Silver Singles, Gold Doubles!!!

Tennis has concluded and David takes home a Silver and a Gold!!!  We are very proud of him and how he represented the USA!!!  Of course we were hoping for the Gold in singles as he has worked so very hard to be in top form this year!  I guess it wasn't meant to be.

It was a long day waiting as he was second on after noon, which means it all depends on how long the first match goes.  That first match really seemed to go forever.....well, three sets in the heat!!!  The wait was killing us, I can't imagine how hard that is as a player.  You want to get on the court and play and the longer it takes the more the nerves kick in!!

It has been a great experience and the people have been wonderful here.  David now has new fans and we had a few of the volunteers who actually looked for and took care of us.  One of them, Joanne, would always help us get "our seats" together.

Joanne, our favorite volunteer!!  She was wonderful!!

After David's match we celebrated with pictures and then we all, 13 went to dinner!!  We ended up at a Brazilian restaurant......Rio here we come!

Nick getting his Bronze!

David on the medal stand.

Silver and Bronze for the USA!!

David with Kim and Shane

Tracey, David and I

The whole group!!!

Dinner w/ David and both medals!

Gold and Silver, Nice Job!!

David getting pictures with new fans!

To finish our day we took the tube to see the Tower Bridge with the lights on.  What a beautiful bridge!  The only disappointment was the Paralympic sign was up so the bridge could go up to let a boat through.  We waited for it to go down with the lift, but it didn't.  After 20 minutes we decided to head back.....it was a very long day and we were so ready for bed!!  Tonight closing ceremony and then up early for our flight home to the good ole USA!!

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge with the bridge up

Tower of London

Nick wins Bronze!

David's doubles partner took on Israel today in the bronze medal match.  He played smart and very determined, winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.  It is Nick's first individual medal and he was really excited, as we were, with the win.

Nick after his win!!

The bracket!

 This means we, the USA, will have 2 on the podium on Saturday.  Hopefully, it will be Gold and Bronze!!  It will be a very intense, and nerve racking match.  I hope David takes the Gold, he has worked so very hard the last few years and is so very deserving.

We also were entertained, during the first match, by the Welsh Guard.  They were impressive and I bet very HOT in their uniforms.

Please everyone, think great thoughts for David and if you feel the need to cheer he goes on the court sometime in the afternoon.....as they say 2nd on after 12.  So, it won't be before 1.
                                                              Go WAGS, GO!!!!!

Gold Baby!!!!

A great end to the day.......GOLD in Doubles Wheel Chair Tennis!!!!  David and Nick worked hard against the Brits and their 3000 fans.  We had about 20 people in the stands and we held our own on the noise level.  Our U S A, U S A, chants have gotten quite loud.  They had nothing on us and the FAT HEADS!!!  In fact we have quite the following by the volunteers.  They love the Fat Heads!!

Wags serving

Nick serving

Chatting after a point

Wags serving with help from above!?!

GOLD!!!

They did it with team work and confidence in one another!

On the Gold Medal Stand

Yeh, Gold Baby!!

With fans!!

David with Fans and Family.

It was a very intense match going 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.  We were on the edge of our seats, but they stayed composed and believed in one another and it was GOLD for all their perseverance.
                                                         Way to go Wags and Nick!!!

A sunny day and another win!!

We have created our routine......get up, shower, eat, walk to the tube and head to the tennis center in the Paralympic park.  Once there we find, a USA coach or David and get our "players family passes" so we can all sit together.  Once we have those in hand we must get our David fat heads and settle in for the upcoming match.

Today, we all arrived and were ready, even Kaili was ready for Uncle David to play.

It was a good match and David played really well, winning 6-3, 6-0.  It was wonderful to watch.  We even got several of the ball kids to participate in cheering with the fat heads.

David after a great shot hitting the end line.

Yes, the match is mine!!

Tomorrow is the doubles finals......going for the gold against Great Britain.   We are all resting our voices so we can be as loud or louder than the Brits!!!  We have all of our tattoos, face paint and red white and blue ready to go!!  Kristin and Randy, we could use your voices tomorrow, wish you were here to help cheer!!!

Doubles win!!!!

David and Nick won their doubles match today against Israel, 6-3, 6-7 with a tie breaker in the 2nd set.  It was an awesome match with a lot of rallies and great shots by both teams.  It was stressful to watch and yet a really fun match.  We all were on the edge of our seats or trying not to watch.  So, HAPPY they pulled it out.

The David "fat heads" ready to roll!!

Nick getting ready to serve.

David serving.

Conference time.

Happy after the match.

Before the match, we took time out to go see 7 a side soccer.  It was the US and Brazil.  Unfortunately we lost,  when we left it was 7-0, but it was fun to see it.  So far we have seen more than we had a chance to see in China.  I am hoping we might be able to get into rugby and goal ball before we leave.

It was a long day, but a great one!!  We are all quite tired and I am sure we will all sleep well.  Good night all!!

First day of tennis

Today David had his first match against a South African.  He won:

It was a good time, but as always we were a bit nervous during the match.  His opponent was slow starting, but soon was hitting the ball hard.  We of course made some noise and he did what we all hoped......WON!!!

Everyone ready to cheer David on to Victory.

David during the match.

David's serve.

Serving.

David's opponent serving.

After the win!!!

Wandering around London, day 2

Today we started by going by one of the weekend markets.  All the booths were up and all the great food.....to bad we already ate breakfast.  However, we did decide to have an eclair.  Yummy.  We wondered past one of the canals, Regents Canal with all these boats that reminded me of something you might see in Venice....not that I have been there.  :)

Regents Canal

We spent a second day wandering around London.  We pretty much walked what we saw on the bus, but close up and with time to actually take some good pictures.  We got lucky at one point, the Household calvary rode by as we were at Hyde Park.  It was a great surprise!!

The Household Calvary

We went by Westminster Abbey and wandered behind into Dean's Yard.  It was very peaceful there and you would hardly know you were in the big city.....you could hardly hear the city noise.

Westminster Abbey

Dean's Yard

It was a lot of walking, but lots of fun; good things to eat or find on the walk.

Phone home?!?

Big Ben and Parliament

Gate to west London

Another good day, tomorrow David plays so will be off to the Olympic Park to cheer him on.  One match at a time for the gold.  Be sure to think good thoughts for him as he plays tomorrow.
Ta ta for now!!