Preston the Champion!!!

My cousin, Glenda has a son who is an amazing volleyball player. The first part of July he came to Utah to play in the Boys Junior Olympic Volleyball Tournament held in Sandy at the Expo Center. Glenda did not think it would be possible for her to get off work and travel from Las Vegas to watch him. She sent out an email telling all of the cousins here in Utah about the games. Howie and I jumped at the chance to go watch volleyball and support Preston. Volleyball is probably my favorite sport. I think it is one of the most exciting games to play and to watch. Lots of action!

After the first day of tournament play Glenda showed up!!! Her cousin, Brett, made arrangements so she could experience this with Preston. He is a very thoughtful and generousguy! He got a flight for her, let her use his car while she was here and she stayed at his house with them. I was so excited to see Glenda. It was great to have her there. We have always had a special friendship. She lives in Las Vegas so I do not get a chance to see her as much as I would like. This was a treat.....Volleyball games and my wonderful cousins! Can't get better than that!

The games were SOOOO exciting! Preston was a lot of fun to watch. He is a middle blocker and he towers over the net. I think he is 6'6" tall. He had a ton of GREAT KILLS and some pretty awesome blocks! I accidently erased the action shots I had of him on my camera. BUMMER! Anyway.... His team ended up winning the entire tournament. They were Junior Olympic CHAMPIONS!!!! Yeah.

I don't think I have screamed and cheered like that for years. Howie actually lost his voice from all of the cheering we were doing. The games got pretty intense at times. "Real Nail Biters".

We had a riot!

During one of the breaks between games we heard that Karch Karily was there at the Expo Center giving out autographs. He is my ALL-TIME favorite volleyball player to watch! Three time Olympic GOLD medalist. Pretty impressive! Good looking too! Even with out his pink hat and sun glasses.

I was pretty excited to meet him in person but not half as excited as my cousin, Kelley.

Kelley is a volleyball fanatic and it was fun to see his excitement as we waited in line to meet Karch. He was like a kid in the candy store. All GRINS!

Karch not only gave us his autograph he let us get some pictures with him. It was nice for Kelley to finally meet the "father of his son" Ha ha ha. Inside story... but a very funny one! I love this picture of Kelley, Karch and Paige (Kelley's daughter)

Glenda with Karch...

These few days spent with my cousins in that crowded gym screaming and yelling for hours on end were some of my favorite times of this summer. I love time spent with my cousins. I think they are the BEST and I love them all soooo much! Thanks for inviting us, Glenda.

Also.... If I get any action shots of Preston or pictures of him with his team I will post them at a later time.

Brag time for Tanya..... They had a volleyball net set up outside of the Expo Center. They were having a contest to see who could serve over the net and hit certain targets. One target you won a water bottle, another target you won a hat, and then the hardest target you would win a shirt. WELL..... guess what? I hit a target and won a SHIRT!!! Pretty funny. The lady said there were guys trying all morning to hit it. he he he .... I was actually surprised it even went over the net let alone hitting a target. GO FIGURE! I still got it in my OLD, OLD AGE........ NOT!

(Just lucky that's all)

EXCITING WEEKEND and FUN MEMORIES!