Officially in Beijing

We officially made it to Beijing and got checked into our rooms at the athlete village. It feels good to finally be here. Our training camp in Singapore went really well but now the real excitement begins.

When we arrived at the airport we were met by the official film crew that is working on a documentary on the Games. They came to Houston back in April and now plan to get us a few times while in Beijing. They got us when we got off the plane and then getting our bags.

Once we got our bags we came out in the main lobby where more media were waiting. We also got a surprise visit from our parents. We knew they were in Beijing but didn’t expect them to be at the airport. It was great to see them if only for a few minutes and the media loved it. There were camera crews and photographers all around. They then loaded us up in a bus to the athlete village, while our training partners went to Beijing Normal University where they will be staying. Our rooms in the village are nice.

On Friday, we will have our official team press conference at the main press center and then we will have to get back to the village and get ready for Opening Ceremonies. I can’t wait until we walk into Opening Ceremonies at the Birds Nest together as a family. I am sure it is going to be an overwhelming feeling even though we have dreamed about doing this for so long.

Like I said earlier, my parents made it to town on Wednesday and are enjoying their time at the Beijing Hilton. I can’t thank Hilton Family of Hotels enough for making their trip possible. It will be nice to have them here supporting us and being part of this historic event.

Be sure to watch Opening Ceremonies and cheer on Team USA!!!

Until next time,
Diana

Hello from Singapore

Hello from Singapore! Let me just give you all a re-cap as to what has happened since I left my home in Sugar Land! Let me just tell you all that Team Processing in San Jose was an experience I will never forget. I know as a young kid, everyone wanted to be on the show "Super Market Sweep"..(well, at least I did). That's exactly how I felt, except I wasn't getting all the honey glazed ham from the frozen food section (you know everyone got those first..or diapers).

No instead, I was shopping for my Ralph Lauren Opening Ceremonies outfit. We each got a shopping cart, and went from station to station getting Nike apparel (socks, shoes, hats, shirts, pants, shorts....the list goes on, and on and on) and Ralph Lauren polos. I want to let everyone know that the US Olympic Team will be looking distinguished walking into the Opening Ceremonies on 8-8-08!! Ralph Lauren had his top designers tailor our outfits because they wanted to make sure we looked sharp. Be sure to watch us on NBC. We're in Singapore right now training hard and getting ready to leave Aug. 7 to Beijing. Well, I have to get ready for training now, so I better sign off.

Take care and God bless.
Diana

Team processing

July 26, 2008
Hello everyone. The time has finally come for us to depart for the Olympics. On Friday (July 25) we left Houston on a 7 a.m. flight bound for San Francisco, Calif. Once we landed, we were shuttled to San Jose State University where we would soon go through team processing.

For those that are not familiar with what team processing is, it is our last stop before departing for the Olympics. The main thing that happens during team processing is that we get outfitted for the Games. They gave us a shopping cart and we were off to fill it up with all kinds of goodies. Once we had stopped at each station we proceeded to the check-out table. The best thing about all of this is that we didn’t have to pay a dime at the check-out stand. Thanks to the USOC, we received a ton of cool clothes and shoes at no cost.

It was an amazing experience but then it got even better when we got a special visit from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (a.k.a. the Terminator). It was so cool having him stop by and say a few words of inspiration to all of us that were going through team processing. My brother, Steven, along with Olympic weightlifter Cheryl Hayworth were asked by the USOC to present Gov. Schwarzenegger with an official team jacket. After doing that he met all the athletes and I got a picture with him. It was an awesome day and our journey has just begun.

Today, we are headed back to the airport to catch a flight to Singapore, where we will train until we depart for Beijing on Aug. 7. We leave San Francisco at around 1 p.m. to Hong Kong and then on to Singapore. We won’t arrive in Singapore until 11:35 p.m. on Sunday, July 27. It will be a long trip and I am hoping for some good movies on the plane. Hopefully, I will be able to get a little sleep as well.

Amazing Awaits!!

Mark Anthony Lopez

2008 U.S. Olympic Team

1 more day till I leave Houston

I am so excited right now. One more day till we leave for San Jose (Calif.) for team processing. I took a break from packing..uggh.. it's a pain sometimes, especially since I will be gone for a month. I always seem to over pack! I have tons of shoes, but I only packed hmm...let me see.. about 10 . Guys have it so easy sometimes.

Saturday we leave for Singapore for our Olympic training camp. I saw the hotel we are staying at and it is amazing. My coach, a.k.a Jean, put us through a really hard workout yesterday morning. I think I may need to get a massage. Today we have the day off. I will workout on my own and then finish packing and hang out with my parents.

I will write from San Jose if I get a chance.

Diana

Never stop believing...

July 22, 2008

I thought I would take a minute to add to the family blog. My name is Jean and I am the oldest brother and the U.S. Olympic Taekwondo Team coach. It is hard to believe that our dream, which began in 1988, of all of us being at the Olympic Games is coming true. It wasn’t until 2000, that the sport of Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the Olympics but from that point on we knew it was only a matter of time before we would walk into Opening Ceremonies together as a family. I can’t even imagine how we will feel on 8-8-08 but I know it is going to be a very memorable moment for all of us.

We will have a busy week as this is our last week at home. We leave on Friday for San Jose. Everyone is looking really good and we are all excited to get to Singapore and continue training before heading to Beijing. Charlotte Craig, the fourth member of the team, has been training with us in Houston and she has become like our little sister. She has joked around with the media saying she is the blonde Lopez. She is a great sport and she has a very bright future ahead of her. She has been soaking it all in and is ready to get to Beijing and experience the Olympic Games.

In case you all haven’t seen the story, there is a nice article on our family in the July 28 issue of People Magazine with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the cover. The story and photos were great, so make sure and pick up a copy. My daughter, Alyxandra, liked the fact that her name was mentioned in the article.

Tuesday night on NBC's America's Got Talent Show the AT&T/3 Doors Down music video for the Olympic Games will debut. In the video they feature various Olympic athletes including me and my family so be sure to watch that tonight and look for us in the video.

I would like to thank Lenovo for giving us the opportunity to do this blog and for the cool gadgets they sent us to allow us to connect with the fans out there. People ask me if it is hard for me to be the coach and the big brother and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t hard at times but at the same time I wouldn’t trade places with anyone in the world. I think by being the older brother, it gives me an advantage as a coach because I know my brothers and sister so well that I can read what they are thinking without them actually saying anything. Also they know they can trust me whole heartedly and having that kind of trust in your coach is a definite advantage. When I was young my father, Julio, put me in the position to serve in the leadership role for my siblings and it is a role I still take very seriously today and I do it with great pride.

Well I better get off the computer and spend some time with my wife, Tabetha, and our three kids, Alyxandra, Diego and Andres. I also better get to packing since we only have a few days left before we leave. Thanks for reading and will check-in with you again once in Beijing.

Amazing Awaits!!!

Jean

11 Days until we leave for the Olympics

Monday, July 14

Hello everyone!!! It's me, Diana! 11 more days until we leave for San Jose (Calif.) for team processing. I am really excited and anxious to see what we will be getting in terms of clothes. Ralph Lauren is Team USA's official outfitters for the opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies so hopefully they will have some cool clothes for us to wear.

Workout has been going well. I have to be 125.6 pounds when I weigh-in in Beijing, and I have been weighing 129. No need to be so low on weight right now because the last 3 lbs is basically water weight.

Saturday the City of Sugar Land, recognized my family and I during an event in Town Square. They read a proclamation and then we signed autographs. It was a fun event.

For those reading this, if you happen to go to Barnes and Nobles or any store that sells magazines, make sure you buy the August issues of "Vibe" and "Men's Journal". My brothers and I have a spread in each of the magazines. I happen to like the picture in the Vibe magazine (since I'm not in my taekwondo uniform). My nephew refers to me as "Wonder Woman"..he pretty much made my day! :) We also have a short write-up in “Men’s Fitness” as well and Steven is featured in “Men’s Health.” Be sure to watch the Today Show on Wednesday, July 16 as they are supposed to air our feature with Tiki Barber in the 8:30 half-hour.

I would also like to thank Lenovo for the cool ideapad computer they sent me to do this blog. We have also been using our Flipcams and hope to post video soon.

Well, it's time for my daily nap. Hope u all have a good week.

Talk to you soon,
Diana

Hello from Diana Lopez

Hello to everyone! My name is Diana Lopez. I am 24 years old and I am a native of Houston, Texas (born and raised). I am on the 2008 Olympic Taekwondo Team along with my three older brothers - 2 in which are competing (Mark and Steven) and my oldest brother, Jean, will be our coach. I am the youngest child and the only girl (I know what some of you might be thinking...poor girl) haha.

Some of you might have seen us on AT&T commercials. We shot a total of five commercials – two in English and three in Spanish. In one of them, I beat up my older brother showing him how fast my new broadband from AT&T is and the other English commercial features my whole family, where I do a cartwheel over the couch trying to steal the remote from my father. We had a ton of fun shooting these but I had no idea until I did this how long it takes to film a commercial. We were also on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno at the end of April, which was a definite highlight of this year.

Be sure to keep reading my blogs as I will keep you updated on my daily/weekly news. I will make sure to post pictures and videos! I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone out there reading my blogs! :) have a great day.