We started off the month with a birthday party for Camille. I went to the Cat Café with John as well. He loves cats as much as I do! I got my hair cut and decided that I would pay for my own highlights. I absolutely love them! I was able to watch Chase twice with his cousin this busy month. The first time, we went to the pool. He loved watching kids go down the slide and got excited when we splashed him. I really enjoy working with him. Our family had a garage sale, but I was pretty busy with my own stuff and wasn't able to be there for much of it. I also got to go over to Lucy's and hang out. She just had a baby sister born and she is so cute! I also went with mom and dad when they signed their will. It weird to think about that. Katie, Elizabeth, and I went to Jack's to make friendship bracelets for camp since I can't go instead of going to the Frankenberg Fest. We also went to Katie's and church to do more.
As far as volleyball, I have been going to BHS volleyball when I can. I also go to Missouri Juniors practice and play just a little bit. Our team had a youth clinic after practice in Jefferson City and I really enjoyed it. Somehow I ended up with two daughters of my mom's friends in my group. They were so sweet. We had a scrimmage against 417 14s and 15s, as we are all going to Nationals. It was apparent that we are not ready for Nationals and haven't had enough practices together after our break from the regular season. I have been working hard to look up game film of the teams that we are playing so we are ready and wish the other girls did as well.
I went to my much awaited Columbia College camp and really enjoyed it. At the end, the head coach said that I should think about visiting Columbia College! I was over the moon and am really excited and interested in the school. I think it may be my number one choice if I can't play Division I.
Some of our Juniors team had a sleepover at Gamma Phi Beta with Kaya's grandma. We had so much fun bonding. We played sand volleyball and saw Dawn Sullivan there playing! She watched us for a little bit and mom told me that she probably knew who we were since we did the Special Olympics event with her last month! I love spending time with Kaya and we shopped at Plato's Closet one evening.
We did a 4th of July BBQ with the Fajen's and Nana Arden at our house. I absolutely hate fireworks and didn't even come out for them. I went to see Dr. Bohon about my foot. She said that I still need to heal in boot or could spend school season in a cast. I just have to prioritize what is important to me for when I am using my foot. The problem is, everything is a priority right now! I was incredibly disappointed that I wasn't clearly completely.
We ran errands and packed for Vegas after the 4th. I watched Emily while mom and dad went to a concert in St. Louis. She would not fall asleep and spent some time on my floor sleeping until I kicked her out. We didn't really get any sleep as mom and dad came home and we left for our 7 AM Kansas City flight.
Nationals and Las Vegas was an interesting experience to say the least. It was 118 degrees the whole time we were there. Everything was so expensive and far away. Walking in a boot it not fun in that heat! Like I thought, our team did not play great and there were 3 games that we lost that we definitely should have won. I ended up getting put in for Kaya which cut her playing time. Then, I lost my serving position. I missed three balls in one game on day 2 and ended up getting taken out for the day. I was so upset and didn't understand why it was just me. It really put a damper on my spirits the rest of the time. I had to work hard to keep my attitude positive. Day 3 was the hardest. Maci told me before the day began that she gave me chances and had to take me out. If I had questions, I could talk to her when we got back to Columbia. The problem was that we had try outs the next day at 7:30 AM, Maci got sick, and her grandmother died. She didn't have time to talk to me. We did some team bonding things while we were there. We rode in a limo, went to the Ice Bar, had a team dinner, and walked to the Bellagio.
When we got back to Kansas City, mom stayed with Jill for her conference for four days. We had try outs the very next day at 7:30. Mom never misses try-outs, even when I couldn't make it last year, she went to them! It was weird to do it without her, but I processed everything with dad. I got an offer to be on the same team (minus Landrie who is playing with her own age group) with Maci. I also went to Alpha Omega's try-outs and got an offer to play on their elite team. I decided to go with 573 Missouri Juniors because it is a consistent team that I know. I'm not as excited as I normally am about the season and hope to get that spark back soon. I was ready a day later for the Mizzou camp with Kaya!
Team tie-dye
Team group photos
