By the time we got back from Hawaii, January was almost half over. Another weekend of that month was filled with a trip to Phoenix for a volleyball tournament. It was the first out of town trip of the season and Abby's first time finally playing with the team. She missed the first tournament while we were in Hawaii, and then the next weekend tournament was on a Sunday. There was a mess up with the jerseys, so Abby had to borrow Diane's jerseys since she played that weekend as libero. So here's our Double #6 warming up for her first game.
Abby had a hard time adjusting with the new team this season because they kept moving her around in positions. She started as a hitter, but played this first tournament as libero. She just wants to play, but not playing on Sundays has affected how they use her. Once her coach referred to her as a chess piece, and how they use her wherever she's needed because she can fill in anywhere and help the team. That made her feel a little better even though not having a set spot has made her work harder to learn every position. They had a great first out of town tournament weekend.
The siblings all had fun playing too. While we spent the entire Saturday at a sports facility, the kids found ways to entertain themselves, like playing on the bike racks outside between games. They enjoyed the pool and fire pit at the hotel as well. The players aren't allowed to swim because it uses up too much of their energy, but the siblings get to enjoy the perks of the hotels.
The girls relaxed outside the facility between games as well, ate healthy snacks, and rested until it was time for their next game. We like getting team pictures with teams that we play, especially if it was a good, competitive game. Here are the girls with an Aspire team that they played.
After the first day of pool play, we ate dinner together at a shopping center and then the girls walked around looking for places to take some photos. Emily brought her new fancy camera, and they had fun doing a photo shoot. Here are some of my favorites. Abby and Emily, and Abby with Emily and Diya.
The whole team on an escalator and the team outside the restaurant patio where we were eating.
The entire team during the photo shoot.
The team at dinner with Coach Dawson, and a few of the siblings, Alexa, Tessa, and Riley.
Emily took some individual shots of the girls and here are some of Abby's pictures. I love them. She has a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes.
This is my top pick because her face is so cute. It reminds of the face she's been making ever since she was a little girl. Every time I see this picture, I have flashbacks of a little 5 or 6 year old Abby giving me this same look. Adorable!
The girls played Sunday while we drove to my Grandma's house for a visit, but then Abby was back with her team on Monday for the final day of the tournament. Here's the team before starting a game.
They played really well together and had fun playing teams from all over the west, including teams from Arizona and California.
The girls ended up 5th out of all the teams in their division and were happy with how they played all weekend. I really love watching Abby and her team play.
Here's a team picture with the final team that they played, Momentum.
The siblings, along with the parents, cheered on the crowd and had fun yelling and cheering for the team.
We went to church on Sunday with my Grandma Solheim and then went back to her house for lunch and to visit. We took some pictures and discussed family and our plans for Grandma's 90th birthday party which is coming up this summer. She gave us some of the grapefruit from her tree and they were huge. Aubrey was showing us just how big these grapefruit were. They were yummy. The girls love visiting Grandma's neighborhood because it's a small retirement community and the street signs are miniature because a lot of golf carts are used for transportation. The girls think it's hilarious that the stop signs are shorter than they are. We love visiting with Grandma.
A couple weekends later in January, the girls had their second out of town tournament. This one in Midland, Texas. We drove out Friday night and had breakfast together as a team in the hotel. I love this picture because the girls just look so happy. They really get along well and love spending time together.
This weekend, Abby moved positions again, but at least she was back to her own jersey and being #6 again. She mostly played back row, but for a couple of games she was able to play right side and hit in the front row, which is her favorite spot.They played well and won most of their games. They split their game against Sol, which is the team that has some of the players from last year's team, but Abby's team ended up first in the pool.
I grabbed a picture of most of the team while they watched their friends play on the Wildfire team. We didn't get to play against them, but that team has most of the girls from Abby's Hornedo team on it, so they were showing them their support by watching some of their game, while they had a break. We ended up driving home Saturday night, while the team finished out the tournament on Sunday.
Other non-volleyball happenings during the month of January included Abby doing their elementary tour with the middle school band. They traveled and played for the 5th graders at three elementary schools and I tagged along to help with equipment. They played a few songs, showed off the instruments, and got the kids excited about doing band in middle school.
Here's a cute picture of Abby with her two closest friends this year at Hornedo, Alexis and Braelinn. They eat lunch together and hang out before and after school together. They're surviving the 8th grade and enjoying their final year of middle school.
The elementary school also hosted their STEAM night in January. The kids get to participate in some activities that involve science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Their favorite station was creating towers with plastic cups. We took pictures of their tall creations before they got knocked down. The kids love learning and I love that the school has a lot of free activities that the kids look forward to participating in.
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