Racquetball Tournament-More Power

In an effort to stay active, I've participated in a good amount of intramural sports while at BYU and now at the Univ. of Louisville. I really enjoy competing in sports. Earlier this week, I heard about the spring intramural schedule and saw that racquetball was one of the sports offered. I was excited to sign up and play a season of racquetball. Once I was signed up, I came to find out it was actually a weekend tournament I signed up for, not a league.

Not a big deal, I'll enjoy this one Saturday morning of games and it'll be good. I went to an informational meeting on Thursday at noon to get tournament rules and general info, and I have to say, I was feeling pretty good about my chances to go pretty far into this tournament. There were about 40 individuals all competing, so a big group, but when I was sizing everyone up, I wasn't too impressed. (Shouldn't have done that, you'll see why, keep reading)

I went this morning to the tournament, and to my surprise, all these non-athletic looking guys were all decked out in their sweatbands, sleeveless shirts, and kneepads. They came ready to play! My first game was against this guy named Ben. Once we were in the court, he was quick to inform me that he was a member of the racquetball club and that we would be playing according to USRA(United States Racquetball Association) rules. I asked him what that meant and he took that as an indication that he should descriptively explain all the rules to me. He showed me how to hold my racquet, where to serve from, what was a legal hit, etc. He even offered for me to serve first, so kind of him.

10 minutes later, the game was over and I beat him 15-1. I had about a 15 min. break before my next game. The next game was against Derek. Looking just as un-athletic as Ben, I felt good going into this game. We introduced ourselves, and he informed me he as also a member of the racquetball club and was a sponsored pro player. He wasn't kidding, he really was a pro. We went back and forth but he ended up winning 15-10.

After the game, there was a group of 4 guys outside the door, Ben being one of them. He introduced his buddies to me and said they were also members of the racquetball club. They invited me to come out for the racquetball club. That was very nice of them to invite me. I probably won't take them up on the offer, but I do appreciate the offer.

Ben: "You're a pretty good player."
Me: "Thanks, man. I appreciate that."
Ben: "You have great coverage."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Ben: "You can hit everything on the court. It's hard to get a ball by you."
Me: "Oh, right. Thank you. It's fun."
Ben: "You know, you do need to work on your power though. You don't strike the ball very hard and your hits aren't very powerful. You just need more power."
Me: "Oh.........., I'll work on that. Thanks"

So, the same guy, Ben, who I beat 15-1 is now telling me I need more power. I couldn't help but laugh about it. He was dead serious when he said it, so I had to wait until I left to laugh at it all.

So here's what I learned today:

• I'm lacking power in my racquetball game. Gotta hit the weights
• I can cover the court well
  
• I have no power in my game
• Non-athletic looking guys can be very good at racquetball
• Ben says I need more power
  
• Humble pie tastes better served. Don't judge a book by it's cover.
  

What a great tournament. I have nothing to show for it. I would have liked an intramural champion shirt, but I'll have to wait for soccer, handball, and dodgeball later in the semester for another shot at an intramural championship.

I'd like to thank Ben for helping me identify the weaknesses in my game. I'll never forget you Ben.

Kyle's First Update-I can blog too

I wanted to give this blogging thing a try. Hil's much better with the format and posting nice pictures, but I thought it would be fun to put some words down.

1 semester down, 3 to go (spring, summer, and fall). I'm on track to finish up with school by next December. That means I'll be taking classes all summer but it'll certainly be worth it. I'm very excited about the way it's all going so far. The coursework couldn't be more enjoyable and applicable to my career path. It was a leap of faith to come out to Louisville, Kentucky, but after one fall semester I am confident it's all worth it. The research projects, case studies, group projects, homework assignments, internships, assistantships, it all is setting me up to have the best opportunity for a long and successful career in collegiate athletics. I'm very happy in Louisville even though we're so far away from both our families.

The last time I enjoyed school this much had to be back when I was at Robinson Ranch. Those were the good old days of recess where we could run wild on the playground.

We're on countdown to December 2011 graduation. By then, I'll have completed my thesis project, all my classes and coursework, and we'll be on our way to work in an awesome collegiate athletics department, hopefully close to our families and loved ones back in the west coast.

Thanksgiving Break

For Thanksgiving this year we did something a little non-traditional. We went to a waterpark! We went with the Bonds to a waterpark called Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio.  We got a room there and spend the day before Thanksgiving going down water slides and riding the lazy river with Eden.  On Thanksgiving morning we got up and got ready for our Thanksgiving Buffet at lunch time, which we enjoyed very much.  I especially enjoyed the chocolate fountain at the desert table.  It was a great way to have a nice Thanksgiving meal without any preparation or clean-up.  Following our meal we had a little fun at the arcade while the food digested and then it was back in to the swimsuits for another aternoon in the waterpark. We had a blast and Austin seemed to really enjoy himself, he even rode some slides by himself by the end of the trip.  It was a great holiday and a good break for the boys to get away from school (except Ryan studied at nights which is kind of lame).  Here are some pictures from the trip.

Getting a Little Crazy

Well I decided it was time for a change and I got a little crazy last week. I said goodbye to the blonde and went dark. It's still growing on me...but I think I like it.

Our new Hobbies

So since I have been home and not having lots of luck with the job thing, I decided to learn a few new skills. The one I am most proud of I have no pictures of or proof, but I really did do it. I learned to change a car battery by myself! I really did. I watched some videos online and changed Kyle's battery in our parking lot where his car was dead. And the car works! I didn't blow up a single thing. Second, I have also taught myself how to cut boys hair. So I gave kyle his first haircut and it turned out quite well if I do say so myself. I also decided one day to bake a million sugar cookies and deliver them to my friends here. Kyle has won his second intramural football championship in the past six months with his team here.  They were pretty excited about the victory as you can tell in the picture.

Kyle's new haircut, by me.

Intramural Champs!

My sugar Cookies!

Playing Dress up with Eden

I have spent quite a bit of time with the Bonds lately, mostly because I have nothing else to do, but also because I have to take advantage of the time we are this close. So I have done my fair share of babysitting lately, and I have to say dressing a little girl is a lot of fun. I messed it up a few times when it was only me and Ryan there to put together an outfit (he can't dress a girl either),  but the results were pretty hilarious.  Poor Eden looks ridiculous when Jess isn't there to pick her clothes.  Here are some pictures from my recent outings with the kids.

Ballerina Baby! Ryan and I put this together while Jess was at work. 

80's Jazzercize baby!

Eskimo Baby!

Beauty Queen! Complete with headband and shoes!

I just added this because I didn't want Austin to be left out. On our way home from the park he just plopped in the middle of the sidewalk and started playing in his own little world with Woody.

Trip to Niagara Falls and Palmyra

I have gotten way behind on this thing already. So I am going to do a couple quick posts just so I can cover all of the major events that have happened for us in the last couple months. First, Kyle and I took our first major road trip.  We drove to Cleveland and spent a night with the Bonds, then the next day we drove up to Niagara Falls and spent a full day there.  The next day we went just another 90 miles over to Palmyra where we spent another full day seeing the sights and exploring the town. Not much to explore there though to be honest :) We had a great time and it was Kyle's first time seeing either of those places and I think he really enjoyed them.  I kind of had to convince him that we should go on this trip, he wanted to go to an Indianapolis Colts game instead for his time off school, but I convinced him that seeing a wonder of the world and the place where our church began was a little more significant.  Now that he has seen them both he agrees. But that doesn't mean I am off the hook for going to Indianapolis soon to see the Colts play.  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trip.