Volley Ball...

Okay. I really need to catch up with my updates on volley ball.


Well, it isn't a game anymore. And, it isn't always fun anymore either. We are now a team, and a couple games of volley ball is now practice.

9:00am - 10:30am
We start out by running 2 laps around the small backyard of the church where we play. Then we do stretches, then we do exercises like lunges. 30 second water break. Then we do drills. You mess up, your running a lap. 30 second water break. Then we do more drills. You mess up, you do 5 push-ups. 30 second water break. More drills. 30 second water break. Then we play a single game. Done. Now we put up the net.

Now, as I was informed on Sunday, we have practices on Friday, too. Apparently they did more than practice. I heard about swimming, and kayaking, and paddle-boating. I never even knew. Too bad. It sounds like I missed a lot. :(

Well, I actually like the tough exercises. Though it is steaming hot, and you feel like your going to die of heat, I like it. Well, maybe I'll ask Mrs. Smith or someone to take pictures of us during practice so you can see what we do.

Spencer's Surprise? Party

Well, it wasn't exactly a surprise because unfortunatly someone's tongue accidently slipped. Actually, he just didn't know it was a surprise. "Imagine his sirprese" - Count Olaf
Well, even though it wasn't exactly a big surprise for him, it was a LOT of fun! We played volley after Lizzy, Josh, Katie, and Danny showed up. We had played for about 20 min. when Christina, our head bopper, showed up. She joined the opposing team. We played for probably another 40 minutes when we were all called to sit down while Spencer recieved his birthday present, a sword, while Mr. Spencer's father did a ceremony type thing. It was really neat.
After that we went back to vball while the adults and younger kids got hot dogs. We played for a little while, and after the birthday boy's many plees, we decided to stop and get food. We got settled down and ate, making jokes about each other between mouthfuls of food. Everybody was giving their plates after they were done to Danny, I tried. He said he wouldn't take. So I walked up to him and dumped my full cup of ice-cold water on him and continued walking toward the house. He wasn't too far behind with a half-empty cup of lemonade. I broke into a run. I got to the house and put my plate in the trash. I peeked out the door. I didn't see him so I walked out. He was waiting for me around the side of the house, and as soon as he saw me he took off. I'm a faster runner then 'Old Dan', so it was quite impossible to catch me. I ran and sat by my mom, knowing that Danny wouldn't dare poor anything on me with the chance of getting it on my mom. I was wrong. He just very calmly poored it on my shoulder. Not only that, but he was an influence to his younger sisters, and they later soaked my back with a cup of water. Lovely.
We went back to volley ball after a few "circle warm ups", that's where we stand in a circle and see how many times we can hit the ball before it hit the ground. We didn't do that for very long. We started a game, and before long it was , Katie, Lizzy, David(Lizzy & Joshua's older brother), Victoria and I against Danny, Josh, Mr. Spencer's father, Mr. Christina's father, Spencer, Christina, and Bethany. Later my dad joined our team, and Matthew(Lizzy & Josh's older brother) joined the opposing team after Katie and Danny left, I think Spencer left too. It was 17-10, us with 17, when they said we had to take the net down, and that the next team who scores a point wins. Lizzy was serving. She served, and it went over the net. Josh hit...too hard. Out of bounds. We win! We all run in to get some water. By now it's almost dark outside, about 8:00pm, and everyone's leaving. We say goodbye to everyone, and leave.

It was tons of fun, and I definitely will plan to do something like that at my house soon.
Well, that's about it! We had fun, and laughter filled the air the entire time. Pictures to come soon!

Volley Ball Pictures

Here are some pictures Katie gave me of volley ball yesterday.

Other team, first round, 1st game.


Other team, first round, 1st game.


My team, second round, only game.
I'm in the red shirt, Katie's in the gray, Lizzy's the green, and Josh is of course the gray.


Other team, first round, 3rd game.

Other team, first round, 3rd game.

My team, first round, 3rd game.

My team, first round, 2nd game.

My team during time-out.

From right: Me, Katie, Josh, Lizzy, and Bethany.

My team, first round, 3rd game.

Alex is in the yellow, and Victoria is in the blue.

Group picture.

Back row from right:Coach & her daughterm, Kevin, Spencer, Bethany, Christina, Victoria, and Mrs. Smith.

Front row from right: Katie, Lizzy, Josh, Alex, and me.

Volley Ball - Part...Oh Forget IT!!

Well, it turns out that we're playing volley ball through the summer. Whoopie!
Today we played earlier then usual, 12-2 instead of 2-4. It was fun, and VERY hot. We had 10 people, so we divided up evenly, me being on a team with Alex, Christina, Victoria, Josh, and me, of course, and the other team was Katie, Lizzy, Kevin, Bethany, and Spencer. Pretty good teams, if you ask me. Kevin and Josh were team captains. After we got put in our positions, we served. I can't remember the exact score, or how exactly the game went, but I know that we won the game, switch sides, lost the next one, switched sides, and won the last one. After that we had a water/icecream break. The icecream was too sweet for me, so I only had a couple of bites. We went back outside after about 10 minutes, switched teams around, and did a single game to 25. Now it was Lizzy, Katie, Bethany, Josh, and I against Spencer, Victoria, Alex, Kevin, and Christina. We were on the side 'bad' side, the one that whoever was over there lost. With a rough beginning, it looked like that side was going to hold it's ground with its 'you can't win' streak. Half way through the game it was a sad score of 7-18, us losing. Coach called a time out and gave us some pointers, which apparently worked. We did 4 serves in a row, which got us up to 10-18. They served, it either went out of bounds or we hit it back, I can't remember. But anyhow, we got the ball. 9 more great serves, done by the fantabulous Katie, got us to 21-18. They're ball. They get to 22 and miss. Our ball! My serve. Now, just to let you know, I'm not a great server, and usually miss. I hit it...over the net! They hit it back and Katie and Joshua dive for it. One of them actually hit it over the net, but I don't know which one, but it doesn't matter because the other team didn't hit it back over. I served again...over! Again, over! Last time. If I get this ball over and they don't hit it back, we win! I close my eyes, and concentrate. I open my eyes, take a step forward, hit the ball...it goes over the net! After several attempts to get it back to us, the other team dropped the ball. We win!

It was fun, I enjoyed playing. In 2 weeks we'll meet back up again, I can't wait!

Volley Ball - Part 5 ~ Hurrah!

Waiting...



Ready Position



Not So Ready Position - This Is My Position

Play Ball! Oh Wait...

Wrong Sport

Yipee! Back to Volley Ball we go! I was very upset that we haven't been to P.E. in a week(spring break), and even more worried that we weren't going to play Volley Ball because of the rumor that we were going to play soft ball instead that was going around. But, fortunately, it was changed. Now we will play Volley Ball until the end of this part(next week), and then when we start up again in September(I think) we'll play either softball(elick) or kick ball(yipee).

Anyway, volley ball has been fun. When I had some of my closest friends over for a mini-party at my house a couple of weeks ago, I actually got the hang of it. As long as I'm paying attention, I can usually hit the ball...in the right direction.

This week we learned how to spike a ball. I CANNOT do it. I'm okay at it when there's a net in front of me, but when I'm trying to practice in my backyard, I can't hit at all. It's terrible. Oh well.

Well, I'm soaking up the fun like a dry sponge. I enjoy it so much! I can't wait 'till next week to join up with my friends and play a last game!

Volley Ball - Part 4?

Sadly there is no 4th volley ball post because I was sick this week and was unable to attend co-op and P.E.. It started last week, but it was only a mildly sore throat. I thought that was all I was going to get, but I was wrong. I woke up 3 days ago with a cough and a stuffy nose. It had died down a bit today, but I still am coughing every once and a while. Every single one of my brothers has gotten it, and both of my parents. It has been 2 weeks since we went to co-op last, and I am missing it. All of my brothers are feeling better today, so hopefully we will be able to go to co-op and P.E. next week. Since we only have 7 weeks of co-op left, I plan to enjoy them as much as I can.

Well, since I don't have to write a 5 page story about v-ball, I guess I'll just ask you guys a couple of questions about the fun you like to have.

1. What is your favorite sport to play? - Mine is Volley Ball.
2. What is your favorite thing to do? - I love to ride horses, even though I almost never have the chance.
3. What summer activity do you enjoy most? - I like it when we set up our giant water slide in our back yard and have our friends come and play on it with us.

Volley Ball - Part 3

Sorry its a little late. :) Click one of these to read part 1 & 2 of the Volley Ball series.

Hmm. How to begin?
Well, Tuesday my mom was sick, as well as 2 of my younger brothers. So, unfortunately we did not go to co-op. :( We were kind of bummed out, but understood and excepted why. Still hoping to be able to make it to P.E., we started asking if she would just take us then(P.E. starts at 2). "Maybe" was her answer, but then Ben(4) became feverish and we knew it wasn't going to work.
Then my dad got home at around 1:00, surprisingly. I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking us to P.E., expecting the answer no. "Sure!" was his reply. Ok, wasn't expecting that, but hurray!! We got ready to go, and left at around 1:45. We got there about 10 minuets early, and talked to the few people who were there. People from co-op showed up in the middle of stretches(as always) and joined us. We did the normal push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and the mile run. Finally it came to the time that made P.E. worth it, Volley Ball. Us girls finished our run before the boys, so we started out practicing our passes, and such. When the boys finally showed up, we did the same thing with them. At 3:30, we started our first game, which we won barely. This time I could hit the ball, but I was still having trouble on my aim, so usually it went flying over to the right. Whoops. All of the sudden Coach says "Alright, this side has 23(us), this side has 24(them). We'll go to 25 and then switch sides."
So we serve and it goes over the net and nobody hits it. One more point for us. Then they serve. I'm at the front-right corner, not a very good place to be when you haven't ever hit the ball over the net. I say "Don't come to me, ball" under my breath. It must of not heard me 'cause it came flying right at me. "Oh great", I think. I take a step back, get in position, and hit it...over the net it goes! They hit back over and Joshua(middle) jumps over and hits it back over the net. Spencer goes for it...miss! We win!! Now we switch sides and what-not. In the very beginning of that game Katie leaves, and shortly after that Lizzy and Josh leave too. My dad joins in, and we win again. I learned how to serve correctly in that game. That's good.

I had a lot of fun, as usual. We'll do it again on Tuesday, and may be I'll be able to get the ball over the net. Maybe...

Volley Ball - Part 2

This week I went to P.E. again, of course, and had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed volley ball. It's this game where you have to hit a ball over the net, for those of you who don't know. :) Half the time I can't even get the "hit the ball" part right, and of course when I do hit it and it flys over the net it's just the other team passing the ball to us because it's our turn to serve.

Oh, and I was told by Spencer that he wasn't laughing at me, but with me. Uh, yeah right. Saying "Go Kate"(I'm sure you thought my name wrong, Spence) while laughing and throwing your arms up in the air as the volley ball hits the net instead of going over it is not laughing with me. Please, somebody tell me if I'm wrong.
Anyway...
What's confusing for me is being up by the net. I have to make split-second decisions about how to hit the ball(under handed or over handed), and I'm not the best at split-second decisions. I usually do it backwards, hitting it under handed when it needs to over handed or the other way around, and am usually promptly told by either Christina or Josh that I did it the wrong way. Woops.
There is good news in this post, but I like to savor the best for last(which is why I eat my sandwiches from the outside in). I actually was able to get the ball in the air and eventually over the net when serving. Our coach taught us the way not to break our fingers and wrists during the game by showing us how to hold our hands. I was serving way wrong. I'm still not that good at it, but practice does help...a lot. I asked my mom to pick me up a volley ball, and she said she would next time she went to Wal-Mart, so hopefully I'll be able to practice passing and serving in our backyard. I want a yellow one with a smily face on it, but I don't think we'll be able to find one like that. :( Oh well.

Volley ball is my new favorite sport(it used to be swimming), and hopefully by next year I'll be able to play on a team. :)

Running and Other Boring Stuff...

Running.



I hate it.



I've been running almost a mile every day for 4 days.



Why?



Because of co-op.

First of all, you should know that our family doesn't go to P.E. after home-schooling co-op because by the time P.E. comes around, mom is worn out. I don't care really, I get to have fun for a couple of hours anyway.

So, last week half of my family was sick. So Joe and I went to co-op with some friends of ours, they go to P.E. We said we would go with them. That might have been a mistake.

It was going good, having fun, hanging with friends, going to fun classes, and then it came...time for P.E. I should have seen it then. I'm the one who said I wanted to go. P.E., how hard could it be? All you do is stretch and to sit-ups and stuff right? Wrong. First you get to the park and you do a bunch of stretches, mind you I'm wearing jeans. After that, you split up into 4 groups. Older Girls, Younger Girls, Older Boys, and Younger Boys. So I'm left with a bunch of girls I don't know. Luckily, Victoria was there, so I wasn't all alone.

So we get to this bar thing and we start doing pull-ups. That was about the easiest thing I've ever done. Then us and the boys trade places. So now we're over at this small little concrete slab. We run and grab these little blocks, and run them back and drop them at the line. I did it in 10.58 seconds, pretty good I guess. Then we do these little stretch thingies, I don't know what their called. And then we join the boys at another concrete slab. They do push-ups, we do sit-ups, and then we switch. I did 26 sit-ups in like 45 seconds(I don't know what the time limit is). Then I did 7 push-ups. I know, it's sad. They said half of the push-ups I did I didn't go down far enough. What they must not realize is it hurts just as much doing half as it is does going all the way down.
By then your pretty tired. Then they make you go run a mile. I didn't know that. I start out in first, not even running hard. I almost get around the first lap(there are 4) and I have to really slow down. By the time I'm half way around the second, I feel like I'm going to die. What's really embarrassing is when these little girls, Anna, Anna Marie, and Julia, turn around and walk with me, telling me to hurry up. These girls are the little girls that stick to my heels and argue about who gets to sit next to me at co-op. Now they're arguing over who gets to hold my hand and drag me along. It was very sad. I finally got past the finish line. Then, to my relief Christina gives me a bottle of her water. That water was half gone within 2 seconds. I joined the rest of the kids for volley ball. I had never played before. I'm on a team with Joshua, Katie, Justin(just met him, funny guy), Bethany, and Christina. We're against Victoria, Spencer, Alex, and Benjamin(another new face). It's my turn to serve. Great. I'm trying to get this ball in the air. I have Christina and Josh yelling across the...volley ball field?...trying to teach me how to serve. Finally I focus on what Christina is saying and hit the ball. Over the net it goes! Lucky first try. We shift around.
I've found 2 positions I really don't like. Middle, and server. I'm not the greatest at getting the ball over the net.
I'm getting confused as Joshua(he took the team captain role) is yelling "Katie, hit the ball" as it sails over the net. I start running towards it. Wrong Katie. I almost collide with "other" Katie as she turns around. Spencer's on the other side of the net laughing at me. The little pest. The balls rolling and I try to step on it to stop it. Bad move. I end of on my behind after slipping on it. I'm trying to get up as I laugh. Eventually I get up. Joshua and Justin tell me it's my turn to be in the middle. I just give them a funny face and move toward the middle.
It's really confusing playing volleyball, at least with these kids. Because I can't tell when they're just tossing the ball over the net to the other person cause it's our serve, or when I'm supposed to actually hit the ball. It still was a lot of fun. At least I got to hang with my friends for and extra hour and a half.

I get home and I just fall on the couch. I thought my legs were about to fall off. I found out the next day that we were going to start going with the Whites to P.E. every week. Great. I figured that if I had to run a mile, I should work so that I don't drop dead afterwards next time. I've been running almost a mile since Tuesday, and it gets easier every time. By next Tuesday I'll be able to run how I wanted to the first time - With Pleasure.