Volleyball Update

Just when I think I am going to get better at this blog, I seem to get worse. Here I go again to try and get this thing updated!! Hope I can do it. I will start with this post that should get you all updated on Layne's volleyball career!!

Most of life during January 2011 thru May 2011 is filled with club volleyball. On most Sundays, Layne's team had tournaments at various locations around Colorado. We did get lucky this year and didn't have to travel quite as much....we even had two tournaments at Big House, which is only 5 minutes from us. That was really awesome!! In early March her team played at Crossroads National Qualifier in Denver and that was a fun weekend. It was especially nice for me to just be a parent. Last year Layne played and I coached and it was such an exhausting experience. Overall, her team did well. They finished 2nd in their first pool after a 3-way tie and two play-off games. Wow...it was a late night and some great play by her team. It was fun to watch. Because of the 2nd place finish, it meant they would play the AM session on day 2. Since we didn't get out of the convention center until after 10pm...I think this effected their play the next morning. They were tired!! But, they aren't the only team in this situation and you just have to figure it out!! So, day 2 wasn't great but they finished strong on Day 3 and learned a lot.

 Layne playing at Crossroads.

Layne's team at Crossroads.



They also played in another national qualifier in Kansas City in April. It was a fun trip, Layne and I drove over...so, it was a fun girls only road trip!! We also had a mini-family reunion there!! My mom, Jessica, Joyce, Gordon, Dan, Cletus, Hayes and Camrin all came to watch. It was great to see everyone!! 

My mom and Dan.

 My sister and Hayes.

 Camrin

I was also lucky enough to see a few old friends....Sarah and her family and Melissa! So wonderful to see them also.

Layne's team ended up winning the Bronze division in Kansas City...so an improvement over their last qualifier and that is always good.

We only had a few more regional tournaments before the season was over. The girls came back from KC and finished pretty strong. They qualified for the Region Qualifier...which gives the regional bids to nationals. They didn't get a bid but they played well.

It was an enjoyable season. I know Layne enjoyed her team and had a good time! Really...that is all that matters.

This link will take you to more photos from Layne's 2011 volleyball season.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150122655911351.326928.578701350&l=01fef78ade

So, besides club volleyball, Layne had done a tryout for USA Volleyball's High Performance programs. She has participated in various programs in the past. This year, she tried out while we were in Hilo, HI and as a libero....Hawaii is a tough place to compete. Hawaii is known for their ball control and amazing little passers. She didn't feel confident with her tryout and wanted to tryout again and do better. She had planned to tryout in Kansas City but we had an unexpected incident a few weeks earlier. Layne had hit her head in practice, she didn't think much about it but it did bother her a bit. She ended up playing in one tournament before we took her to see someone. She did, in fact, have a mild concussion!! So she took it easy that week with no practice and no tryout before KC. It is a very scary and stressful thing to deal with but should be taken very seriously!! Anyway, she didn't get to tryout again but we were pleasantly surprised when the results for HP were posted. I think she did much better in Hilo than she thought. Layne made the USAV Select Continental Team that will participate in the USAV HP Championships in Tucson, AZ at the end of July. The Continental programs are for kids that live in regions that don't have their own High Performance teams!! So, she is very excited and I am very proud of her. You can see the official press release below.

http://usavolleyball.org/news/2011/06/08/usav-announces-girls-select-programs/42724

Currently, like this week, Layne has started high school summer league volleyball!! Doesn't seem possible that she is starting her sophomore season, but she is. I have a feeling this summer is going to go fast.

Happy Mother's Day

I know I have missed a few months of updates, but since tomorrow is Mother's Day...I wanted to post to celebrate some of the mother's in my life.

I found it interesting, as I was sorting through hundreds of photos...mom's are usually always taking the photos. Making sure we don't miss a special moment. It was actually kinda hard to find many with all the mothers I wanted to get. I know so many great mother's and, in no way, do I have pictures of all of them.

Happy Mother's Day

"A mother's love is instinctual, unconditional and forever."

My sister with Hayes.

My mom with me and my sister.

Me and my mom



Me with my sister, mom and Grandma Ethyle.



Grandma Ethyle...I must note how special this relationships was. Nana was Layne's great-great-grandma, and she passed away when Layne was about 5 or so. Layne still has fond memories of her and I think that is pretty amazing. Some aren't lucky enough to know their grandparents, let alone a great-great.



Layne and I...curly hair and all!!



I guess Layne just loved her grandma's because we only made one visit a year to Ohio but she always enjoyed herself at Grandma Dix's. Dorothy was Heath's maternal grandmother.



Heath sister Holly and her son Ronnie.



Layne with her great-grandma Joyce.



Layne and I at the hospital. She doesn't look very happy.





Our 5 generations photo!

Heath with his mom.

Heath with Grandma Dix



Mom, Jessica and I.



Layne and I.



Me and grandma Joyce.



Nana and I.

Joyce and I.

Heath with his Grandma Dix and Grandma Hoke.



Jessica, Camrin and mom.



Layne and I.





"Mother" is such a simple word,



But to me there’s meaning seldom heard.


For everything I am today,


My mother’s love showed me the way.


I’ll love my mother all my days,


For enriching my life in so many ways.


She set me straight and then set me free,


And that’s what the word "mother" means to me.


Find more photos by clicking the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150241851616351.369542.578701350&l=00f8f9c444

Thanks for being a wonderful mother, to my mom and all moms!!

December 2010

In Mid-December we must make a trip to the mountains to find the Hoke family Christmas tree. Even though this is only the second year, I think it is now tradition. We also attempt to take some family photos for our holiday card. Below are a few we didn't use.

This is one of my favorites.

This is one of the photos we agreed on and used in our electronic version of the card.

But....the more important part of this trip is the tree. Wow, it took a long time to find the right one this year.



Then it is Layne's job to do the cutting...since she only cuts a tree down once a year, she isn't getting much better. It is fun to watch, though.



And it is quite a mess when she is done.

So, we get the tree in the house and have to make some cuts to get to look nicer...Heath just throws them on Sully and he just lays there with the branches all over him.  You will see in another photo below that this isn't unusual for him.

December went fast, as it usually does. The club was going full speed ahead and then all the holiday stuff. We had another holiday party at out house. I remember being very stressed about squeezing it in, but it was really worth it. It is so nice to gather with friends and just have a good time. I think it is needed more.

So, I will start off with a great pictures of the girls...I really think they enjoy getting their picture taken!

Me and June.

Sonia, Colleen and Jess.

Joe and Nela.

Me and Layne...super cool.

Next up was our USAV holiday party, also another great time to spend with co-workers outside the office. This year it was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and was very nice.

Me without Heath...I think we had to meet there because he was busy doing something? Club probably.

He did arrive.

Heath and I by the beautiful tree in the lobby.

So...all of that brings us to Christmas morning. We, again, decided to stay in Colorado Springs for the holidays and not travel. Heath needed to be in town for the USAV High Performance Holiday came that starts the day after Christmas. It is kinda weird and lonely staying home, but the time off is very nice.

Layne and her surprise...she still doesn't get up on her own.

Pedro hanging out by the fireplace on Christmas morning.

Me and my snow shoes. The only sad thing about this is I haven't even used them yet (I am writing this on March 30.)

We went with the REI gift card for Heath...you can never go wrong with that.

Layne was kinda confused at first by this gift but very excited once she figured it out.

We were all going to Hawaii in March!!

Like I just mentioned, it is currently the end of March and hard to believe that our trip came and went.

At Christmas it felt so far away!!

We tried our annual holiday photo with Layne and the dogs...it took many tries and still this was about the best one we got. It was a good time with lots of laughing and yelling.

I don't have many pictures of our holiday meal....in fact it was just a lot of little things all day. As I noted at Thanksgiving, we no longer eat meat and our Christmas meal included no meat. I can't complain and I didn't feel awful after I was done.

This photo was taken the day we were removing the Christmas tree from the house. Sully was just laying in our way and ended up with a bunch of pine needles on him, so Heath just started vacuuming him up. He just laid there and let it happen....crazy dog.



I try each year to make the holidays less about the gifts and more about the people in your life. I think I am doing better about creating memories and such, but still buying too many gifts. I will keep at it.