Well, we are finally home! I slept most of the day yesterday and am now unpacked and doing laundry...lots and lots of laundry! I am also uploading the last of the photos from Monday's play and our bus ride home.
I am sure you have heard it all from your daughter, but for the sake of continuity (I will be referring to this blog to refresh my memory in the future) I thought I would do one final post - oh, that makes me sad!!!
So, we woke up early on Monday and hurridly packed up, cleaned rooms and moved out. Once we left our rooms, we would not be coming back. The girls did a great job at this although some took longer than others...(Cassie and Maja...)
We lugged all our stuff downstairs and ate breakfast, then left for our final walk to the convention center. We were early so we had time to watch other teams play and to cheer on our sister team.
When it came time for us to play, we were ready. We lost the first game, won the second, then should have won the third, but the ref was crazy. It was match point - 14-14 and we had the serve. The other team called a time out, but it was their 3rd time out and they were only allowed 2. We should have gotten a point for that, but the ref felt that the score was too close and wouldn't give it to us. Needless to say, Alex served our next point and it was an ACE!! So, we should have won, but no...we went back and forth and the final score was 19-21 - them. The girls were sooooo bummed! They should have won!
But, not to be kept down, they came back and won the second match in 2 games - finally! A great way to finish the Festival week. If you look at the photos, you can see how tired they were. I thought Nicole was going to lay down on the court and go to sleep right there (I would have joined her!).
After our last match, we were STARVING so we went out to eat at this great little Mexican food place - it really hit the spot! then I gave Katie money to take the girls to ColdStone for ice cream while I ran back to the dorms to reserve us seats together on the bus. (I had an ulterior motive...I really wanted a seat to myself!). We finally loaded up and hit the road. It was 117 degrees in Phoenix and about 100 degrees in the bus. The air conditioning went out! We were sitting on that bus sweating to death. It was miserable, but the girls contuinued laughing and talking and being silly - such sweeties! Amanda wrapped up Corryne's face in pre-wrap for some rason - don't ask me why, I just took pictures!
We finally stopped to get some water and I about crawled into the beer freezer at the mini market...heaven! The girls all ate Mcdonalds and it was back onto the bus for the final leg. Some girls slept, some played games, and most just hung out talking. Of course, about the time we hit Riverside, the a/c came back on and we were actually chilly - just can't make us happy!
We finally arrived home and unloaded. I couldn't wait to get home, but there was one more surprise for me - a gift from my darling girls! Thank you so much for the chocolates (you DO know me!) and the gift cards - I will spend them on goodies for my Festival scrapbook. It was totally unexpected and you really didn't need to do that (but I am glad you did :)).
This was an amazing week for me and I hope it was for the girls, too. Aside from the injuries, I wouldn't have changed a thing. The girls demonstrated dignity, poise, character and sportsmanship. They cared for each other and lifted each other up - they were a real team and I am so proud of them and so grateful to have been given the opportunity to share this experience with them.
Thank you so much!
Love,
Momma
