Volleyball Pics

As promised, here are pictures from our volleyball tournament.



Our team consisted of Jodi (Off the Net) and Jerry (Can't Set) Yeggy, Matt (Lepreuchan) and Amy (Lucky Charm) Finley, and Amy (Bruiser) and I (Wonder Twin).

I came up with a design for our team shirts and drew it, and our teammates friend had a buddy make them for us.

Flyin' High

Well, back to the blogs about our trip to Minnesota. As a big surprise to all of us this year, we found out that a sea plan visits our resort weekly.

We kept this information on the "down low", as Amy and I planned to let the boys take a trip.

Since Taylor and Amy will be taking a girls trip to D.C., and in doing so Taylor will be taking her first flight (several actually), we figured it would be nice for the boys to get a flight of their own.

The boys were so excited when the plane landed on the lake and taxied into the bay. But boy, were they REALLY excited when we told them they were going to get to go in it and fly.

Grandpa rode in back with Kinnick and Carver, as I rode up front in the co-pilot's seat. The kids had a lot of fun communicating via the headsets.

Here is a view of our resort from the "Beaver", which was the name of the plane.

We had a nice smooth ride and a wonderful trip with many great views of the Minnesota lakes.

We Let You Win

I interrupt the previous series of blogs in process to bring you this update........

Brian and Amy played sand volleyball this weekend from Saturday at noon until 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Yes, that would be 14 hours of volleyball! Crazy enough, the tournament probably would have lasted until 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning if was not cancelled at 2:00 due to lightning.

Amy and I have been playing in a volleyball rec league all summer in West Branch. This is a six on six league which ended with this tournament on Saturday. We play with a couple of other couple friends that live on our street (Pheasant Run). The first 12 hours was consumed by playing 3 sets against each team to determine seeding. The double elimination tournament then followed, which didn't get started until about 1:00 a.m.

It was a LONG day, but we had a lot of fun. We ended up playing the first round of the double elimination tournament in down pouring rain, but we probably played our best volleyball. Needless to say, we were and are VERY sore today (Sunday) and I'm sure will be again tomorrow.

Pictures are to come.

Chilly Water

But who really cares, right? Part 2 of our trip features the kids in the water. And let me tell you, there was a lot of time in the water despite the temperature of the water outside.

So, you may ask, what do we do up in the lake in Hackenack, Minnesota. So, let me tell you by the way of pictures.

1. THE GOGGLES

2. THE SLIDE:

3. THE BOATS

4. THE WATER GUN

5. THE JUMP

6. THE SAND CASTLE

And last, but certainly not least....

7. THE SWIM

Heading Up North

Consider this Part 1 of our vacation recap to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. As a tradition, we begin our trek up north on Friday morning and make our way to a hotel near the Mall of American just outside the Twin Cities. This gives all of us time to enjoy what is now called Nickelodeon Universe (formerly Camp Snoopy) as well as a little bit of shopping (usually at Lego Land).

This year we finally wised up and decided to get bracelets for the kids, allowing them to ride as many rides as they can for a fixed price.

We were able to get to Nickelodeon Universe early enough to take advantage of these bracelets, and let us "big people" get a few rides in as well.

As another tradition, we took this trip with my parents and my sister's family. As you can see in the picture below, the cousins love hanging out all together.

Why buy the picture at the ride when you can take a picture of a picture with your camera phone!

Not the best quality in the world, but you can see our faces full of excitement and joy as we take our final ride down the Log Ride.

Using What You Got

We love to preach recycling, cleaning/picking up after others, and all green things in our house. Our lovely daughter Taylor took that to another level a few weeks ago when she decided to make a robot out of recycled or used materials she found around the house.

The best thing about this was it was all her idea and the work was done completely by her.

Raining Independence

Well, it was a great fourth of July week despite the weather at times. We were blessed to have Amy's sister and her family in town all week from DC. This gave much needed playing time with their son Rafe and our kids. Taylor and Amy hung out with Jenn and Rafe Monday and Tuesday, the boys spent the night with Rafe on Wednesday, and we all hung out Saturday.

Amy and I were able to enjoy a day off of work on Friday to hang out with the kids all day. This consisted of attending the boys' final swim lesson in the morning with doughnuts at the Tipton Bakery to follow. After our breakfast, we headed over to the Cedar Bluff park area where we enjoyed playing at park and taking a nice hike through the woods and along the Cedar River. We then went into Iowa City in the evening and enjoyed some fabulous pizza at Pagliai's and wonderful music at Jazz Fest. The plan was to to top off the night by watching fireworks in Kalona at the Shilo Amphitheater. The kids had been looking forward to it all night, we had the snacks ready, and drove all the way down there to find out they postponed until Saturday night due to forecasted rain. We were all truly bummed.

Kinnick later summed up the rain and cancelled fireworks with the following words (with arms crossed in front): "When I get up to the clouds I'm going to have to have a talk with God about this rain!"

The 4th started off the same as the night before ended. Rain! However, we and the Marietta's are two tough families and were not going to let a little (or a LOT) rain stop us from attending the Coralville 4th of July parade, which we have made an annual ritual. So, following breakfast at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff's house, the kids collected their soggy candy and we enjoyed the wet parade as much as we could. After the parade everyone headed to our house to enjoy the rest of the day together as family.

We had a great time and enjoyed an obstacle course, scavenger hunt, and delicious food.

Videos of the obstacle runs are coming soon. Above is a picture of Amy finishing the obstacle course as she ran the trial run for everyone to follow.