesn't feel that he is doing anything productive at work doesn't help -- he dreads going to work every single day because he is bored and his boss is an ass. I hope things get better.