(message from pez)

Four days left at Woodward!

We had fun/pain today at the pool playing on the log roll (see pics). Maz got good at staying on the rotating log and her record was about 7 seconds. I made the error of seeing if I could cross the log by only putting one foot on the log and sort of hopping across. This all ended badly and I scraped my shin as I fell into the water. It didn't hurt much, but there was blood. We rushed to the trainer - Jason (after taking a few snaps) and he fixed me up pretty good.

Maz has been learning to drop in on the spine and 3 ft mini ramp with me standing benieth her and catching her if she falls. This worked pretty well on the spine but the mini ramp is a little higher and once as she came down I only managed to support her back as she fell and she hit her head pretty hard. She was wearing her nice red helmet but she still got a bit of whip lash. Luckily the trainers here are on hand to help with injuries and we have iced her up pretty good since then. We've since been told by Neil Hendrix (pro skateboarder) that trying to catch someone as they drop in is RIDICULOUS!

I've been counciling this week which means looking after 13 kids (10-13 years old) between 10pm and 8am. I stay in a cabin with them and have to make sure they brush their teeth, go to sleep, stop talking after lights out, get up @ 07:00, clean the cabin, eat breakfast and get to their lessons on time. It takes me back to my boarding school days where I was in there shoes. They're a cheaky bunch who tried to run riot the first night due to too much sugar intake and the excitement of being here. But as the week goes on they get tired from all the activities in the day and so are rather pleased when lights are switched out at 11pm. I've managed to learn all their names through an ingenious method of picking friends/celebrities with the same name and imagining them acting as them. It works really well. Except for Thor, Justice and Bronson who have such interesting names that I remember them anyway.

We're both looking forward to picking up the car on Sunday and starting our US road trip. First stop is the bright lights of LAS VEGAS!

xxx