Kelly wanted me to pass along this information in case any of y'all are interested in greeting she and Aaron at the Jackson airport tomorrow. But first, raise your right hand, and repeat after me:

"I do hereby solemnly swear that I understand that this information is to be kept secret from Aaron, who does not have computer access right now and will not read this blog. I will talk about this information to anyone I please except for Aaron. If I chance to talk to Aaron in the next 24 hours, I will act as though I have never heard any of this information in my life."

Thank you. Here's the scoop:
Tomorrow, Thursday June 2, Aaron and Kelly are going home to Mississippi to attend the weekend wedding of a friend of Kelly's. They will then spend a few days with Kelly's family and then take a trip with my family to Gatlinburg for a Rice family reunion. It's going to be a busy trip and they will really not be in the State of Mississippi for all that long.
But because this will be the first time Aaron has been back in Mississippi at all since leaving for Iraq, a big to-do has been organized. There are a lot of Marines, Marine families, veterans groups and media planning to meet them at the airport and welcome them home. Any of y'all in the Jackson airport or within driving distance are invited to do the same. Here's what you'll need to know if you want to attend the homecoming:
You should be at the Jackson International Airport no later than 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, earlier if possible. There will be quite a crowd and it shouldn't be hard to find, but if you get lost in the enormity that is the Jackson airport, the group should be located in the terminal area at the entrance of the security checkpoints outside the gate area. Aaron and Kelly will be on a Delta flight arriving from Atlanta at approximately 1 p.m., and the idea is for them to walk out of the gates and be met by their adoring public.

An important disclaimer: After their arrival, Aaron and Kelly will probably be able to stay and say hello for a few minutes. But please bear in mind that they are on a schedule. As part of the festivities of the day, a police escort has been arranged to take Aaron and Kelly and their immediate families only to the Governor's Mansion, where Governor Haley Barbour and military officials will present Aaron with his Purple Heart in a private ceremony. Again, that part of the day is for immediate family only.
I'm sure I'll be sent pictures from that, and when I have them, I'll post them here. If you have any other questions, contact me at haley@wachdorf.com. Thanks.

Just a quick note to thank all of you who went to so much effort to make Aaron and Kelly's homecoming really special. It sounds like there were a lot of people there, and I know they and my family felt very loved. In the next week or so, Aaron and Kelly, as well as the rest of my family, will be traveling and somewhat out of contact, so updates here may not be very frequent. I am hoping to get my hands on some photos from today's festivities, and if I do, I'll post them here. In the meantime, please pray for safe travel for Aaron, Kelly, Mom, Dad, Hannah and Audrey as they make their way to Gatlinburg for a family reunion early next week.

I so love my industry. No complicated video clips, no tuning in, just words and pictures. It's so comforting. Check out this link to see the great story the Clarion Ledger wrote about yesterday. I see some familiar names in the story, and I'm glad they were able to talk to some of y'all. Enjoy your fame. :) I'm told there were also TV stations there, and if I can get tech-savvy enough to link to them, too, I will. Our thanks to the Clarion Ledger for taking the time to do a nice job on this story, and to all the news groups that were willing to come tell our story.

http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050603/NEWS01/506030387/1002

OK, folks. Do us a big favor and help us settle a dispute. You've probably all played a popular children's game wherein the players make a fist, pound the fists twice and then choose one of three hand signals, either a piece of paper, scissors or a rock. Is this game called:

A) Rock, Paper, Scissors
or
B) Paper, Rock, Scissors.
This debate has reached gargantuan proportions in our home, and we cannot go on until we get it settled. Save our marriage. Vote in the comments section. I will let you know which one of us was right after we get your votes. But believe me, I'm right.

An update: A formal call has been placed to the campaign headquarters of Dan Wachdorf for Childhood Game Specialist telling him of the overwhelming votes in favor of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" as the correct name for the childhood game that should, truly, be used to settle all disputes in a civilized democratic society, as Drew noted in the comments. However, Mr. Wachdorf refuses to concede his defeat, citing a lone, unsubstantiated source at his office that he claims voted for "Paper, Rock, Scissors." Analysts say this is a desperate attempt to avoid admitting that his wife was right. To his credit, this is hard for him to do because she's not right about this stuff very often.
More news as we have it.

Today, I am enjoying the new Coldplay album, "X and Y," to a degree that I am pretty sure qualifies me for the All-Time Geek Hall of Fame. Dan, who finds infinite amusement in my music nerd tendencies, went and bought it for me yesterday on his way home from work because I didn't have time to go to the store during my travels that day. And heaven forbid I should buy the new Coldplay album even one day later than it is available in the United States, because then I might slip down a notch on the Dork-O-Meter.
After one good listen on my way to work today, I'd say it's really good. I know that makes you all want to run out and buy it, and you should. What's the best CD you've bought lately?

Just a note for those of you who are reading this blog because you want to know how Aaron and Kelly are doing as opposed to what absurd issue Dan and I are arguing about this week. (Not that there is anything petty about Rock, Paper, Scissors. I think you all know how important that is.)
If you are planning to send any packages or mail to Aaron and Kelly, hang on to them for the time being. Right before they left for the trip they are on right now, they changed locations yet again. I'm starting to think of them as a couple's version of Where's Waldo. I promise to get you a current address for them soon, but right now they're off in Tennessee relaxing. So in the meantime, you're stuck with me. I apologize. Only a few more days.

For those of you who don't know, I commute about 45 miles to work each day. Sometimes it's a pain, but I've learned you can see a lot of interesting things on the road. If you're a habitual people-watcher, that's a pretty big perk. Today, for instance, I was at a stoplight and I started looking at the guy in the car next to me. Initially, I was looking because the guy had a full-on Napolean Dynamite-style hairdo, a six inch tall bushy, red, curly mass.

It was amusing. However, when we started moving out of the intersection, I noticed that the guy was apparently conducting an orchestra in his car. He was waving his arms around, giving cues to the percussion section and the strings, bobbing his head, meanwhile using NEITHER OF HIS HANDS to drive the car. He was swerving all over the place, but he had this look of beautific joy on his face. If I wasn't so afraid the guy was going to hit me, I would have laughed. Anyway, I just think it pays off to watch the people around you on the road. Because then you can get out of their way.

Shortly after Dan and I got back from our honeymoon and started settling into our apartment in Albuquerque, the 2003 NBA Playoffs started. We watched every game in the series, following the San Antonio Spurs, who won that year.
It's no secret that I am not a great big sports fan. But Dan and his family are rabid Spurs fans as a result of living in San Antonio. So I figured I better start finding reasons to like the Spurs. Fortunately, the only professional sport I have ever even remotely been able to watch is basketball, because it moves quickly and I understand it. This in startling contrast to football, a game whose rules I am convinced are made up as the players go. To my great surprise a few games into the 2003 series, I realized I was really enjoying watching the Spurs. So here are the top reasons you should all drop what you're doing and root for the Spurs as they face off against the Detroit Pistons in this year's Playoffs:

1) Because the Spurs are nice guys. None of them has an attitude problem or a huge ego. They don't yell at referees, they don't cuss anyone out, they don't foul people intentionally. In Detroit, on the other hand, a fight broke out in the middle of a game earlier this season during which a player smacked a fan in the head with a chair. Real classy.
2) Because Tim Duncan is the MAN. Also, whenever a team member of his does something good, Tim pats them on the head like you would do to a little kid, and you realize how enormously tall the man is.
3) Tony Parker is consistently one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, and he has a great accent. He also makes funny faces when he plays.
4) Manu Ginobili has great hair AND is from Argentina. He's also an incredible player.
5) Potential names for children. All around, the Spurs have the best first names in the NBA: Manu, Nzar, Mohammed, Beno, Rasho. We're considering naming our first-born child Manu Wachdorf, just because the name Manu is so much fun to yell. Try it!
6) Because we are emotionally fragile. Last year when the Spurs got eliminated by the Lakers in the semi-finals we cried, and if they lose in the finals this year, I'm pretty sure Dan won't be able to get out of bed for days.

Now that I've tried to drag you down with me, I have to get back to watching Game One. I leave you with an excerpt from a column by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com Page 2. I am enjoying the playoffs immensely, but if anything is ticking me off, it's the music. Seriously, who decided to play a Phil Collins song during the playoffs and how fast can they be fired?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050608&num=3\

"If you want to write well and live well at the same time, you better arrange to inherit money."
~ Flannery O'Connor, quoted in "Conversations with Flannery O' Connor," a publication of the University Press of Mississipi.

It's one of my life-long quests to get everyone I know to read my favorite book, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," and to read at least one book by my favorite author, Flannery O' Connor. I know it's weird that my favorite book isn't written by my favorite author. It's a long story. But in case you were wondering, the best book to buy if you want to get started reading Flannery O' Connor (and you should want to) is "Everything That Rises Must Converge." It's a collection of short stories that are easier to sift through than a whole novel might be right at first. But don't read Flannery O'Connor if you're looking for affirmation of the basic goodness of human nature. Ms. O'Connor was a firm believer in the depravity of man, and it's kind of hard to look at such a stark depiction of original sin for very long without squinting your eyes. We're not used to hearing about that, but it's kind of refreshing to be given a walloping dose of the truth once in a while. If that doesn't sound like your kind of thing, it's worth noting that O'Connor was also a very funny woman and that comes across in her writing quite frequently.
Again, I promise to get back to writing things you actually care about soon. Hang in there.

I spoke to my dad a today and it seems that everyone has made it back safely from the trip to the family reunion in Gatlinburg. That's very very good news. My uncle Steven and Aunt Pam had what sounds like a pretty serious wreck on the way home because of some heavy rain moving through the area. We're extremely thankful that they are OK and thank you all for your prayers for safe travel for everyone. Aaron and Kelly have made it back to Washington D.C. and I'm hoping to talk to the Man himself in the next day or so. When I do, I'll let you all know how they are doing. From my dad, it sounds like the family reunion was a big success and a nice relaxing time. More information as I get it.

Really I just wanted to say "Breaking News" since I never get to use that phrase, being in newspapers instead of TV.

I don't know much about this, but I just got a text message on my cell phone from Kelly that said "Aaron just got his first leg!" I assume this means he's been fitted with a prosthetic training leg that he'll use for the first phase of his rehabilitation.
Please join us in thanking God that Aaron has reached this milestone in his healing process. Those of you who have been following this site know that it has taken longer to reach this point than we originally expected, and it is exciting to finally get to the part of the story where Aaron learns to walk again. I'm sure he feels great about it too and I plan to talk to him and pass on what I hear as soon as I can. I am covering a late meeting tonight so that might not happen until tomorrow. But in the meantime, praise God with us for His goodness.

Greatest quote of recent months, said by Aaron last night on the phone. You have to imagine it said in that sing-song voice kids use when they say "Nanny nanny boo boo" for it to have its full effect:

"I've got leee-eegs. I've got leee-eegs."

As of yesterday, Aaron does indeed have two legs for the first time since March. At his first session, he used his new leg for an hour, just getting used to the feel of it and learning to bear weight a little. He'll build up his ability to use it every day from now on. Initially, the process can be painful, but Aaron said that aside from a little soreness, he didn't feel much pain. The leg he is using now is heavier and less flexible than what his final prosthetics will be like, mostly to give him added stability and build strength while he learns to walk again. But at this point, I think Aaron is just thrilled to have it. Again, we're all so thankful to have reached this point, and we thank you for your prayers for Aaron and all of us. I hope we can get some pictures of Aaron walking around soon to post here so you can see it for yourself.
As a matter of housekeeping, I still don't have an address for Aaron and Kelly, and I apologize. It's on my list of things to ask about the next time I talk to them.

Aaron and Kelly's new fan mail address is as follows:

Aaron and Kelly Rice
c/o The Hilton Hotel
Room 801
8727 Colesville Road
Silver Springs, MD
20910

Kelly said today that she thinks she and Aaron will be there for the forseeable future, so hopefully that will lessen the constant Where's Waldo-style dillema of how to reach them. Thanks for your patience.

Today, June 19, is Dan's 25th birthday. Not that you would know that he was going to be 25 based on how hard he has been begging to be allowed to open his gifts early. It's like inside of this 25-year-old professionally succesful married man lives the soul of a six-year-old boy who lives for Christmas and birthdays. I've written about this before, but in case you're new to the saga, Dan cannot STAND any form of gift-related suspense. It drives him crazy. He can't even wait to tell me what my gifts are on any given holiday. If I wasn't a big believer in waiting until Christmas Day, I could easily convince Dan to give me my presents in November. When we have kids, I'll have to be the one doing all the shopping for birthdays, because if Dan is involved, he'll break down and tell the kids what they're getting as soon as we bring the gift home. Knowing this, I intentionally did not even wrap his presents and put them out in the house until late Saturday afternoon, thinking that if he knew he only had a few hours to wait until Sunday morning, his birthday, he could handle the suspense a little better. But no. Within two hours he had worn me down to the point that I let him go ahead and open up one of his gifts.
I tell you this story to introduce the picture I'm posting below.
Even though I would like to say that I took this picture of Dan with his presents all wrapped this morning, on his actual birthday, I have to admit that this was taken last night, seconds after I caved in and seconds before he ripped into the present in the blue bag. Notice the huge grin he has in this picture: I'm pretty sure it's the victorious grin of a small child who has just won a major psychological battle through prolonged whining.
As you can see, I am going to be a really wimpy mother. I can't even manage the child I have now.

Happy Birthday, Dan. I love you so much. And that's why I make fun of you on the Internet.

I spoke to Aaron on Sunday evening, and it seems that he has taken up another sport. Late last week, he was invited to be part of a charity golf tournament, but declined because he, um, doesn't actually play golf. When he said no, the person who invited him told him that he could still go out to the course for a free driving session or whatever it's called when you just stand there and hit the ball. (Again, I am not the resident sports expert. I'm not sure who that is in our family, but it's certainly not me.) So he went out and had a trainer at the course give him some pointers on his brand new golf swing. It was a little tough because he can't wear his new prosthetic leg for as long as it would take him to golf yet, so he balanced his knee in a chair and figured he would make do. Well, to all you golfers out there, here's a tip: balance your knee in a chair. Apparently, once he got his balance, Aaron found out he has a natural golf swing. After a few pointers, he was hitting the ball so well that people were asking him how long he had been golfing and then getting jealous when he said he'd never done it before. So when I spoke to him on Sunday, he was planning to go to bed early so he wouldn't be late for the charity golf tournament, which he decided to play in after all. He said later in the day he learned how to play without the chair so he won't mess up the green, and apparently there are some pretty great photos of Aaron playing golf on one leg that he and Kelly plan to send to me soon. When they do, I'll post them here.
Aside from that, there isn't a lot to report. Aaron is continuing to go to his therapy appointments, and is making good progress. Please keep praying for both Aaron and Kelly, and feel free to leave any golf tips you know about in the comments section. Or biking tips, or rafting tips, or water-skiing tips, since those are also things Aaron and Kelly have either tried in the last few weeks or plan to try out in the near future. Perhaps parasailing will be next.
Thanks for checking in. We love you all.
And, before I forget, Go Spurs, Go! The San Antonio Spurs *could* win it all tonight. And if they do, I feel bad for our neighbors, because we'll be screaming so loud they'll never get any sleep. For anyone who was watching Sunday's game, how about that beautiful last minute three point shot to win it in overtime by Robert Horry? We stayed up just to watch the instant replays. Here's to more shots like that tonight. Because I don't have the emotional energy for Game Seven.

We're getting ready to watch Game Seven of the Spurs vs. Pistons NBA Playoffs. Obviously, we're very concerned. Cross your fingers and tune in if you want an idea of how we're doing. It'll be a toss-up between elation and despondence. This is why I try to avoid caring about a sports team.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2005/06/23/pistons.spurs.game7.ap/index.html

Thank you Spurs, for hitting your free throws in Game Seven. Tim Duncan, you are the man. Thank you Manu Ginobili. Robert Horry, we might name our first born child after you thanks to this series. Tony Parker, what can we say? Thank you, Detroit, for a phenomenal series.
But let's hear it for the San Antonio Spurs, 2005 NBA Champions!

I just got a call from Aaron. There was all this noise in the background and at first he couldn't hear me. But once he did, he said he was calling to let me know that he was at a Dave Matthews Band concert in VIP seating.
"I figured you would want to kill me when you knew where I was, so I couldn't pass up the chance to call," he said, laughing.
Apparently, one of the privileges of VIP seating in this instance is that after the show, Aaron and Kelly will be taking a back stage trip to meet Dave Matthews himself. I told him to take pictures and tell Dave hello for me. Aaron couldn't hear me very well, so there wasn't time to say much else.
If there had been better reception on his cell phone, he would have heard me telling him that I hope he really enjoys this. Because I'm going to have to kill him next time I see him.

Shelby Foote has died. There should be some kind of national day of mourning for nerds like myself. All of you from Mississippi should read his obituary even though I'm not totally sure how it ended up in the "Entertainment" section of CNN's Web site. Here's a link. May he rest in peace.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/06/28/obit.foote.ap/index.html

Here, at long last, are some of the photos that Aaron and Kelly have taken in the last few weeks. First, a photo from Aaron and Kelly "Tiger Woods" Rice's adventures on the golfing green.

And one from Aaron's rehabilitation:

There are lots more pictures to see. Follow this link:

http://albums.ourpictures.com/Images?id=165602-xfrwwoha