Woo Hoo!

BYU 31
TCU 17

Volley-fall

Each Thursday night is stake volleyball night. Our ward has a co-ed team for the stake league, but that is debatable since we haven't had enough bodies out to have a full team yet. I don't know how you would credit a win/loss when both teams don't have enough players to have a team, but oh well.
Britta and I have been to a couple of our scheduled games just to mix with another ward and play an unofficial game. It has been a lot of fun, so far, plus, I've been able to stick around another hour afterward to play some basketball. Honestly, that's about 80% of the reason I go.
This last Thursday Britta and I joined some others for volleyball and everything was great. I think that the best quote of the night was Britta, when asked if she could set, said "I'll try not to suck." She didn't! She played very well.
I think that my volleyball career is now in question, however. While playing the net, I jumped to block and came down on the opponents' foot, and sprained my ankle!!!
Luckily, Brett and Sarah had some crutches and a walking brace, which has been a lifesaver. Now, if I can just get better, but sprains never heal quite as fast as I wish they would.

Sweet sound of middle C

After three wonderful years of marriage, Scott and I looked back and felt that something was missing. Both of us being musically inclined felt lost without a piano... so we got one! Scott found a posting in the newspaper selling a used digital piano for really cheap. We went to check it out and found it to be all that we wanted and in great working condition. Of course, it had little quirks, but nothing we were bothered by. So, we borrowed a truck, packed it up and brought it home. We carefully maneuvered it into our apartment and eagerly plugged it in...

Boom! was the only sound we heard as we switched on the power. None of the keys worked. None of the buttons worked. None of the plugs were loose. Scott unscrewed the top and started experimental surgery on the motherboard, plugging and unplugging. I got nervous and couldn't watch, so I left. An hour and a half later, he had no success. We both went to bed heartbroken and had restless dreams of broken pianos. The next morning Scott woke up and went straight to the piano and started tapping middle C. Then he turned on the power... "Ding, ding, ding, ding... " Middle C was sounding through the apartment as the sweetest wake up call I've ever heard.

We're not sure why or how the piano started working again, but it has quickly become the most cherished possession in our apartment, played on multiple times a day by either or both of us.

I CAN contribute to something

I am a closet poet. So I suppose you can consider this a coming out party. . .

Darn It

I really hate it when you're wet,
thin, and stretched, and unable
to stand,
but falling 'round my ankle.
Holy?
No, I wish you weren't
But fat. And Taut
And full of clout
I'll put my foot into your mouth.

I have three other poems posted on www.poetry.com, (Superfluous, untitled, To One Apart)
This is one of my favorites, though.

See, I can contribute to something, even if it is my own [wife's] blog.

the end.

Home again, home again

While in Minnesota we celebrated the first birthday of one of my nieces. I was asked to make the cake, and I jumped at the opportunity cause I love cooking and being creative.

My mom thought it was so beautiful no one would want to eat it. Well, it turned out that the shortening in her kitchen that I used to make the frosting was rancid, so we ended up throwing away all the leftovers anyway. At least my niece got to keep the doll.

A big chunk of our time in Minnesota was spent on the north shore of Lake Superior. We camped and hiked and wandered a little in Duluth, a city that I love. The trees were just starting to color at the tips of the leaves. The temperature was perfect. The clouds were light and cool during our day hike, but fluffy and sparse while we were hanging out at the campsite. Over all it was a satisfying trip.

On our hike we were the furthest north that Scott has ever been.

The group that went on the day hike was a smattering of my immediate and extended family. My dad, on the left, was our fearless guide on this seven mile stretch of the Superior Hiking Trail. Doesn't he look the part?