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 meantime 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-----------

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)

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)

Recently we had a joint celebration of both the Easter Holiday along with Amy and Janelle's B-day. As is obvious the girls had a good time opening some fun gifts from the whole family crew. Amy sure does love candy!! This was followed by a couple of good weeks of the usual athletic events and associated fun. I subbed in a few times for the coed 6's team in Renton that my friends the Naps play for. We went 8-1 during my 3 weeks there which felt great and had quite a good time playing with all of them. A silly bunch, we spent much of the time on the court laughing it up at each other's antics during the play. We started the coed 6's league in North Seattle and have my brother back from the knee injury to play a little ball. We have started the first 3 weeks with 2-1 wins in each of the matches to date. I think we stand at 1st or second in the league at this early point. In the men's 6's league we are now into a new season and started with a 4-0 sweep in our first week. We have a bye this week and continue next Sunday. The soccer has wound down with a few tough games but a nice 12-8 win in the finale. There is a final game this coming week for 2 other teams that will decide our fate. A loss or tie by one of the teams puts us in the top 2 of the league a places us in the finale versus the number 1 team in the league for the right to play the champion from the Eastside league. It would be a nice rematch as previously we are 1-1-1 versus the top team in some great games. I am signed up for next season as well and look forward to more fun with some old friends on the team. The men's USAV volleyball season is also winding down. With our recent 3rd place finish once again in Portland we now have a regional event this weekend in Issaquah. We do not have available most of our big guns so it will be interesting to see how we do on the whole, should be a fun one either way. My bro plans to play and it will be great to have him there for the day, we always have a good time. We have then been invited to the Oregon men's regionals on May 5th. We plan to attend that and see if we can get over the hump versus those Oregon punks. It felt great to be asked and to have performed so well on our last 3 travel tournaments. Then at the end of May we have Nationals in Austin, TX to finish the season, it has been a great one. Check out all the updates for my team at: www.madmanvolleyball.com. Recently my friend at work got me a GREAT pair of tickets for a Mariner's game at Safeco Field. Jesse Paulson and I were able to go and enjoy some great sunny Seattle weather and had a really nice time. This weekend I look forward to seeing friend Ryan Nickols as we celebrate his upcoming nuptials this summer at his parent's house which should be quite fun. I also have the volleyball tournament and then next week is Janelle's birthday on April 25th. Fun for all!! The work front has also been going well. I have accelerated my application output and feel confident I will have some options. In the meantime my current projects have been running quite well as I just found out I have a new paper accepted and hope to put out another one in a few weeks. Additionally there is now an option to extend my time here with a slight raise into the next year which might well be a great fit for my current goals of house-hunting in the Seattle area by the end of the year. More to come as all of this develops!!

Another few busy weeks have flown by here in the Northwest as the sun has continued to make some extended visits to the Seattle skies and the flowers/trees are coming into full bloom. It sure has made the walks to work spectacular with all of the color and fresh smells which I have been able to enjoy. Nature is good for the soul my friends!! I do feel like there are times when I run on solar power and really become energized by having a little more exposure to that big halogen flame in the sky once in awhile. The job continues at a good clip as I eagerly await the results of my current manuscript submission, I am hoping for an acceptance on this one which will allow me to focus on the final paper planned before I leave the lab. It also appears that in the meantime I might get some authorship credit in a couple of journal papers that are being done with reagents from our lab that I was crucial in the development of. In addition I have been able to provide technical help to the producing lab. All of this would of course help in beefing up the old resume for the continued job search here in the Emerald City. This last weekend I had a very nice time as Janelle and I were able to host my brother John and his fiancee Amy for our first event in our new condo for a dinner followed some traditional egg dying. Silly fun to be sure but fun nonetheless. We had a great time and produced some pretty good eggs in my estimation. I have posted some pics here so that you can judge our products for yourself. The volleyball has just started up again for the next round of my coed 6's and Sunday night men's 6's for the region. We had a great night of fun with coed last Thursday as we ended 2-1 versus the team that beat us in the final last tournament round. Looks to be another fun round of play with some good buddies. We won the men's league and now seek to defend the title once again as we start those matches this coming Sunday. The indoor soccer is also winding down as we played last Wednesday to a great 11-4 victory and have 2 games remaining. We are still in the hunt to be one of the top 2 teams in the league but will most likely need some help to move up past our current 3rd place position. In any event I had another great attitude experience and almost feel like I have turned another big corner in being okay at sports events with my temper and attitude, only time will tell of course but it is nice to see improvement even in myself. This month we have a final trip for V-ball in Portland to look forward to as well as a tournament near us to finish the month. In addition I hope to visit Trish and Craig in Issaquah, celebrate Amy's birthday on the 14th/Janelle's Birthday on the 25th, and continue to get manuscripts and resumes out the door. Looking forward to the summer months, nationals in Austin, and a trip to Denver to see all the Weaver crew along with my adorable nieces!! More to come!!

Another few busy weeks have passed in the Northwest as the spring quickly takes full hold of the region. Gorgeous blooming trees and flowers are out as the sun has peeked out a few times and we are starting to have a few warm days here and there. We had such an amazing summer last year in terms of weather, I hope we have some of the same luck for this season with chances to get out and enjoy all the region has to offer. The sports seasons continue to march along. Soccer I would rate "OK" as we have hit a rough spot with the team with some tough games, not our best play, and personality conflicts. I am trying to take a new attitude to the rest of the season to end on a high note. The men's indoor league has ended well, we have our last weekend for this round next Sunday and we go in with a a comfortable lead, we will win the league once again no matter the outcome. Really a nice way to end as we stepped up our game quite a bit I thought. The coed 6's ended with a 3-game loss in the finals of our tournament. We played just fine and the other team played what I consider their best match of the league season, hats off to them. We still had a blast with our group and I would not change our line-up at all. We also had a successful regional men's indoor tournament that was well received and had some great play for all involved. My team finished 3rd (our seemingly favorite spot) but played great all day in my opinion. On a personal note this was perhaps one of my best attitude days in years for a whole day. No blow-ups to speak of, anger was almost non-existent and just was a positive experience. It really feels good to be able to go into an event focused on my attitude for the day a to be able to maintain that for the whole day win or lose. The move has been great for me and Janelle and love our new space as we continue to make it our own. I think we are almost ready to event host someone over to check out the new duds and show off what we have. I am really looking forward to it. A quite week coming up with no Wednesday soccer, Thursday v-ball, so a clean slate for the evenings, looking to get lots of other stuff off of my list.

Sports Update:
Indoor soccer: 6-2-2 (3rd in the league)
Coed 6's Volleyball: 21-6 (Finished 2nd in league)
Men's 6's Volleyball: (Finishing 1st in league)
Men's USAV traveling Team
Tournament finishes to date: 7th of 11, 2nd of 9, 3rd of 11, 3rd of 11, 3rd of 7

Another fun-filled week in the Emerald City. This last round of sports went quite well as we had a double-header in soccer versus the next 2 best teams in the league record-wise. We had a hard-fought 2-2 tie and a 13-10 win in a finale for the night. The only bummer was the fact that my bro tweaked his knee once again that night on a hard tackle. He has his Dr.'s appointment this week and I am keeping my fingers crossed for the best news possible. Thursday in coed 6's volleyball we had our buddy Alan Wittren from our USAV men's team fill in for John in a fun-filled match as we went 2-1 and have the first place seed going into the tournament for that league. We were also able to get all 4 of our Sunday night match to continue our newly-acquired lead there as well. This last weekend we had a men's USAV tournament in the Portland, OR area. Our improvement continue as we finished 3rd of the 11 teams in the AA/A bracket and knocked out another of the top OR-based teams in the elimination rounds. Good way to end the day. We proceeded to hurry from there back north to the Bellevue gym for league play and finished 3-1 versus one of the other tough teams in the league to finish the night. I am also working a little each day to get my new condo I am sharing with Janelle into shape. We are looking to add a desk to our furniture for the computer gear that we currently have and another bookcase so that we can fit all of our massive book collection into the space without having just packed boxes piled on the side. Some pictures included here of the gorgeous cherry tree in bloom right outside our balcony window. Also you can clearly see that our cat Missy is making herself right at home in the new place and even comes pre-packaged, sealed for freshness!! Crazy feline to be sure but she seems to fit well with us and we have really enjoyed having her around since the end of last summer. This week I have another round of indoor soccer and the start of the coed 6's volleyball elimination rounds. I also have tix for a concert this coming Saturday as we go see a local favorite, the Paperboys for their annual St. Patty's Day event at the Showbox in downtown Seattle. I also am helping to plan the next indoor men's event in the region on Sunday, March 25th. We are hoping to build off of our success in the last Seattle event and have been really pleased with were we have been headed to date, just really seem to be gaining momentum. So long for now and more to come!!

Sports Updates:
Indoor Soccer: 5-1-1 (Tied for first)
Coed 6's V-ball: 17-4 (1st place seed in elimination tournament)
Men's Indoor 6's V-ball: 27-5 (First Place)

One more week in the books and it has been a busy one for sure. I am 99% of the way done with my move with all of my stuff cleared out and the apartment cleaned, keys go back today. Janelle is in the final stages as her lease comes up on the 14th so a little time to breath with that one. I would say 98% of her stuff has been moved into the new place as well by this point. I was pretty happy with the Craig's list by the end as we sold Janelle's coffee table and TV stand and my computer, computer desk, desk chair, pair of couches, full bed set, bike rack, dresser, and headboard/foot board combo. Much of this happened all on the weekend during the move...craziness as we ran between places and helped load up stuff into people's trucks and such. A huge thanks to Janelle's parents Bruce and Lisa who came all the way up from Port Orchard to help with the moving of big furniture in their truck during the weekend. It sure made for quicker work on our end and saved a nice bundle of $$ that we would have spent on a rental truck otherwise. They are great people and have been really supportive of me. Nice to be able to pair down this much though, only way we will be able to fit all of our stuff in at this point, organizing here we come!! I will get up pictures of the new place and the gorgeous cherry tree out front ASAP. In the meantime my thumb has improved quite a bit, I have since played in the men's indoor 6's league twice with little to no discomfort. The indoor soccer continues well as I played field in our latest rout (we won HUGE) and I felt pretty good afterwards. I will give the thumb another week at least to heal up as I play in the field before moving back to goal where I am a little more comfortable. Rick played great there in my absence (I would even rate him higher then me actually) and we all had a lot of fun. We have a big double-header this week versus the next best teams in the league, should be interesting to see how my lungs/legs hold up to the extra work. This weekend I am off to Portland area again as we hit another men's volleyball tournament with Team Madman, should be a blast. I would think we will have a big target on our back after our great play last week so it will be interesting to see how we respond to the challenge. Regardless I am anxious to hit the court once again with our fun team and my bro for this one!! All for now, updates to come!!

Sports Standings:
Indoor Soccer: 4-0-1 (First Place)
Coed 6's V-ball: 15-3 (First Place)
Indoor Men's V-ball: 24-4 (First Place)

Just an update from the weekend activities. Pretty good results I felt like as the Madman indoor men's team took 3rd out of 11 AA/A teams at the most recent Oregon event. In the process we knocked out the premier Oregon-based squad in KBCC whom had not lost in such an early round in the last 5-6 years!! Not to shabby way to start the weekend. We proceeded from there to lose in a very close 3-game semifinal to the next best Oregon team in my opinion as we fell in the third game 13-15. Great play from all of our guys who stepped up a ton to put on quite a show in my mind. The middles (Alan an Tony) made a world of difference once again controlling the net and opening up the offense for all of our hitters. The only bummer was a fairly significant jamming of my thumb during the early action of the day. Some pretty good swelling and color there which has been significantly decreased in the last few days with my icing and other therapy. We will see how quick I am able to heal. Looks like a break in my role of goalie at least for the time being. In addition I was able to tape up real tight and play on Sunday night in our big grudge match versus the sand players in the Bellevue indoor league. Web swept them out with a 4-0 match as they imploded into self-arguing and one guy leaving the court to leave the rest to play with 5!! Classic ego v-ball action I tell you, gotta love those bech guys!! That places us in 1st for the league with a 2-game buffer. Not too shabby. My month-ending move continues apace as I look to start the physical part on Thursday when I plan to move the majority of my stuff to the new location. I all hoping that the 4-5 items on Craig's List will also be pared down this week to prevent us having to find a way to store any of them. Looks like I have leads on at least 2 of the items for this week which would be a major victory in my mind. More to come as the move, more indoor soccer, and hopefully some bro-time happens this week!!

No pictures this round but lots to update on the sports and life front. First the sports. Great fun as usual as my coed 6's team continue to roll over the last few weeks with 2 3-0 sweeps of the upper half of our division, clinching us the top slot in the impending playoffs that start in 2 weeks. The men's 6's also had a sweep in our one match since last I posted and we now stand at 16-4, just 2 games out of first (The Seattle beach boys) and have set up for the big showdown this Sunday as we take on the Beach Guys for the bragging rights in the league, should be a good one. The soccer has been fun as well as we have gone 1-1 since last I posted but our one loss was on a night when we have no subs and played shorthanded for much of the match, oh well....We get another shot at the guys who beat us in just a few weeks, should also be a good one I would predict. In addition to all of this I have been able to pull off a very successful men's indoor tournament here in Seattle, one of the bigger ones we have had in the last 2 years if I am not mistaken!! Felt really good to try and rejuvenate the local scene and have such a great response from all who attended. To boot my squad (Team Madman/ www.madmanvolleyball.com) played our best to date, finishing in second place and taking the only game off of the eventual winners Island Style. What a way to round out the day. As busy as the sports scene has been the other stuff has been just as busy as I now have a 4-month extension from my current job to look for a new one in the Seattle area. I also plan to move in with my girlfriend Janelle at the end of the month, we are both really excited. This of course has led to some crazy weeks combined with packing, selling items on Craig's list (never knew this would be such a headache!!), packing, getting parking permit, making trips to Goodwill with donations, etc... It will be great to finish this stuff up. It has also be a very good cleansing experience emotionally and physically for me to start fresh in this chapter of my life. On top of all of this my brother announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Amy whom I adore!! I am really excited for them and to have Amy as a formal part of the Weaver Crew here in the near future. Off this weekend as I play another v-ball event in the Portland area and look forward to finishing up all of the moving details. Happy days to come!!

Sports Standings:
Coed 6's v-ball: 15-3 (First Seed for Playoffs)
Indoor Soccer: 3-0-1 (Tied for first)
Men's Indoor 6's v-ball: 16-4 (Second place by 2 games, big match for first this weekend)
Indoor Men's V-ball USAV: 2nd place finish in Feb. 18th Tournament

Another week has gone by and fun all the way around. I had a bye for my men's 6's team on Sunday so no news there but my coed 6's team won a hard fought battle versus our archrival in the league for the last several years Badd Fung Shui 3-0. That puts us in the top slot for the league at this point with our 9-3 record after 4 matches. We play again tonight versus a team we went 2-1 against the first time around seeking to improve our outcome from that night, we will see. I also had another chance to play goalie for the indoor soccer team I have joined. We won again with a 10-4 game versus last years champion of this division, not a bad way to start out a league 2-0. Once again I gave up a few goals I would like to have back but that is certainly the way it works in indoor it seems. The team we played had a VERY good goalie, I am not ashamed to say he was much more talented then me and yet the style makes it very hard to keep out scores with as much pressure as we had all night. Oh well, we will see if we can keep things rolling with our team in the next few weeks, we have some good match-ups on the horizon with some of the stronger teams in the league. I have added here a few more choice images from my awesome trip to Akron to visit the nieces. That is in fact me wearing the fine horse-head costume as we played dress-up and helping the little ones add to the impressive hairdo of the snowman we managed with what little snow they had. It was not very deep but man did it stick....perfect for snowball/snowman manufacturing!! I am still glowing from my trip to see the girls and am excited for the opportunity to see them in a few months as most of the Weaver Clan intends to descend upon my parents house in Denver for a few days of what I am sure will be some crazy fun. I am also starting to organize a men's indoor tournament for Feb. 18th. I have been disappointed in the region and their efforts for the men these days, the community itself is somewhat to blame as well. In any case I think being a little more pro-active might stimulate some play for all of us still wanting to get in some indoor play for the season. Should be interesting to see where things end up with this attempt. Until next time!!

Sports Standings:
Indoor Soccer: 2-0 (Second Place, only by numbers of games played)
Coed 6's: 9-3 (First Place)
Men's Indoor 6's V-ball: 12-4 (Tied for 2nd Place)

I am returned from a fantastic trip to see my 2 adorable nieces in Akron ,OH. I was able to visit this past weekend to help out my sister Michelle and husband John as they get continue classes to prepare for an international adoption. That's right.....a new niece or nephew appears to be on the horizon, this time straight from Thailand, more to come!!! I am excited by their willingness to help out in the greater scheme of things in the world and open their home to others, I know they will improve the life if a child with their loving lifestyles and passion for quality parenting. On that note I would point out that my sister has proven to be a phenomenal mother, I know she has doubts sometimes, but she has raised to gorgeous and well-adjusted little girls who I have no doubt will continue to flourish in her care. The trip was filled with many highlights as they weekend seemed to just fly by for all of us. We ate, danced, sang, read quite a few stories, and played in the snow as we made a snowman with one of the best hairdos I have seen in quite some time. I was even able to share with Sara one of my favorite childhood stories "Where the wild things are" on my last night in Ohio, it was wonderful to see her sharing my excitement about the childhood classic. Let the wild rumpus begin!! And rumpus we did. The girls showed us all of their new dance moves as they have continued to enjoy starting their own dance classes in recent months. No surprise there will all of the history and love of dance that Michelle has. It was quite a sight as the twisted away to their favorite music, Lori chasing after Sara around the room asking for her to be a dance partner, one of the cuter sights I have seen in a while. They are becoming good friends as they grow up together and improve their sharing and playing skills as their interests grow, so much fun to be a witness to. I know it has been a real joy for my mother to have such precious grandchildren to visit. she has glowed in their affection and takes the role of grandmother very seriously, she had a wonderful model in her own mother who was such a wonderful supporter my siblings and myself. After all of the dust has settled I am looking forward already to this summer when the plan is to meet at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Denver with my sister, the nieces, my brother, Amy and Janelle if we can swing it for a big family gathering for all of us. I know it would be special if we can all make the effort. I sure do love those little girls and look forward to more cross-country adventures in the near future. So long for now.

Off to a new adventure this week as I travel to Akron, OH via the Denver airport to visit my older sister Michelle and her two adorable daughters Sara and Lori. How lucky am I to have such cute relatives? I am really looking forward to the trip as my mother will be joining the fun, getting on the plane in Denver as we take care of the girls for the weekend so Michelle and her husband can take classes as they prepare for an international adoption!!! That's right, another niece/nephew is on the way. I think they have made a great choice for them with this process and I am more then happy to help out with the little ones and use it as an excuse to continue my reign as "Favorite Uncle"!!! We have some fun adventures planned for them, I will let you know how they work out upon my return. Last night was our first league game for the indoor soccer team that I am on, I play goalie, at least to start. A nice win as we came out on top 9-5. I let in a few I probably should have stopped but held my own for the first time back on the indoor field in over a year. A really fun time and quite a workout in the heat of the place, I probably sweated our 5 pounds and I was not even running all that much. We have a great group of guys and it should be a fun opportunity to catch up with buddies and hang out with the brother of course. The v-ball is rolling along as well. Last week we went 3-1 in the indoor men's league and 2-1 in the coed league, next round tonight for coed. Night quite the same feel and dominance for these 2 leagues as in the past but still fun and both teams have chances to hit full stride in the coming weeks, very early yet. All for now, more upon my return from Akron!!

Current Sports Standings:
Indoor Soccer : 1-0 (Tied for first)
Men's V-ball Indoor 6's: 9-3 (Tied for 2nd)
Coed V-ball Indoor 6's: 4-2 (2nd Place) Game versus number 1 team tonight (We trail by only 1 game)

One of the best things I have a chance to do when time permits is to share an evening of inane entertainment with my younger brother John. Officially this is termed "Bro-night" and includes the basics of food, beer, and something silly for entertainment that evening. Hilarity seems to appear all on its own no matter the choices made from this list. Last night was one for the ages and what we have coined the start of the "New Era" for our relationship..goofy huh? That's just the way we roll, deal with it. Nothing like a little bit of clearing of the air to start out the new year with a clean slate and a closer bond then ever. Top that off with popping the tap on a Coors Light mini-keg for all of the Rocky Mountain refreshment. Follow this up with some great chicken dishes from the local QFC while watching a few episodes of our favorite blue-garbed crime fighter The Tick!! If you have never seen him and his moth-clad sidekick Arther in action it is more the high-time that you did so, it is hilarious in the Weaver brother scale of humor. Barely managing to stay on the couch from the laughter we followed this up with several rounds of computerized action as we warmed up the old NES for some favorites, in particular a round of King of the Beach as we hit a few balls on the sand with Sinjin and Stoklos. The highlight might well have been a rousing round of Battletoads. One of the more challenging of all NES games in my opinion and a really fun time while enjoying a healthy portion of the 5L of frosty goodness at our disposal. How can you not have fun while jumping, swimming, kicking, punching, tossing each other around, speed-biking, snake-riding, surfing, and beating foes into submission with large sticks with a pair of slimy amphibians? Lots of laughs, some hilarity with costumed superheroes, a few great beers, and re-centering oneself with your best friend. Tough night to match in my book. A new year awaits and we can only wait to see what that will bring.

Not a great weekend for my sports playing or teams that I follow. Seahawks lost a tough game in Chicago in OT to drop out of the playoffs. The WSU Cougar men's basketball tea lost a heartbreaker in overtime versus Stanford on the road. We had a tough go at the tournament in Oregon for my men's indoor 6's USAV team (2-7) on the day. We were missing the three middles from our roster and had to constantly shift formats through the day to try and combat the issue. To follow that poor showing up we went 2-2 in my men's league night in Bellevue just last night against a team we have historically had success against. Jesse had a tough night hitting (Very tough blockers on him all night), we were pretty short on bodies, and 2 of the guys showed up mostly drunk and were most certainly not their usual level of play for the match. We also had basically no reffing and the other team had what I would consider 12-15 REALLY bad sets of the course of the match which makes a big difference over the course of a game like this. In any case we also fell on our faces with our play and might well be in trouble with defending our reign in this league with this start and the competition upgraded again this year. Despite that fact things continue to roll along here in Seattle and I have added a few images for the new year festivities that my dad took as was kind enough to send our way. They include a great shot of the fireworks from the Spaceneedle. What a great view from my brother's rooftop!! I also have one from the cruise of downtown as we hit the shops for the day. Good times with the family for sure. I hope the week brings some better play from myself on the hardwood and a fun bro-night with John for some brew and Nintendo Madness!!

Another great weekend in the books as we were in the throng at Qwest field and survived the emotional rollercoaster that was the Seahawks home playoff game in the wildcard round. After many crazy sequences the Seahawks managed to pull out a close with in the final seconds over the dreaded Dallas Cowboys by the 21-20 margin after a botched field goal attempt from the 1 yard line!! Even with the miss-handled snap on the play a shoe-string tackle was required to avert last-minute disaster for the Hawks, what a game!! They had a great give-away at the game with "12-man" green gloves for the first 50,000 fans. As you can see Janelle thought they were great fun!! As usual we had some great seats courtesy of the Weaver parents season tickets and the help of my bro John in the Hawks office making sure I got my playoff seats. A great way to see the game with friends John, Amy McKenna, Jesse and Steph Paulson, and the Hoadley twins. It has been incredibly memorable to see all this great football in what might be considered the heyday of the Hawks organization. The weather held after all of our miserable rain, we won a close game over a hated foe, and we are still in the running for the Superbowl in Miami....tough to beat for a weekend. I also managed to get a fun pic of the stadium all lit up as we left the field of battle on Saturday. Good times. This week I also started two of my indoor v-ball leagues as I have coed 6's on Thursdays and men's 6's on Sundays. It will be a very interesting league for the men as along with many of the usual opponents there is a team comprised of entirely sand guys, some of the best in the region in fact. There is always some lingering bad blood between the dedicated outdoor versus indoor guys so our match versus them I think will prove interesting at the very least. More to come form this as things develop. At any rate I am glad to start back into the swing of things on the hard court and look forward to this coming Saturday as we head South to the Rose City of Portland, OR for our first men's USAV tournament of the year. We are going down with a little bit of a miss-matched crew but looking forward to the fun just the same. I am also looking forward to starting a fun indoor soccer season with my brother along with friends the Hoadley twins, Mark Kadlec, Lee Graber, and others. Should be another fun time and a great way to get back in shape if I can manage it.

Currents League Standings:
Men's 6's - 4-0 (Tied for first)
Coed 6's - 2-1 (2nd place)

What a great way to start off the new year!! Is anyone else amazed that it is already 2007?!? I feel like the last year just flew bye....I guess that is just the way It goes when you are having so much fun. I was able to spent part of the holidays at a wonderful dinner hosted by Craig and Trisha Fisher (Sp?) in Issaquah where we were able to spend time with Trish's extended family which included her parents Byron and Janet (My beloved Godparents!!) and older sister Denise with husband Rob and daughters Temmi and Skylar. Great to see three generations of ladies all together as we poured over scrapbooks and told childhood stories well into the evening. They cooked up some southwest favorites including tamales and enchiladas...yum!! A great extended family pic topped off the evening that we will talk about several meetings from now I am sure. Then my parents were here to celebrate the new year with a sonics basketball game and fireworks from the roof of John's condo in Belltown of Seattle. We started the night with a little dinner with food from the Seattle Center Food Pavilion and followed up with some cheap seats in the rafters which made the night very low key as there are really no bad seats in Key Arena. We watched as they squeaked out a win over the hapless Boston Celtics. A few beers, some creative cheering and a quick visit from friend Sally topped off the event. From there it was on to John's as we opened up some late X-mas gifts from the parents an to the parents. I got some nice new cooking gear, shirt, hat and $$$ towards some new car tires which the old Jeep really needs. I also was able to give John his B-day gift which was a Madman Volleyball hat along with a video presentation I had made for him with old pics, clips, and a soundtrack. It turned out quite well and we ended just in time to rush up the stairs and welcome in the new year with fireworks from the Space Needle a few kisses with snuggled loved-ones on the clear night. A memorable one to be sure and great to spend with family and friends. Now it is on to another season of indoor v-ball and maybe even some soccer action as we crank up the new year. Here's to great one!!