REFLECTING ON WHAT A GREAT RIDE IT WAS.

We are sitting in the Airport in Sochi waiting for our flight to Moscow at 10:00pm. It will be a two hour flight. We will be staying in Moscow tonight and flying to JFK tomorrow. I am emotionally drained right now. That game took a lot out of me. To come within 58 seconds of winning gold is unimaginable. The girls played extremely well all night. It was very devastating for Kacey as I'm sure you all could see on the television. It is very hard to give any words of encouragement after a game of that magnitude because the girls are so emotionally still living the result. I told kacey that the game does not at all define you or your team. The journey over the last four years is what she needs to reflect on. It was in Kacey's words "the closest team she has ever played on". although the results will sting for a very long time, the friendships will last a lifetime and that is what means more than anything. So thank you all for your support and it sounds like there were so many people back home on the edge of the seats like we were. I'm drained and Maura is devastated. She puts so much emotion into the pre-game. Other than the result it was a blast with some great people. See you at home.

DAY UP IN THE MOUNTAIN CLUSTER

Another great weather day today. Even though we were in the mountains today it was still around 45 degrees or so. If you look at the pictures as we were taking the train you can see that there is Police and or Military all along the route every 25 to 50 feet or so.  As you continue up the mountain, there are camouflaged make shift huts with cannons and large weapons on the ready. When we arrived in the village, we were greeted by lots of security and more police officers with guns as you can see in the picture below.  All along we have felt safe here, but when you see that you ask yourself is that much security really needed and if it is then it really makes you think………..HOW LUCKY WE ARE!!  

Our trip has been fantastic, we have seen a different culture, we have learned to navigate the territory, we have met some great people and we are getting ready to see a GOLD Medal game!  The Olympic Park is amazing and the Russians spared no expense on anything here.  To have experienced this has been an honor and we know we are blessed.  There is much beauty here with the mountains and the ocean but there is much here that still needs to be improved. 

What I am trying to say is that sometimes we all take for granted what we have right in our own backyard!  I know after this trip, I am not going to take my surroundings and my safety and my freedom for granted.   America truly is the greatest nation in the world……...we have learned from so many on the ship that they would love nothing more than to come live in America they say “America is wonderful, people are nice, and there is so much to do and see”.  The Russian people just want to have their picture taken with us just because we are American.  We smile and we are friendly – they love that.  We met a young man today at the park that was driving us to the gate and he asked us if we have enjoyed the Olympics and Russia.  We of course told him how wonderful our trip has been and he said he was so proud of this.  He was so proud that we looked at his country and this Olympics as a positive experience.  It was a great moment. 

We all have the choice each and everyday to be and do the best we can with what we have.  We all can make our lives, our part of America the best it can be by doing something nice for someone else, being your best self, taking care of our own surroundings and not taking them for granted, and always knowing that you are part of something special.  We are proud to be American.  We feel very blessed to have so many awesome people in our lives!! 

We can’t believe that the GOLD Medal game is tomorrow!!!  Where has the time gone?  It has flown by!  We want to thank everyone for all of the support that is coming from back home.  We need you all now more than ever.  We need those positive thoughts sent here by the hundreds and we need all your prayers.  Kacey and her team can’t do this without all of your support.  You’ll all be getting up on game day and before you know it, it will be noon and you will be watching.  Our day here will be filled with anticipation and excitement along with the continued belief that GOLD will be coming back to the USA!!!  How will we sleep tonight…. like babies knowing that you all have our back!! 

From Russia with LOVE!!  

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Rainy day off on the ship

We did not do to much today. Did a segment with Bo Sullivan on WHYN Radio at 7:15am EST. Thank you Bo for the Interest and follow up. We will try our hardest to do one more segment on Friday morning after the celebration. I hope all is going well with our coworkers at ENTRE COMPUTER CENTER. We miss you all and heard it’s pretty busy. The trip has gone by pretty fast. We have been keeping busy doing different things, and going to different functions. We have seen Kacey for a total of about an hour since our arrival. They have stayed pretty focused as a team and are serious about getting the job done. So we parents have been enjoying everything on the girls behalf. They will have plenty of time for celebration after Thursday night. Thank you everyone for the support.

Semi-Finals

LET’S FINISH THE JOB ON THURSDAY!!!
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FOUR DOWN ONE TO GO!

Hello From Sochi!!!


Day 13 is in the books!  It is hard to believe that we have been gone for 2 weeks tomorrow.  Time is flying by each day and our days are filled with walking, attending events, checking out the Olympic Park, the P & G House and great laughter and conversation with friends.  The weather was cloudy today but we got through it without rain, so that was great.  Temps were at 52 for the highs today.  People are still coming in for events this week, so the ship is constantly changing over.  All of us hockey parents remain in the quest for GOLD!


We just got back from the US Sweden game.  As you all know by now, we won and we are onto the GOLD Medal game on Thursday night 9:00 pm our time Noon EST.  We are so appreciative of all of the amazing support and we need you all now more than ever.  We need everyone to send your positive thoughts to this team so you can all help them win GOLD!!  Your support has been working and we need it more than ever to bring home that GOLD Medal!!  So spread the word and be part of something very special!!


As far as Good Morning America goes I am not sure if the interview I was a part of aired this morning or if it is airing tomorrow morning.  It should be a hoot!  It was a fun time and a great experience.  Amy Robach is even more beautiful in person and she is very sweet.  P & G  were awesome today and their staff did our hair and make-up and our festive manicures. 


Couple of important things that I can't forget to mention.  P & G have been great supporters of us Moms.  They do so much for the athletes and for their families when we are here at the Olympics that I want to give a special thanks to P & G and to Bounty for helping us Moms Bring It each and everyday.  When you buy P & G products you are supporting us Moms!!  Please visit P & G's website to see a list of all the products that they offer to make your everyday life easier. 


A big HUGE thank you to Entre Computers in West Springfield, MA our home away from home......we couldn't do any of this if it wasn't for all of your support!! We miss you all and we are so proud to be part of the Entre family!  Love the new website  www.go2entre.com  For all of you blog viewers check out our new website and learn about our home away from home. 


Westfield!!!  Thank you thank you for all of the support and the wonderful positive KARMA....we can feel it here in Sochi!  We are looking forward to bringing home GOLD to our special city.  Kacey is so appreciative of all of your support and well wishes.  She is very proud to say she is from Westfield!


Family and Friends and Overlook Dr. keep us all in your thoughts and  prayers and know that we are thinking of you and missing you all.  Keep that positive KARMA coming!!  HUGE party when we come home!  HUGE!   


Sending Love from Sochi!!!  xoxo

HELLO FROM SOCHI! BOBBY IS 55 YEARS OLD TODAY!

We spent time yesterday in the Olympic park. Had to get tickets for our Semi-Finals game against Sweden. Went to see the Russian men’s game against Slovakia. It was a great game. it ended up 0-0 at the end of regulation and ended up going to the Russians on a Shoot-out. First day of rain yesterday but we can’t complain considering how nice it has been. Went back to the ship and had a few birthday cocktails with friends. Today started off with Maura having to go to the P&G house and film a segment for Good Morning America. Not sure if it will air on Monday or Tuesday morning back in the States. We are hanging out at the P&G house until Kacey’s game starts at 4:30 today 7:30 EST. We win today and we will have a shot at GOLD. Hope your enjoying the pictures Talk to you later.

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Our Home Away from Home

Just got done watching the USA-Russia Men’s game in a bar on the ship. Half the bar was full of Russians and the other half full of Americans, It was a pretty festive room to say the least. The game was back and forth as you know. I’m sure a lot of people were watching back home. We prevailed at the end in a shootout. That Oshie has ice in his veins. Stay with the hot hand I guess. We are hanging out now waiting for dinner to start. Crazy eating hours. Dinner starts every night at 9:30PM and runs until 2:00am in the morning. We never get to sleep until 1:00 or 1:30 every night.Lots of laughs and a good time though.

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Enjoying the Great Weather on Friday

Another beautiful day yesterday!! The weather has been in the 60’s and sunny.  We walked around the shoreline of Adler and visited some outdoor cafe’s.  Lots of outdoor grilling going on and the Olympics playing on the big screen TV’s within the cafe’s.  It was Valentine’s Day and the Russian’s celebrate just like we do.  There were men shopping for last minute gifts and carrying flowers and cards to bring home to their significant other. 

The Russian people have been great and very happy that we are here visiting their country.  They have been helpful and they are proud to have the Olympics here to show off their country and their culture.  So far everything has been the total opposite of what we heard before we left…..so don’t believe everything that you hear. We have been on the train, the bus and taxi’s and so far all has been smooth.  The language barrier is the hardest part, but somehow we all seem to figure it out and then we all laugh together.  They yearn to have conversation with us too

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and want to hear our stories but it is difficult.  We all get excited when someone can come and interpret the sentences.  When we can talk back and forth it always ends in laughter and a handshake with lots of nodding and thank yous.   The only thing that we still struggle with is that Russian people don’t wait they push to the front of lines and are constantly jump in front to get food on the ship.  We don’t know why this is but it happens all the time, especially on the train or bus.  They don’t believe in manners as far as opening the door for you or holding the door for you (that never happens). We are much more polite that way. 

Another beautiful day here today and we are planning on seeing the USA vs. Russia men’s game which will be very spirited!!  GO USA!!!

LaLuna Restaurant Fine Russian Dinning

We were blessed last night to take in some fine dinning on Valentines Day at the LaLuna with our good friends Wah and Marium Chu  and other Olympic family’s being sponsored by BP. I would also like to thank Steve and George of BP for their hospitality and making us feel like one of their own. It was a great night of food and drink. Thanks for the ride back to the ship last night. Navigating that would have been tough after the Johnnie Walker Red Label.

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Day off on the ship

Great day today to take in the sunshine with the Vetters, Schlep

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ers, Duggans and Bellamy’s

PHOTOS FROM FIRST TIME SEEING THE GIRLS

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Canada 3 USA 2

It was a tough loss last night. The good thing is that there were no medals being distributed. We played pretty well in the first half of the game but Canada took it to us in the third. They did have a very suspect goal that kept getting replayed by the networks. It clearly showed that the play was blown dead before the puck crossed the goal line. It is the Olympics so they should get a goal like that right!! We need to play better if they want to be standing on the highest podium. We talked with Kacey last night and she thinks it was great that they got a chance to play them in the opening round to get a feel for them before it really counts. We will probably end up playing Finland again in the Semi-Finals to advance to the Gold Medal Game. We have to play very well and get on that scoreboard early!!  We got to see Kacey last night for the first time since arriving and that was the highlight of our day!  The team has been under tight security and needs to stay very focused right now.  She wanted us to mention to everyone back home how much all of your support means to her right now.  It gives her energy and it makes being here all that more special to her!  So keep on sending those great positive thoughts and support because it really is working!! 

HANGING OUT

Today we will be hanging on the ship and enjoying the amazing weather here.  The temperature is going to reach 62 or even higher today which feels like 80 to us.  We have been sitting on the deck of the boat soaking up some Vitamin D.  The sea is very calm and you can see dolphins and seals throughout the day.  The security is still very strong here.  We have boats of divers that come daily and dive down around all of the boats.  There are also helicopters that are around as well as police on the ground everywhere.  One of the things that we wanted to mention is the stray dogs that live here.  They are everywhere.  It really is sad to see. Some of them are very friendly and yearning for love.  When we walk some will follow others just look at you with such a lonely face.  Some limp because you know that they may have been hit by a car, some just lay in the sun on the side of the road, some look perfectly healthy and others look matted and dirty.  They all must get food from somewhere because they don’t look too thin. It certainly makes us miss Jake and we are glad that this is not the case at home with stray dogs. It really is very sad :(

We have walked so much that are feet hurt!!  We put on at least 5 to 6 miles a day and then some.  This is not an easy Olympics to navigate by foot for those with any leg or knee issues.  We are learning different ways to navigate each day and we are looking forward to seeing some more of Russia over the next few days.  We are missing everyone at home and find the 9 hour time change just enough to make communication difficult.  It is 1:30 PM here and the middle of the night there :(

Thank you all for your amazing support!!  For everyone at Entre Computers we miss you all too.  We have had some much needed rest and I am feeling PERFECT!!!Nothing could make me happier except seeing the team win GOLD!!    We hope all is going well at work and things are not too hectic there.  All of your support is so appreciated - Thank you all for looking after Lindsey our other amazing daughter!! We are very blessed!!  Love to all from Sochi!!    

I

Never know who will be watching

Maura with Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth at the Canadian Game.

Amanda Erica and Kacey

Enjoying some relaxing time at the P&G house

FEBRUARY 12 FIST BIG TEST.

Hello From the Grand Holiday in Sochi. Big day today. We will see how well we swim with the sharks in the water. Canada at 4:30 Sochi time 7:30am Eastern time. I think we are ready but I'm just a paying customer with a bios opinion. A few of us went to the couples figure skating competition last night and it was a good time. A little different from watching hockey, just different athletes with the same goals and aspirations of our girls. Every night when we stop off at the P&G house they have a bunch of tickets for different events that they give away. The face value of all the event tickets are majorly inflated, which makes it difficult to purchase these tickets.  Thank you P & G.  Great weather today sun is up and it looks like we will hit the mid 50's again. Feels like 75 coming from home though. I understand more snow is in the forecast for our family and friends back in Western Massachusetts. Lets put the girls in your thoughts today and bring that positive Karma. I will give a post game later. Bye for now and thank you for your interest.


Just thought we would add some of our money headaches around here.  Russian Rubles are very strange to deal with vs. US money. Parting with a $1000.00 bill is a little odd....but it is only worth $36.00.  A $10.00 bill is worth .33 cents.  I wish someone told Maura this before hand because she gave the cab driver $30.00 for a tip when we arrived and that was like giving him $1.00.  May have been why he sped away as soon as she gave it to him.  Also, the boat is all in Euro money.  So when you purchase a bottle of water it says 4.50 but it is actually 6.25 or so American.  So, needless to say the boat is very expensive for things outside of what you have included with your room.  Maura is up in the room doing laundry because we were going to send some to be cleaned but it is $2.50 to clean 1 pair of socks!!!  Maura was pretty hard on me about bringing 17 pair of underwear, but I think that was the right decision. 

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11TH

Hello From Sochi. Maura and I are relaxing on the boat today. As you probably already know the girls beat Switzerland pretty good by the score of 9-0. Glad to see there has been pretty much a full house at both games so far. All spectators are having a great time with the experience. Its funny watching people from other countries cheer us on in there language, After the game last night we headed to the P&G hospitality house for Food and a lot of drink. The P&G house is set up for all American families to congregate and meet other families from other events. Last night we toasted Jamie Anderson from Southwick Tahoe for her gold medal in Slope style snowboard. It was great to meet the Shawn White of women's snowboarding. They announces her whole family on stage before Jamie arrived. She has six sisters. We left there at about 10:00pm and went back to the ship. Because of all the events they serve diner on the ship from 10:00pm until 2 in the morning. We have not seen Kacey at all yet and we have already been here a week. Her team did not walk in the opening ceremonies because they wee playing at noon the next day. They are all business here to win gold. Our first real test will be tomorrow at 4:30PM - 7:30am Eastern time against Canada. I'm sitting here in the Casino Looking out the window as I type and there is scuba divers looking under the hull of each ship here in port. The security here is off the charts. Talk to you later.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 10TH

Good morning everyone. We are at breakfast and it is 7:00am on Monday morning, 10:00pm Sunday night your time. So far the weather has been in the 50's every day and it has been sunny. Yesterday was a day off for us so we went into the town of Adler to do some site seeing and also to do some shopping. There is a  major language barrier here with the older generation. Most of the younger people have been great and can speak some English. The Russians have done an amazing job with the facilities here. The Olympic park is huge. When you get through the gates to enter the park it's like being in a small version of Disney. Everything is inside the park. When I think back about our time in Vancouver we would be in lines for at least an hour and sometimes longer to enter events. They have a rail system here that they built to accommodate the massive amounts of people here. You go through security at the train station which is painless and then take the train to the park and they let you off at the gates to enter. Maura and I are purchasing tickets to see USA vs Russia men's game on the 15th. That place will be rocking. So far I have nothing but great things to say about the trip so far. The hospitality has been great. The ship was a great choice for our stay. We are playing Switzerland today at 2:00PM-5:00am eastern time. We played pretty well in the first game but it was not our "A" game. I an having trouble posting pictures on the blog for some reason and I am trying to figure it out. Where is Tom when I need him. LOL. Talk to you later and thanks for the support.

Opening Show olympics 017

Opening Show olympics 017, a photo by bobbybellamy82 on Flickr.

Let me introduce you to Miriam and Wah Chu, amazing parents of Julie Chu on Team USA. They gifted us with 2 Opening Ceremonies tickets last night. We were not intending on going this year but Miriam and Wah had purchased tickets and then were guests of BP for the night so they were kind enough to give us their tickets. They are 2 very special people in too many ways for me to explain. We are blessed to have you in our lives Miriam, Wah and family!!
What I take away from opening ceremonies is that no matter who you are or what you do in life you don't need an Olympics to have a dream. Everyone has a dream!!! Don't ever give up on your dreams because you never know where they may lead you. Our dreams have lead us to meet very special people on this amazing journey of life!!

Hello From Sochi!!


We have been very busy navigating our new territory.  As you all know, we are staying on a ship out in the port of Adler. We are just outside of the Olympic Village and the Olympic Park.  BUT....from where we are they are surrounded by a barrier of security. So that means that we have to walk around a very long distance to get to the Olympic Park. One solid hour each way!! We spent the good part of yesterday walking.  There are so many things that you need to register for and have on your person for every thing that you attend, ride on or go into.  So are necks are adorned with lanyards with our Spectator Passes, our venue tickets, our ship credentials and our passports.  We need all of them with us at all times. 


Sochi is very beautiful!! You have the black see and then the white capped mountains in the background.  There are parts that would remind you of a beach community and other parts that would remind you of Switzerland.  There are palm trees and there are dolphins that pass by daily a few hundred yards of shore. 


For anyone worrying about security it is everywhere.  There are police officers everywhere you go.  There are police on top of buildings, in cars, and at all train stations, venues etc.  There are a ton of them, they only problem is that most if not all that we spoke to do not speak a word of English. 


On top of the security, there are thousands of volunteers at all venues and most accreditations, but again the language barrier is there.  We have found some volunteers that speak English and it is so helpful when we can't find our way and need help with directions. 


So far the only negative has been a problem with accommodations.  Unfortunately, we have a few parents that were not able to get onto the ship yesterday! I can't even imagine the exhaustion and mental strain that they have been through over the past 48 hours.  There were some delays with the snowstorm out of the east and the travel for some was difficult.  To have finally reached their destination and to have been turned away after paying in full for their trip is just unacceptable.  They have been put up somewhere in Adler until things are worked out for them. We are waiting word on what their situation will be today.  Rumor has it that there are many hotels that were built specifically for the Olympics but parts of them are unfinished.  So many people are scrambling for places to stay.
Keep our parents that have not checked in yet and the ones that are trying to get on the ships in your prayers!!!  This is something that should not happen when you are so far from home and unfamiliar with your surroundings    

bobbybellamy82's photostream

bobbybellamy82's photostream on Flickr.

Pictures From the Opening ceremonies last night. Was a fantastic show. It was an open top Stadium so it was pretty cold watching. The torch is lit. Let the games begin. First game is today at 12:00PM 3:00AM eastern time against Finland for all you hockey fanatics.