South Padre Island

Thanksgiving weekend some of us went to South Padre, Texas to watch Noah play two games. Here are a few pictures. Noah hit a game winning shot in 2-OT and was selected as an all-tournament player.

Jake and Jo playing in the Gulf of Mexico. I walked around on the dunes. It was a bit chilly down there for a few days.

Oklahoma!

I really enjoyed living in Norman. Besides coaching volleyball at NHS, I also attended some OU football and volleyball games. College towns are the best, especially as a new school year begins in the fall.

OU Football

OU Volleyball
(NCAA Tournament)

OU Campus

Fall Volleyball

Another fall season of volleyball has come to a close. I enjoyed my time coaching at NHS, working with some wonderful girls, and also appreciated the opportunity to live and work in Norman near the campus of OU. It has also been nice to watch my sister grow up and play at Bartlesville, helping them to a top-4 finish and making the All-State team.

NHS teams

JV-Orange Team Photo

Norman Varsity 1st Place Finish at Home Tourney

Jo's team (BHS at state)The Bruins played Edmond Memorial (state champs) in the semi-finals. Jo (#5) also made the all-tournament team. I was able to see them play a few times this year, including at Ponca City (where I started coaching volleyball).


Ark City, KSA few of the girls from Arkansas City I helped coach in club a few years back. I came to their senior night, and after the game they wanted to take a picture with me.


Collage of some of the fun times this year... at IHOP, Zio's, Union tourney, Arkansas team camp (and the stairs), Retro night... and Jo & I at Stillwater. Then our end of year banquet (below), I gave out 'awards' to the juniors.

Colorado

Got to visit Boulder, CO again this year. The fall session of my semi-annual trips for work to attend conference meetings. And then I go out and explore the town at night. The weather was gorgeous all week! I wish I had more time during the day to go hiking up in the mountains or take a nice long bike ride along the boulder creek trail. Our hotel is next to the University of Colorado campus.

Chicago!

I spent last weekend visiting my brother Ben and his family in Chicago. I wanted to see their place out there and spend time with the kids. I had originally picked that weekend to also see a day of AVP volleyball, but that fell through when the AVP fell apart earlier this summer. I was able to go down to the University of Illinois with them to watch some BYU volleyball. Sunday we also got over to my grandma's house (she passed away last year) and it was nice to be back there one more time, recalling childhood memories. I also spent some time walking around downtown Chicago, taking an architectural boat tour on the river and lake (free too thanks to some nice people!), and going to a Cubs game at Wrigley... the most perfect place for a sporting event.
Sadly though most of my photos I took were deleted yesterday when my phone got a 'sweet' new update... which caused a factory reset. I did upload a few to facebook before that happened.

I'm Coaching Again?

Wasn't sure if I would be coaching again this year, but one more year was calling out to me. And it was probably good that I did. With the head coach stepping down 3 weeks before the season began, and the new coach being able to attend practices a few days before the first game, I was able to run the program during the transition. I got to put all my ideas into practice and push the girls to prepare. They are a great group of girls. Good luck to the Varsity this year and I get to take over my JV team again to work hard and have fun!


PS. Had a good start to the season with our first game. It's nice to get a win after all the hard work.
PSS. This is also my sister's senior season of volleyball. The only time we would get to see her team in a game would be at the state tournament. But hopefully I'll get to catch a few of her games.

July in Oklahoma

Been living in Norman for the most part of July while I've been working and coaching. I have been able to take a few side trips on the weekends, exploring and experiencing some of Oklahoma I've never seen.

- Noodling festival in Paul's Valley

- Chickasaw National Rec Area
- OKC Redhawks games in Bricktown (plus reggae fest)

- University of Arkansas team camp for the volleyball girls

Summer Travels

Two June weddings in Utah, both my brothers'. Noah & Kendalyn June 9 (Draper) and Jeremiah & Allison June 29 (Timpanogas).

While in Utah we went hiking, bowling, and played some golf too.



USA adult national volleyball championships in Phoenix over Memorial weekend. 2nd year in which I have participated.

(photos to come)

I also moved into my new apartment...

Updates!

Just wanted to post a few highlights of recent happenings.


April 22 - OKC THUNDER v. Lakers. First ever NBA Playoff game in Oklahoma! And I got to attend!! And the Thunder won!!! A sea of blue...

May 19 - Stillwater Tornado! Even though we are in tornado alley, a tornado hadn't touched down in Stillwater for over two decades. That all changed this month. Even though it turned out to be not a large tornado (thank goodness), the funnel still touched down on the north side of town and damaged a few things. This was a very slow moving storm (maybe 25 mph), and we had at least a half hour of warning time before the actual storm hit. Once the twister touched down just east of I-35 along highway 51, the sirens went off in Stillwater... and blared for 3o minutes straight. Of course, I had the tv turned up loud so I could hear them while I stood outside pretty much the whole time watching the progression of the storm (remember I live just one block south of HWY 51). Turned out there were definitely two areas of circulation near the hook of the super-cell. The one further north would put a funnel down for a bit then take it back up again. The one further south was the circulation which went right over our house and right over my head. I was just too excited and couldn't get myself to go inside. The clouds were swirling right there, but never seemed to be too organized, which was good. If i did see anything start to organized, I would probably have to race into my house down into the basement. But we were lucky, although it would have been cool to see a tornado.

April 1-3 - NIRSA Collegiate Club Volleyball Nationals (Dallas, TX). Coaching my OSU girls' last tournament of the season.

(I also got a new phone! The new HTC Droid Incredible)

May 10 Tornado Outbreak

A severe weather outbreak occurred across Oklahoma as tornadic storms formed along a line from north to south Monday afternoon through the evening. An exciting yet devastating event. The first tornado warning was put out mid-afternoon north-west of the site I work at (multi-vortex tornado pictured near Wakita). The second tornado warning was released just south of the site near Billings (#2) at about the same time I was driving that way back home after work. Just off the exit on I-35 I drove past an overturned FedEx truck and golf ball to baseball size hail. The Norman tornado (track 6) was likely the largest of yesterday's, followed a path over highway 9 just a few miles east of the OU campus and the National Weather Center.

Norman Tornado

Related blogs:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/2010/05/10-may-2010-tornado-outbreak/

http://www.patricktmarsh.com/2010/05/day-130-high-risk/

http://tornadoscientists.blogspot.com/

Thankyou, April

I don't know whether I'm happier April is here or March is past. But I am excited that both have occurred. March was discouraging, from start to finish, although not all of it was accursed (the weekend of NCAA march madness in OKC with BYU basketball was amazing). But other than that, I've been disappointed.

Now a glorious April has arrived, and I am more filled with life again. General Conference is always a great way to start off a month, and I definitely felt the spirit of hope and peace during the sessions, especially strong during Priesthood. "Patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action and offers hope for peace." (Uchtdorf)

April is also a favorite time of year because it is a full month of Spring! ... my favorite season. Every spring I rave about how much I enjoy the return of new life, the new warmth, and of course the ThunderStorms! I've also started this week with a new workout routine and meal plan. And I'm already starting to feel better with more energy and strength as I try to get back in shape.

Thankyou, April. I'm looking forward to a great month.

March Madness: NCAA Tournament 2010

BYU! BYU! BYU! Double overtime in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The last time the University of Florida had played in the tourney they won the NCAA championship. 3rd row seats behind the bench. Amazing. So happy for Noah, Jimmer, Michael "Jordan" Lloyd, and the rest of the team. Loudest I have yelled probably ever. Jo's poster and mom's t-shirts got us on tv all throughout the game. Totally worth changing my flight to leave a day early, and waking up around 3am to travel from DC to OKC and get to my seat just as the player starters were announced.

We were able to return for the 2nd round session at the Ford Center, even after Friday's 70 degree weather turned into near blizzard conditions on Saturday in Oklahoma. Before the BYU-Kansas State game tipped off, we witnessed the biggest upset of the tournament so far, with Northern Iowa knocking off the big boys of Kansas. Although BYU lost, they fought hard.