The Rest of July

The rest of July went like this...Heather got her wisdom teeth removed. We learned that the US Men's Volleyball Team practices at the gym where Jenna takes setting lessons (Jenna loves Patch).  My friend, Rhonda, came for a LuLaRoe convention, and she, Casey and I had dinner near Disneyland before riding the tram into shops at Downtown Disney for a bit. And Heather got a fabulous hair cut. It's time for August!

Summer Varsity League

Jenna was invited to play on the Varsity Summer League team. She was one of only two players from the Frosh/Soph teams asked to play. She's been working hard, and it was amazing for her to receive the invitation. It isn't a guarantee that she'll make Varsity, but it is a start to playing with more skilled girls. She'll definitely get some good experience in.

Heather's 18th ComicCon Birthday

Heather spent her 18th birthday at Comic Con. What better place for this fan girl? We arrived at our Air B&B house and headed out to Corvette Diner, a neon-themed hamburger and shake place. They sang Happy Birthday to her which was awesome. We got up early on JULY 20th after studying the bus and trolley lines and headed for the con. The girls looked amazing, albeit a little odd on the bus. It was obvious where we were headed. Our first point of business was the BBC America store where we shopped our Sherlock/Doctor Who fandom. We walked the exhibit floor and took pictures of the girls and other cool cosplayers we saw (Moana and Up). We went to see the Legion panel since there weren't a lot of panels we wanted to see (It was a Walking Dead year). Day Two was Harry Potter Quidditch day for the girls. We walked the floor for a bit, stopped into the iZombe panel, and then I took off to go stake a spot in line for Hall H the next day. I did see Lt. Ohura on the way out. Do young people even know who she is? It's nice the older actors still attend the cons.  Anyway, Heather wanted to wait in the Hall H line for the Stranger Things and Marvel panels that would be held the next day. We heard if you get in line by 1:00 p.m. the day before and are willing to sleep on the sidewalk, you are guaranteed a wristband to get in. It took me a while to find the line, but when I did, we had a nice grassy spot in the shade, and met some great people. They said they'd done this before and we were in a great spot for the wristbands.  The girls met me later, and we waited. It was hard to sleep, but we tried to rest. At about midnight, the wristband distribution started. Unfortunately, some dishonest turds duplicated wrist bands and snuck into the line through a restaurant up ahead of us. They ran out of wristbands before they got anywhere near us. People tried to tell security, but they didn't really care or I guess think anyone could do that. We stayed the night and walked forward when the line moved to settle for the evening. There was a chance we'd be in the 200 people they save extra seats for once the wristband folks get in. Our nice friends held our space while we Uber'd back to the house to shower and pack up. On Day 3 we drove our car to the trolley station and caught a trolley at 4:30 a.m. to go get back in line. As the line moved that morning, and we got into the "chutes," there was still a small chance. By the time the panels started, they didn't even have room for the wristband folks which was a sure sign something had gone very wrong. We spent the rest of the day hoping that enough people would leave to fit us in. It was unlikely, but we had waited that long and decided to tough it out. By 5:00 p.m. after 28 hours in line, we didn't get in. We tried. At that point we were so tired that we decided to leave the con (it was our last day). It was still a memorable con. While we were in line, two of the Stranger Things cast members had passed us. I told Heather that she had a closer celebrity sighting than we would have inside. It still counts, right? Hopefully ComicCon can get their security set so this doesn't happen to others.

Last Hurrah

After the volleyball camp wrapped up, we decided to make one last trip to Salt Lake. We went and saw the Jospeh Smith movie with the girls and walked around Temple Square some more. We popped into the Family History Center while the girls walked around City Creek Mall to take some pictures of the pedigree screens. They were supposed to be emailed, but never came. It was such good information that I wanted to make sure I had copies. We met the girls back at City Creek Mall to grab dinner and ride the Trax. It was a fun way to spend our last night in Utah.

BYU Volleyball Camp

The original plan for BYU summer camp was to drop Jenna off each morning and then spend the hours she'd be at camp roaming around with Shelly exploring her stomping grounds, going to the Temple, etc. But Jenna ended up with the stomach flu on Sunday, and it was a bad one. She hadn't recovered by Monday morning when camp started.  We called the camp and let them know she'd be coming later. I had to accompany her because she was weak from throwing all night Saturday (six hours) and sleeping all of Sunday. She hadn't eaten, but this camp was SO important. We checked her in late and then found one of the buildings where the camp was located. After talking with someone on the floor and letting them know Jenna needed to watch today, we sat and watched the court nearest us. Just after getting situated, Heather Olmsted and her assistant coach came through to check on the courts. She came over to talk to us, and we let her know Jenna needed to sit today. She noticed Jenna's Tstreet attire, and we let her know Jenna was a setter and was looking forward to instruction at a higher level. She invited Jenna over to the Smith Fieldhouse which was where the top three courts were. We sat over there and watched the activity before leaving for the day. We returned the following morning. Jenna still hadn't eaten very much, but she was determined to get out there. Heather directed her to court three with Mary Lake, and they were so excited to have a second setter. I ended up staying because we weren't sure if Jenna was going to hurl or be okay. As the next few days progressed and Jenna got stronger, I was in the routine of going in with her. I felt like I might be a little obvious hanging out so I found a perch high up in the stands and hid while watching the activities. Jenna got pulled to play one night with the top court which was a great experience. She received instruction from Linsey Haddock, a setter on the team, Amy Boswell, the fantastic middle blocker, and Mary Lake who is one of the best Liberos in the country. The head coaches were there to watch the play and instruct as well. For all the frustration of being sick and the heartache of not being able to play at 100% (she did pretty darn good anyway), the week went well. I've learned that I say too many things to coaches that make me sound like a dork, and that I worry about the process and progress too much (Is she on the right court? Is she progressing fast enough to achieve her goals?). We also learned that prayer works and that the power of the priesthood is real.  Jenna had an amazing blessing from Sarah's grandpa. We carried that blessing through the week. Jenna also prayed on Tuesday that she would feel better and after resting during lunch, she was able to go back and play really well. Sometimes you can exercise faith through other people praying for you and a blessing, but Heavenly Father wants to hear from us too.  On our way out on the last day, we stopped by the BYU sign and grabbed a soda and sugar cookie from the famous Swig. This was a great experience. If Jenna hadn't been sick and sitting in the place she was at the time she was, we don't know if the coaches would have noticed her being from Tstreet or whether she would have been invited to the top courts. We think this all happened for a reason, maybe one that we won't understand for some time.

Birthdays, Sickness and The Priesthood

On Saturday we hung out at the house and attended Brittany's oldest daughter's 3rd birthday party. I got to hold Hannah's new baby, and later in the evening we watched a cool lightening storm. Jenna wasn't feeling well so, she hung out inside. Somewhere around midnight, she started throwing up and that went on for six hours. It was horrid. She hates throwing up.  We missed church on Sunday and stayed home so both of us could sleep after being up all night. Unfortunately by the evening, Jenna still wasn't feeling better. She threw up a couple more times after trying to eat. This was apparently a nasty stomach virus going around. As word got out we learned that Hannah's husband had it as well as some other friends they knew. We were so worried about volleyball camp the next day that I asked Jenna if Sarah's grandpa could give her a blessing.  I don't know if the blessing comforted Jenna more or me, but it was beautiful. Grandpa and a couple of uncles stood in, and it was amazing for Jenna to see that the Lord works through the priesthood. This man who knew very little about Jenna blessed her with health and let her know the Lord has plenty in store for her. He mentioned that she was blessed with talents and abilities and that through these talents and abilities she will help that will further the church.  I understood those to be volleyball talents he was mentioning, but they may be different talents. Or volleyball may help her help others if she plays and represents the church well. Or there may be other talents.  All I know is that I knew all was well. Jenna was told what an amazing young woman she was, and I'm glad that she heard that. After the blessing, Jenna shook Wilf's hand and he said, "Boy, I don't know who you are, but your are someone special." He was a little in awe of the impressions he had received. What a gift for Jenna to hear how special she is. We're hoping some good rest tonight along with this blessing will help speed her recovery.

Temple Square

Today we drove to Salt Lake City and toured Temple Square. We've done this before, but Jenna was a lot younger. It was so nice to see the temple, and we spent time touring the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where we had lunch and the Lion House where Brigham Young Lived. We saw the Tabernacle and the new Conference Center. Later in the day Shelly and I drove the girls out to Lagoon, an amusement park north of Salt Lake, and we went back to spend some time in the Family History Center. That place is amazing! Shelly and I found out that we are related somewhere about seven generations back. Probably why we found each other all those years ago. I never get tired of seeing this temple, and I kept photographing it from all angles before we went to pick up the girls. What an amazing day!