Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Seriously it has been this long?!? Maybe I am just not cut out for the blogging lifestyle, only time will tell I guess. ;-) I am certainly going to try and keep it up to date starting this spring and into the summer of 2009. Lots on the horizon as the men's volleyball scene is getting cranked up, I am planning for my wedding in April, and getting excited for the outdoor growing season with all of my new gardening plans. More to come as I slowly fill in the pieces here.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The summer is rolling along here in the Northwest as we enter July, where does all the time go? In any case my outdoor plans in terms of the v-ball have been slightly derailed as I managed to sprain the heck out of my ankle in the final game, on the final night, of my indoor men's 6's league. Luckily we managed to win the league one more time. However the prognosis is me being out of action for ~3weeks. It will be 2 of those weeks this weekend. Most of the swelling and color has been eliminated and the pain is minimal which is always a good sign. That also means no indoor soccer for the m
eantime while I let the ankle heal. However, I did manage to get in a few tournaments prior to the injury. The first was another reverse coed event with buddy Jen McIntosh. We had planned to play for quite a while so great to have an opportunity to do so. We played great in pool going 2-1 and should have gone 3-0. In any case we split down due to points and the way our pool ran. We dropped the ball in the silver bracket going 1-2-BBQ. Great time though with a sweet girl and her adorable son, Conner, running the park ragged the entire day. My serve was on most of the day and I felt pretty good about my play on the whole. It also did not rain the entire time which sure was a nice thing.. ;-) Following this event I held the first Madman summer tournament of the season with a HUGE success. I hit my all-time
high for entries with 44 participating teams. This included one of the larger Northwest women's brackets I have seen in quite a while with 20 ladies teams on the field for the day!! Great success all the way around and I was able to dish out over $1100 in cash prizes, not too shabby. I dragged Alan Wittren out of retirement to act as my partner for this one. We had a great time. Much like last tournament we went 2-1 in pool, went up this time in the split, and then proceeded to 1-2-BBQ 
to end the day somewhere in the bottom of the upper bracket. another great day though with some of the best weather of the year, a HUGE turnout, my mother surprising me by showing up for a visit, and a chance to hang out with Alan's great family including wife Vikki, daughter Micheal Ann, and newly arrived son Dax. One of these days I might even mix in a little more winning to the day as well!! In any case a great time for all. More to come as I am one the mend, have friend's weddings in the mix, have a trip to see the family in CO, and am planning for the 10th annual JWI event to top off the summer!!
Sports Update:
Indoor Soccer: 6-2-0 (First Place)
Men's Indoor 6's: 31-5 (League Champs!!)
Summer Tournaments:
June 9th: Reverse Coed with Chantelle Kadlec 4th Place (5-3 overall)
June 15th: Reverse Coed with Jen McIntosh (2-3 overall)
June 23rd: Men's 2's with Alan Wittren (2-3 overall)
--------June 24th Ankle Injury-----------
eantime while I let the ankle heal. However, I did manage to get in a few tournaments prior to the injury. The first was another reverse coed event with buddy Jen McIntosh. We had planned to play for quite a while so great to have an opportunity to do so. We played great in pool going 2-1 and should have gone 3-0. In any case we split down due to points and the way our pool ran. We dropped the ball in the silver bracket going 1-2-BBQ. Great time though with a sweet girl and her adorable son, Conner, running the park ragged the entire day. My serve was on most of the day and I felt pretty good about my play on the whole. It also did not rain the entire time which sure was a nice thing.. ;-) Following this event I held the first Madman summer tournament of the season with a HUGE success. I hit my all-time
high for entries with 44 participating teams. This included one of the larger Northwest women's brackets I have seen in quite a while with 20 ladies teams on the field for the day!! Great success all the way around and I was able to dish out over $1100 in cash prizes, not too shabby. I dragged Alan Wittren out of retirement to act as my partner for this one. We had a great time. Much like last tournament we went 2-1 in pool, went up this time in the split, and then proceeded to 1-2-BBQ 
to end the day somewhere in the bottom of the upper bracket. another great day though with some of the best weather of the year, a HUGE turnout, my mother surprising me by showing up for a visit, and a chance to hang out with Alan's great family including wife Vikki, daughter Micheal Ann, and newly arrived son Dax. One of these days I might even mix in a little more winning to the day as well!! In any case a great time for all. More to come as I am one the mend, have friend's weddings in the mix, have a trip to see the family in CO, and am planning for the 10th annual JWI event to top off the summer!!Sports Update:
Indoor Soccer: 6-2-0 (First Place)
Men's Indoor 6's: 31-5 (League Champs!!)
Summer Tournaments:
June 9th: Reverse Coed with Chantelle Kadlec 4th Place (5-3 overall)
June 15th: Reverse Coed with Jen McIntosh (2-3 overall)
June 23rd: Men's 2's with Alan Wittren (2-3 overall)
--------June 24th Ankle Injury-----------
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 t
own 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)
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 t
own 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)
Monday, May 14, 2007
WAY too long in between posts for me. Just have not been able to find the time for some reason. Oh well, that happens I guess. Busy times as Janelle and I start the process of looking for a house to purchase in the Seattle area. I think this will be a great adventure and I am really looking forward to it this summer. The job continues to roll along as I had one of my manuscripts accepted to be published in the near future and am working on the next in the series that I hope to have submitted near the end of the month. Things just seem to be really rolling along right now. The sports continue to roll along as I currently have 3 v-ball leagues and an indoor soccer league that I am participating in. In addition the end of this month brings the indoor national tournament in Austin, TX that my team will be attending, I am looking forward to it quite a bit. Janelle is also going to travel with us, her first vacation in quite a while, I hope we can make it a great trip for her as well. We finished up the regular men's indoor season with a trip to the Oregon Men's regionals with a make-shift group of our usual players. We did not play the best ever but improved every match and took a very tough Oregon team to 3 in our elimination round. We are quite a bit ahead of where we were last year heading to nationals in how we play as a squad. I expect we will be even more competitive this year in the A bracket of the national tournament. 2 of the v-ball leagues are in the final weeks and will finish up be the end of the month, the men's league runs through June and the soccer through July. As I finish these up I will be excited to get outdoors for a little camping, BBQing, outdoor v-ball, and general appreciation of the great nature-related activites we have access to here in the Northwest. I will run my usual 3-4 v-ball tournaments this summer culminating in our finale of the 10th annual JWI charity event I run each year. Tough to believe I have been doing this for so long, sure seems to have flown by when looking back on the events. It is always a fun process to work out the details of the event with friends and family as we continue to add crazy extras every year to the gifts and perks of the tournament. Good times for all, and planning seems to be at least half of the fun.
Sports Standings:
Renton Coed 6's V-ball: 14-4 (2nd Place)
Jet City Coed 6's V-ball: 12-6 (2nd Place)
Bellevue Men's V-ball: 14-2 (1st Place)
Indoor Soccer: 1-0-0 (Tied or 1st)
Sports Standings:
Renton Coed 6's V-ball: 14-4 (2nd Place)
Jet City Coed 6's V-ball: 12-6 (2nd Place)
Bellevue Men's V-ball: 14-2 (1st Place)
Indoor Soccer: 1-0-0 (Tied or 1st)
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