From the time, three years ago, when I went to Nationals with Liz I have had a hope and dream that this year, her senior year, we would have the whole family in Florida. My dream didn't even consider the fact that Megan might be playing on the team as well. So much of this dream was meant to be, and I see God's hand in orchestrating the very details. What a privilege it was to be in Florida with our whole family and to share the week with mom and dad too. Here are an assortment of pictures.
The girls and the team took a red-eye flight Tuesday night. They spent much of Wednesday morning at the beach, killing time before they could check into their hotel. Liz loves the ocean and ths is a perfect beach because it is pretty shallow for a long ways out. She had lots of fun int he water with her teammates.
One of the coaches sent me this pictures of Megan. She said that all of the kids were laughing and playing and Megan was off on her own enjoying the peace of ocean. She said Megan enjoyed the alone time, then joined right in with her friends and teammates. I love these pictures because I feel like they capture Megan perfectly.
Thursday morning, after a good nights' sleep the girls went to the Alligator farm. They started by doing a ropes course with zip lines and challenges. Liz had done it once before and was excited, but Megan was pretty nervous. But, she did it all. She was really pleased to have accomplished something scary. I love that she and Liz got to hold an alligator too.
While the girls were playing with alligators we spent the morning at the beach. The boys loved the water. They had a great time in the waves. It was such a beautiful day. The ocean is one of my most favorite places.
Goalball started Thursday evening. The girls had two games that night, then three on Friday. There were ups and downs, but mostly it was fun to see how far Liz has come in the last few years, and to see MEgan starting out on this journey.
Liz was amazing. She did great as the leader of this team. She communicated well, she was deliberate in her throwing, and more steady in her blocking. She scored many goals and defended well. It is fun to see how confident she is one the court.
Megan was so cute! She had a great attitude. She didn't get to play tons, but she knew that her coaches wanted her to watch closely and learn form the whole experience. When she did have hte chance to play she threw well, and blocked. She is still learning, but what a great time for her to progress.
With a couple of minutes left int he bronze medal game we were up by several goals and they put Megan in. The crowd from Utah was so excited to cheer for her, and even our referee friend was so excited that they "put the baby in". She was the one who checked Megan's eye shades and she told Megan, "you are just so darn cute." Megan just giggled in response. The referee told me later that she just hoped that Megan would have the chance to score one goal.
With 6.8 seconds left in the game our team called a time out and they gave Megan the ball. She had one shot left, and it was perfect. It went right in the corner and she scored a goal! The whole team surrounded her and congratulated her. It was so cute to watch. What a perfect way to end the game!
I loved watching the boys watch the girls (and all of the games). Michael kept stats. Nathan and I got plenty nervous.
Brian is the best Goalball watching buddy. He keeps me more calm than I would otherwise be, but he cheered loud for our Utah teams. The girls could hear him from the court.
My four kiddos watching a game together.
It was so fun to all be at Nationals together. Having mom and dad there just made it extra special.
Friday morning before the boys had even sat down in the bleachers our referee friend asked them to help line judge. She asked again Saturday afternoon and they helped for all four of the medal games. I love that they were willing to help. And I love that she had confidence in them. She knew they knew what to do and that they would do it right. After the last game she said, "that was great goalball, but your boys were great line judges." I love that these boys get involved in good ways and support their sisters, even indirectly.
A few weeks before Nationals Liz told me that she want to make a turtle for every member of each girls' team at Nationals. She set to work. A week before Nationals she told me she had enough turtles for all of the members of the boys' teams too (nearly 70 turtles in all). After each game, whether she had played or watched, she personally gave turtles to all of the players.
It was fun to see the smiles on faces, to see the excitement. One payer carried her turtle in her pocket the rest of the weekend. When our girls received their medals a big portion of the crowd yelled, "Thanks for the turtles." I loved this simple way that Liz shares joy with people around her.
Liz was chosen for the third year in a row as a member of the All American Team. What a wonderful honor! Nathan summed it up well, though not directly relating to the honor, when he said, "watching Liz this week gives me an even greater understanding of how hard she has worked." One of the girls who played with Liz is Budapest was at the tournament watching (she has since graduated). She was so complimentary of Liz and how far she has come even since Worlds a couple of years ago. So proud of this girl!
What a treat! The Utah girls won bronze and brought home a medal for the third year in a row. There were some definite disappointments during the tournament, but it was so fun to watch the girls come back and finish strong.
So much happiness!
We loved having the girls with us Sunday. After a lovely sacrament meeting in St. Augustine we drove to the Orlando temple.
Monday brought our first day at Universal. Our first stop was the Hogwarts castle. WE loved the ride and rode it a second time right away. So fun!
Nathan and Brian went on a big roller coaster (the Hulk). Grandma, Grandpa, Mike and I went on a ride that was a mix of the Scrambler and the teacups. We were laughing so hard. We went on it twice in a row. So fun! (the girls were with their team and their first stop was the Hulk. I still can't believe that they both rode that crazy roller coaster. Megan said she shut her eyes the whole time.)
We had a fun lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. The butterbeer is fantastic.
We had a long wait for the Gringotts ride, but on Tuesday we rode it again and it wasn't too much of a wait.
Monday afternoonw e were able to meet up with the girls and a few of their teammates. We rode the train together from London to Hogsmeade. THis picture of the six of us with Hogwarts in the background was another dream come true. We enjoyed another trip through Hogwarts together.
We went to the wand shop and Michael was chosen for the wand show. It was so cool! This happened for Liz a few years ago. How fun that it could happen for MIke.
Nathan was a litlte worried going into this part of the trip. He has heard Liz and I talk about how magical this place is and he worried that it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. Afterwards I asked if it had, and he said it was even better than he expected.
The girls had tons of fun with their team. While I wish we could have done more Harry Potter stuff together, mostly I am grateful that they had fun experiences together.
We loved our trip, but we sure loved coming home and being together as a family again.
