Kadence and I have started mommy and me swim classes.  It's so cute to see the little girls all excited to kick and blow bubbles in the pool.  I'm not sure how much of this she'll remember but I'm learning all the important tricks and techniques to teach her on my own next summer.  She's a water baby....

Kady Update

Saturday Kady started to run a fever.  By the time I got home Sunday night from San Diego it was 104*!  Scary!!  I've been able to control it with Tylenol and Ibuprofen so far.  If I don't give it to her every 2 hours (rotating between the two of course) it shoots right back up to 104*.   I called her G.I. doctor who performed her colonoscopy and endoscopy last Thursday and he said if it's not gone by tomorrow to bring her in.  As a result from the procedure she could have an infection.  Hopefully it'll go away soon and she gets some relief.

And we're off!  Yeah for girls trip to San Diego.  On the agenda....Wine tasting in Temecula for a day and relaxing on the beach.  I'm looking forward to the get away but I'm sure I'll miss the munchkin and man like crazy!

"Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure."
~Jewish saying

Kady Update

Everything went well this morning.  It took a bit longer than the doctor expected but IT'S ALL OVER WITH!!  The nurses and other patients at the hospital fell in love with her of course.  How could you not?  It was rough coming out of anesthesia.  She was really confused and uncomfortable so she cried for quite a while.  That was hard.  Off the bat they found that she has Eosinophilic Esophagitis...not sure what that is but I'll get back to you on that, as well as Cholitis and reflux.  Apparently you can reflux and instead of vomiting have diarrhea.  I never knew.  Biopsies were taken of her intestines, colon and esophagus so we will wait on  further testing to see if they find anything else.  The final results will be in on the 29th.  We will follow up with the Doctor next week to discuss what exactly this all means.

Kady Update

Tomorrow  is the big day for Kady's colonoscopy and endoscopy. We won't have results until the 29th. We are looking forward to having this over with. She's happy as a clam and just as spunky despite all her diarrhea problems. Friday, I'm heading to San Diego with a girlfriend (being everything is okay with KD) for the weekend. A much needed break for me and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Love to all.

For those of you who don't know, I'm working the next couple of weeks at Tao again. The operating partner called me up with a special project to work on for the Accounting Department. It feels great knowing they still like me, trust my work and think of me. I'm able to work whatever hours I want so it's worked out okay so far. I'm exhausted though. I have a new found respect for working parents...geesh!

Great Strides

So, the weekend was good. We had the GREAT STRIDES walk for Cystic Fibrosis on Saturday morning. It was fun. I have no idea how much money my team and I raised but I have a feeling the amount was fairly significant.  I could never have done it without the help and support from my friends and family...Thank you!! 

Ethan Andrew Murray

8/1/08-3/13/09

Ethan Andrew Murray

8/1/08-3/13/09

Rest in Peace sweet baby!

Team Ethan

I encourage you to find a walk in your area.

www.cff.org/Great_Strides

Kudo's to Dominic

The Race Director's Report

The Loews Lake Las Vegas XTERRA West Cup provided an opportunity for many to achieve their goals and make dreams become a reality. Whether as an athlete or as the Race Director like myself, it was a day that will not soon be forgotten.

We set lofty goals here at Sunset Racing when we agreed to to host the first XTERRA Cup Series Race of 2009 and the first EVER in Nevada. With no title sponsor and no race course we definitely challenged ourselves to design a one of a kind race course at a one of a kind venue.

Well, its May 3rd and everyone here is still smiling from being a part of this historic XTERRA race. With great weather, epic battles on the race course, and an unforgettable post race pool party we all enjoyed our own little piece of paradise at beautiful Lake Las Vegas.

Our title sponsor, The Loews Lake Las Vegas, provided not only an unmatched venue and homes to athletes from 23 states and 9 countries, but also offered the swim Start beach, their Nuala pool to ALL the athletes for the day, a post race pool party, and catered food and drink at the finish line. I wish I had a nickel for every athlete that told me how impressed they were with the hospitality, service and friendliness of the staff at the Loews.

Just a few hundred yards away and in drastic contrast to the environment provided by the Loews was the harsh and barren desert transition area and Finish line. The XTERRA crew lead by the "Big Kahuna" Dave Nicholas, transformed this wasteland into an oasis with big top tents, sponsor signage, big rigs, a sound system, and a flawlessly marked race course.

The course design offered challenging climbs, tricky descents and dry desert conditions that tested every single athlete. But open terrain and double lap courses made the race very spectator friendly and easy to spy your competition at every turn!

The West Cup Championship was lead by a loaded pro field unknown outside of the XTERRA World Championship in Maui. With 9 of the top 10 men and women in the world, along with a laundry list of accomplished pros and Olympians at the start line, age groupers had the opportunity to race alongside of their Idols.

The two current XTERRA World Champions, Melanie McQuaid and Conrad Stoltz crossed the finish line first for the women and the men respectively, with a determined and impressive field of pros and age groupers following closely behind. Calvin Zaryski captured his spot in Maui by winning the West Cup Male Amateur Overall in 2:37:38. Cary Kinross-Wright also climbed to the top of the podium, claiming the Womens Overall title in 3:09:51.

Long, painful hours are put into both training and planning for an event like this. For you to see the finish line, and for us the Race Directors, to see you cross the line, suffering, yet satisfied by your own effort, eager to challenge yourself again, provides us with the motivation to offer you that opportunity again, and again!

We are proud of this event and plan on providing an even bigger, better experience next year. There is no way that we could have pulled this off without the following sponsors behind us. The Loews Lake Las Vegas, the ENTIRE crew at XTERRA, the America Tour Sponsors, Team Unlimited, Lake Las Vegas, Escape Adventures, Las Vegas Cyclery and Brightroom Photography. I would also like to personally thank the following individuals for their hard work, loyalty and commitment: Vic Caruso, Regan Stokes, Mary Stokes, Chris Fetter, Nikki Maurer, Geoff Rhodes, Abby, Vince, Jared, Kurt, Joel, Lindsey, Allison H., Robyn and most of all, the other 1/2 of Sunset Racing, Keith Hughes and of course my wife Ashley. You all Rock!

2010 West Cup, Here we come!!!!! Dominic Guinto

Epic Beauty

Wow...what a great race Dom and his business partner Keith put on. The feedback has been awesome and all the pros really enjoyed their love/hate relationship with the hard as nails race course Dom created from scratch. I'm so proud of him. If you haven't seen Dom and Keith's website for sunset racing, you should check it out. You'll be able to view all the upcoming events thus far, photos of previous races etc...It's really cool.

Visit:

www.sunsetracing.com

Click on this link to read the Xterra West Cup press release:

www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_article.cfm?id=2415

I know I said I would post pics of Kady and I out at the race however, I forgot to charge my camera battery...go figure. The professional photos are much better anyways although Kady and I aren't in any of them =o)

So today is the first of many of Dom's big races...Xterra West cup Championships. He hasn't seen Kady in 3 days. He's probably going to cry when he does see her =o) I just love it when he cries over her! What a great Dad he is. I'm assuming Kady is also excited to see Daddy being that she's been up since 5am the booger. I don't remember EVER being this tired since having her. Blah! It's going to be a long day but a fun one.

For those of you who I have not spoke with yet about Kady's follow up yesterday (we go every month) with the G.I. (gastrointestinal) doctor, we have Kady scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy on May 21st and we should have results by May 29th. Because of Ethan's situation, in fear that they may find something wrong that's hereditary or what not, I am nervous about the procedures. I'm sure it'll all be fine and that I have a case of the first time mom worries but it is something I think about and it'll be nice to have answers. Briefly for those who aren't up to speed, Kadence has had diarreah since Thanksgiving. She was treated for c-difficle twice already and there is concern as to why she ever got it in the first place. We've been doing all sorts of testing from an allergy panel to Cystic Fibrosis.

The Doctor did say among other things, that he will look for IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), the condition of the colon and small intestines and to see if she may be lacking an enzyme that would help with the absorption of food etc...Ironically, I lacked an enzyme as a child and was on a strict jello diet for months because of it...yuck!! He'll also be taking stool and tissue samples right from the source to be tested. So, here's to hoping for a simple problem with an easy fix.

Well, I should probably finish loading the car so I can go get a STARBUCKS and head out to see Daddy. I'll post pics of the race soon.