UOVA Tournament 6-27-09

Adrienne and I both participated in the Men's/Women's outdoor volleyball tournament last Saturday (UOVA stands for Utah Outdoor Volleyball Association). Ade played with our good friend Emily in the Women's novice division, while I teamed up with Dan for the Men's novice. We all had a great time. The girls placed about 5th and the guys actually won their division. I've posted a couple of photos for memory's sake.

Dan set me up pretty good for this one. Notice my stylish shades and bandana. I started wearing the bandana a couple years ago after my head got burned one too many times.

Ade is about to bring the heat with her serve as Emily watches. They were only one game out of making the next stage of the tournament. This was the first time they played together. I hope they get another chance soon. On a side note, Emily's shoulders look pretty buff in this camera angle.

Lots of fun

Hey everyone, my wife's company had their annual summer party today. We all went up to Sundance and had a great meal and some fun games. There were face painters, an air castle, and even volleyball. It's always fun at their company parties. Our cousin, Eric, was even there. He flew in from Florida to make an appearance.

Our case worker had an interesting question for us. I guess there is one birth mom that is looking for many of the qualities that we have, but with one addition. She wants the baby to be taught sign language and our case worker was wondering what our feelings were on that matter. We talked it over and decided that we did plan on using sign language to assist in early language development, but that we probably couldn't commit to reaching a fluent level. We don't know if that was what she was looking for, but I hope it helps her. We know everything is going to work out when the time and the situation is right. We hope it is sooner rather than later but we know we need to leave it in the Lord's hands.

Rain and making time for things that matter

I think it's at least rained a little bit each day for the last two weeks. I thought summer was supposed to be here. There is a bit of sunshine at the end of the tunnel though. It is supposed to stop by the weekend. This is wonderful because we have decided to play in a Co-ed 4's volleyball tournament as part of the Utah Summer Games. We're playing with our old neighbors (Dan and Kim). Ade and I haven't done any outdoor tournaments in a year so we are really looking forward to it.

The good news with the rain is that I haven't had to water my garden at all. It seems to be doing well for the most part.

Most people who follow our blog know this already, but I wanted to let the others know too. My Uncle Larry isn't doing well with his treatment (for cancer). According to the doctors, he might only have a couple of months left. Of all my aunts and uncles, he was the one that I knew the best growing up. We would take trips up to their home in Tennessee about once a year during most of my "formative years". The sad part is, of all my aunts and uncles, it has been the longest since I have seen him and Aunt Margaret. They live out in Wisconsin now, but I wish I would have found the time and resources to make a trip out there before all this happened. At the least, I wish I would have called a few times over the years. I just relied on updates from my mom and dad over the years. Sometimes it takes a tough situation to wake us up to the little to the things we should be doing. We should let those we care about know how we feel. Larry has always been an example of what it means to be a good and honorable man and father all the years I have known him...of course I've heard a story or two from before my time that certainly makes me laugh.

Weeks are flying by

Remember when back in the days of youth and you were 10 and one week was an eternity? I can hardly believe how fast time is flying by these days. It seems like just a month or two back that we were getting ready for Christmas.

Anyways, we don't really have any more progress on the yard. I put in some pavers as stepping stones around the garden boxes. Now I just need to figure out the best way to build the fountain for the front of the house. Hopefully I can get it all together before Adrienne's family comes out to visit.

My neighbor (Seth) is going to build a fort in his backyard for his girls to play on. I think I'm going to try to help. It sounds like a fun project and I could probably learn a thing or two from putting it together.