We are at STATE!

We made it to Kansas City safe and sound!  After settling into our hotel rooms, we had a few pre-tournament activities to do.  First, all the players signed volleyballs that will go home with teams after the tourney.  Then, we toured the convention center.  It's getting exciting!

Tomorrow we start playing at 10:00am. 

GO BEARCATS!!!!!

The Big Send-off

Our whole community is so excited about our girls heading to the State Championships.  The last team to make it all the way to state was my team in 1989.  (Sheesh, I am old)  Some of our local businesses showed their support on their signs and of course the school had well wishes on thiers as well. 

Everyone wanted to give our girls a big send off to show them how proud of them we are.  So bright and early this morning we all gathered at the school to wish them well.  Everyone cheered as they loaded the bus and then Coach Middleton said a few words.  We then all let go of balloons and cheered as they drove off.  Our local sherriff even escorted them out of town.  Pretty sweet!

....memories....

Sweetest Ladybug Ever!

Let me begin by saying that I am not a big Halloween fan.  Even when I was little, I just did not like it.  It just did not settle well with me.  So we do celebrate, with limits. 

That said, I just had to show you the cutest ladybug ever.  Yes, ever.

hee hee

WE'RE GOING TO STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday night was a gut-wrenching, stressful, wonderful, victorious night for our girls. 

We traveled nearly 3 hours Bell City to play in the regional championships.  Basically 16 teams were still in the running for State Championship and this night would slim it down to 4 teams. 

We first played Leopold, the team ranked 2nd in the state (we are ranked 4th).  It was a point for point match.  They had some big ole girls that could slam the ball!  We lost the first set which made all of our hearts just drop.  But our fighting Lady Bearcats have heart.  They fought their way back to win the next 2 sets and end Leopold's season. 

Next up, Bell City.  We were on their home court and expected their crowd to way out-cheer us.  Not so.  The Bearcat crowd was about 4 times as big and loud as the Bell City crowd!  (Don't they know this is VOLLEYBALL?!  Where were they?)   Again, good team, big girl that could jump to the moon, hang there, and then slam the ball.  We fell to them the first set, just to give us all heart attacks make it interesting.  Our little fighters came back and took the next two sets to give us a ticket to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

So cool!  We head to Kansas City on Thursday for the Final Four playoffs!  We will have pool play on Friday, the top 2 teams from that play for 1st and the bottom 2 play for 3rd on Saturday.  I am so excited! 

Our little team this year is kind of a afterthought.  For years our community was looking forward to last years team to get to be varsity and take it all the way.  However they lost in districts.  This year was kind of thought to be a building year.  But our girls are have heart.  They are not arrogant, or conceited.  They want to win and are not afraid to fight for it!  They work so hard and we are so proud of them.  WE'RE GOING TO STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkins!

This past weekend we spent a day together.  With the busyness that has engulfed us, we are trying to carve out family time.  It is definately not easy to find time, but I can see my children growing into adults right before my eyes and I am determined to make the most of the time I have left with them living in my house.  It was a cool and crisp Saturday and we headed out to pick up Hannah and the boys.  We took off to a cute little feed store that has tons of pumpkins.  Wayne has recently finished a job that was along the way so we stopped to give it a test!  It is a series of climbing rocks that honestly does not look like much, but it was so fun to climb on them!

After our backs were killing us from climbing and lifting we finished playing, we headed on over to get our pumpkins.  All Sydney wanted was a "baby punkie".  We were all doing our best to talk her into a bigger size that we could actually carve.  So when we went inside to pay, the owners said that they had been watching her want the little one, and they just gave it to her.  So sweet.

We tried to sit the kids up on pumpkins to get a decent shot, but the little ones kept falling off their pumpkins.  It was so cute.  But we did get a semi-decent picture.

Sydney proudly loaded up her baby punkie and set it right beside her in her carseat.

Then we headed off for lunch and one more playground where my big girls got into a jumping competition.  Actually they were trying to jump out of the swings at the same exact time.  Didn't happen.

Eventually we got them off the swings, home, and carving pumpkins.

 

We tried to give Sydney's pumpkin Asian eyes, but they came out looking more evil than Asian.  She wasn't too sure she liked it.  In the end she preferred her baby punkie!

Where' s Sydney?

It's that time again...

 

Oh yes, she is inside our couch.  I do not know how.  I do not know why.

Volleyball Victory!

Oh yes. 

Last night was the biginning of the end. 

It all comes down to this tourney. 

It was the district tournament finals. 

If you win, you keep playing.  If you lose, season is over.

And we were up against our rivals, the Bismark Indians. 

We wooped up on them in 2 straight sets!!!!

  It was soooooo fun.  I was so proud of our girls, they worked so hard.  We had 2 of our girls named to the first All-District team and then ASHLYN was named to the 2nd All-District team.  I was a bit misty.

We went into districts ranked 4th in the state.  Bismark was ranked 3rd.  We now advance to the sectional playoffs on Saturday evening.  Not sure my nerves can handle much more.  This is such a flashback moment for me.  When I was a junior in high school, we won the state championship.  Such a sweet memory.  I am not even gonna think beyond Saturday.  We will play at 3:00 & I'll keep you posted!