Spring Sports

And now from the newsdesk, this piece of shocking news: Apparently........ there are other spring sports that exist outside of softball! Who knew?

So last week, Darcie and I traveled to Spokane for her final volleyball tournament (club volleyball, the traveling team) this spring, which was a nice getaway for just the two of us. I will say that the overnight stay at the hotel turned into the longest day of volleyball EVER. (We didn't get home until after 10 pm that night!) Whew!! So glad we drove up the night before, otherwise that would have been an even LONGER day.

Darcie's team played fairly well, and over the course of their season, they've had some fun together. One thing they do together is their pre-game cheer. It's not uncommon for teams to do this, but these can get repetitive and old. Darcie's team was led by their coaches (local college volleyball players), and their cheer was an original, with part of it being the song, "Hey! Baby". They always got great looks when they did their cheer, because no one else had one like it, or even remotely as good as theirs: This year, there was a new greet-and-wave they did, too. Previously, before a game started, the teams would run in a circle around their side of the court, giving "fives" to the opposing team as they passed at the net. This year, they stood in a line on the sideline, then walked to the center of the court (still in a line) and would wave in all directions to the spectators: Then, one by one, they would shake hands with an opposing team member under the net: They finished this tournament with second place in the Silver Bracket, from a playing field of 48 teams. At this final tournament, we got a team picture (one girl was sick), the girls gave flowers to the coaches, and the coaches had a cupcake cake for the girls. Overall, I think Darcie had a good experience, although we definitely feel there were times when she did not get the amount of playing time we thought she deserved. And in the meantime, track and field has started for the school, and Darcie's first meet was yesterday. She competed in the high jump and 100-meter dash. I must need to work on my track-action-photo-taking skills, because this is the best of what I took:

Busy Days

We are spinning plates these days, trying to keep everything and everyone going and doing. And that is my excuse for blogging a bit less lately!

Todd & I (and Emma) traveled to Salt Lake City two weeks ago for the HPBA Expo -- the trade show for the hearth products (and patio and barbecue) association. We got the low-down on new products, got some training on products we already carry, and spent some wonderful time with Todd's sister. Emma and Kerry hit it off right away, and the night after we returned to Lewiston, Emma woke in the night and asked me, "Go see Kerry?" We also squeezed in a quickie visit with my sisters (hence, the typewriter.... scroll down or hit "older posts" for that post!)

Brandon is doing well in Jamaica, and it's hard not to start counting down to the end of his mission and his return home: yep, it's 7 weeks left!! He'll have one more transfer, in which he may or may not move. Check his updates on his mission blog: http://www.huffakermission.blogspot.com/. (And check out His Slimness.... that photo of him balancing on the rock wall sure shows off his weight loss!)

Cameron is still working, plenty of hours at Wendy's, although not very much at Welenco. He's closer and closer to getting his mission paperwork done, with just the doctor's TB test and dentist visits to get completed. He also drives a mean Lamborghini in his video game world. Thank heavens his real vehicle is an old pickup!!

Darcie is full-on into her volleyball season, practicing two nights a week with the travel club team. So far, her team has earned a tie for 3rd place, and a Silver Bracket win in their first two tournaments. Two more tournaments to go, both of which are "away" days, and a tournament is truly an all-day thing.These are some pre-game warm-up shots, and boy.... does this girl ever get some height when she jumps! No wonder her position is as a middle blocker! This is her at the net:

Darcie has also started practices for track every afternoon after school, and is looking forward to doing the high jump again this year.

Alyssa? This girl is burning the candle at both ends and meeting herself coming and going. She's up bright and early for early-morning Seminary, then school, which is nothing to sneeze at: two honors classes in her course load. After school she stops at home long enough to change into softball clothes, grab a snack and then is right back out the door for softball practice, or sometimes a game.

This is the look I get from her....
That's her keys and a granola bar in hand. And this is all I see of her......

Until she's back home in the evening for dinner and an armload of homework. If she's lucky, she'll finish the homework without falling asleep in the middle of it, and then the whole thing starts all over again the next day.

Yesterday was especially interesting, when she had a softball game and the high school's Jazz Concert (for Gold Voices)... on the same night. I'm fairly certain the administrators didn't consult each other on the schedule. She played several innings and then dashed out the dugout to drive directly to the school to change for her concert. And yes..... I'm pretty darn sure she was the only girl in Gold Voices who was wearing softball sliding shorts under her black sequined formal that night!

Life is busy, but I'd rather be busy than bored!!

On the Right Track

My kids never cease to amaze me, especially when they do things that I never remotely would have been able to do at their age.

Darcie is on the junior high track team. She does the high jump, the 100-meter run, and the 200-meter run. Since this is her first experience with the high jump, I am impressed that she is doing well with it; she has placed first at her last 2 home meets. If she will keep up with it, I think she can be amazingly good at it.

I suspect that part of the fun of track is getting to hang with your friends every day after school. This is one of Darcie's very good friends since elementary school, despite the very real height difference!

Darcie is more of a sprinter than a long distance runner. I wonder if she would run faster if I were behind her, chasing her?

One of these days, I'll have to dig up some old photos of Cameron at track. He did not go out for track this year, but for the last several years had a lot of fun at the pole vault. Now THAT would scare me!