Monday, June 11, 2007

Now it has REALLY been too long since the last post for me. I have had a great time over the last several weeks though. Here are some of the highlights....We started on Memorial Day weekend as Janelle and I joined the rest o the Parker clan (Bruce and Lisa) to hit up their friends cabin in the glorious Methow Valley in Mazama, WA. I would say this is some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery I have seen in quite a while. From the high mountain meadows, to the groves of aspen trees near the river, and the wonderful views from all angles. We really had a chance to detox, enjoy the outdoors, take one heck of a hike (raised our elevation ~1,700 feet over the duration), and enjoy what seemed like a flock of hummingbirds around their house. Huge thanks to the Parkers and friends for allowing me to partake in their family plans as usual, they have made me feel extremely welcome. This was followed by one day or rest back at the condo and then off to the airport as we head to Austin for the USAV volleyball Nationals!! A really fun trip with some great, warm weather in Texas and some much improved Nationals play from the boys of Madman Volleyball as we took 13th in the Men's "A" bracket for the nation. More then halfway to the top from where we finished last year and the play to prove it!! A great it to a really successful season where we saw a lot of player really develop their games as we went through the tournament schedule. Janelle and I were able to wander the town to see the sites including the impressive capitol building and some cool art in this eclectic city. This adventure included seeing a HUGE annual biker rally called ROT that happen in Austin each year. Thousands of bikes with all of the streets closed off to allow them to cruise, very fun. We also ate great, so much good food to be had!! This last week I have finished up several of my indoor v-ball leagues for the summer. My coed 6's teams won both the Monday league in Renton and the Thursday league in North Seattle. The North Seattle crew won without half of the team at nationals, great job Amy and Mike Repka in holding down the fort for team "Happy Fun Ball" in the Jet City League. My indoor men's 6's league is down to 2 weeks as we had a double-header last night. We went 8-0 to extend our lead in the league as we look for another championship. Indoor soccer continues to roll along and we are 4-0, I think my keeper skills might actually be improving as I go, we will see as the season continues. I have also started on the outdoor volleyball for the summer as I played with buddy Chantelle Kadlec in a rainy tournament last Saturday. We looked pretty rusty but still went 5-3 and finished 4th behind 3 very solid open teams, not too bad to start. We will see how many different players I am able to play with this summer, I usually have quite a mix which is fun. I have plans to play this next weekend with another buddy Jen McIntosh, should be a good time. Next on the schedule is also some serious house-hunting with Jesse and Janelle as we look for the price-range in the area and what we might be able to get into for what we can afford, I am really looking forward to it. More to come as the adventures this summer!!

Sports Update:

Indoor Soccer: 4-0 (First Place)
Men's Indoor 6's: 29-3 (First Place)
Monday Coed 6's: League Champs (See pic above)
Thurs. Coed 6's: League Champs

Summer Tournaments:
June 9th: Reverse Coed with Chantelle Kadlec 4th Place (5-3 overall)