Soggy Success

 

Mother Nature has a sense of humor.  It has been a soggy spring.  We had a steady rain for about two weeks around the time of Spring Break.  However,  for the last two weeks, there hasn't been a drop.  Karson's friend Madelyn asked her to participate in a four-man, outdoor volleyball tournament on Saturday.  Wouldn't you know....down-pour city.  The tournament was supposed to start around 8:30, but they moved the time up to 8 try and miss some of the rain.  No luck. 

 

The tournament began with pool play, subsets of smalls groups to determine how the single elimination match play would be set up. The conditions were awful, and really no team had any advantage - teams were combined of 5th-8th graders. Our team was three 7th graders and Karson.  Karson and Madelyn are both from South and have played together.  The other two girls were friends of Madelyn's and both are in 7th grade from Drakes Creek.

 I believe the first team we played was comprised of 8th graders.  They looked a little intimidating, but our girls held their own and pulled out a win.  The rules of outdoor volleyball are different than indoor.  It took some getting used to.

 We played some familiar faces the second game.  It was a team of South players (three 7th graders and one 8th grader).  The exchange of points and spread was close the entire time with our team losing in the end by two points.

We weren't able to finish the third match - got about halfway through before it was barely tolerable.
 Despite having four umbrellas, towels, a raincoat and one of those pop-up canopies, we still were soaked.

 Karson was cold but did her best to stay under the canopy and wrap up in towels.  At one point, we beelined for the car and cranked the heat up.  She took her socks and shoes off so we could attempt to dry them out.  They eventually called the tournament off by about 10:30 a.m.  I'd brought Karson a change of clothes which she got into quickly.  I got her home and into a warm bath ASAP =).  She snuggled up with blankets and spent the remainder of the day reading.

 I'm not sure if it's tradition to have a reception for a 6th Grade Graduate, but I think any reason to have a special celebration with family and close friends is worth the effort.  Karson has worked hard the last seven years at Plano, and we had a little soiree at our house yesterday afternoon to celebrate her achievements.  I had a table full of her favorites - everything from Oreo balls to bow-tie pasta.

 Our town recently got a Party City which is where I found the cute graduate decorations.  I tried to keep the "theme" of the party black and white to match her invitations.  I also recycled the supplies that were left for when Isaac graduates in two years (I'm frugal like that).

  I took pictures of Karson with all of her party guests, which was primarily family and close friends.

Karson got some of the sweetest cards and nicest gifts from everyone. She is loved!

 

The kids ended the day with a game of dodge ball which has become our kids favorite past-time on nice days.  They were able to get a couple of games in before the storms hit.  It was a wonderful day.  Karson's school graduation takes place next Thursday morning at Plano with a promotion ceremony, family picnic and games.  It's hard to believe she is almost officially a 7th grader!