Koala Volleyball

For the past 7 weeks I have been coaching a middle school volleyball team and I absolutely love it. I have really enjoyed watching the girls grow to love the game more each week. They have their ups and downs but overall they have really impressed me. Right now we are 8-2 and we have 2 more games to go until our season is over. I could go through and talk about each of their strengths, weaknesses, and funny quirks but I'd rather focus on how well we have become a team. At first you wouldn't have been able to tell that we were a team at all. Everyone started off wanting to stay within their own comfort zones and being around the girls that they knew. They have come a very long way since then. Now they cheer for each other, the bring each other up, I even catch them talking as a group about telling the other team that they did a great job after we beat them. They have incredible sportsmanship and have really grown to care about each other and I love to see that. Here is the near finished product (I have 1.5 more weeks with them)

We are missing one girl who was sick tonight in this picture. I will be sure to get a picture with her before the season is over though. I am so glad that we were able to capture both sides of my team. Here we have the chipper Koalas. And here...

we have a middle school volleyball team that is quickly falling apart. Not sure if you can tell in these smaller pictures but I will certainly cherish both sides of this team. Go Koalas! (I let them pick the mascot.)

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New Look

How do you like our new look? Many of you have complained that my old layout wouldn't allow you to comment. Hopefully I fixed the problem!

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1 Year Anniversary

For our 1 year anniversary we decided to head out to New York City for the weekend. We absolutely love the city and New York is special to us becuase we have only ever been there together. The first time we went was when we were engaged and Dan had been in Spain for 3 months. He had a day layover in NYC so I met him there and we explored the city for about 10 hours. The second time was on our way home from the honeymoon. We had another long layover and had a day to do more exploring. So it was only fit that we would go back for our 1 year anniversary but this time spend 2 days instead of 1. We had the best time. We were able to pack a lot into just a 2 day trip. The trip started with a 4 hour delay because of fog at Laguardia. But it ended up being a good thing becuase by the time we got to the city the weather was warm and beautiful! We checked into our hotel in West Village and then went in search of a good place for lunch. While walking we stumbeled upon what I like to call a garage sale in the city. A few blocks were closed off and everyone was selling their crap in the street. It was so cool and if we lived in the city we certainly would have bought some things. We had lunch at a small French sandwich place and spent the rest of the afternoon roaming around the Greenwich area. We sat at a few parks, went into some shops, walked the streets of SoHo and eventually stopped for dinner at a Spanish restaurant right in the heart of SoHo. It was a really delicious place and obviously Dan appreciated the food. When we got back to our hotel we found that You've Got Mail was on TV!!!!!!! That inspired me to look for the Shop Around the Corner the following day! First we grabbed some baked goods for breakfast and ate in Central Park which was a highlight of the trip for both of us. Then we went in search of the Shop Around the Corner, turns out we had already passed it without even knowing it! It was such a cool experience for me because I love that movie. We also found the building where Regis and Kelly is filmed which was also exciting. We did more walking through Central Park and the city and eventually hopped the Staten Island Ferry.

We got a great view of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan. Once we made it back from the Island we went to Wall Street and Ground Zero. This was an incredible experience. If anyone hasn't been to Ground Zero, it is a must. I get choked up just thinking about it. Eventually we made it back to West Village where we had lunch, grabbed our bags, got a cupcake at Magnolias (the best cupcake place ever, there is always a line around the corner) and headed to the airport. Overall, the best weekend getaway ever. I couldn't think of a better way to end our first year and begin our second. Today is the second day of our second year of marriage. I can't believe how fast it has gone by! With everyday though I realize more and more that marrying Dan was the best decision I have made thus far in my life.

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