Christmas Party and Volleyball

And....the holidays have officially begun.  My mom had her big Christmas party this weekend, with all the food, people, and decorations that I remember from every year she has had this party.  It was so much fun, and I loved having the chance to catch up with so many people!  I haven't seen some of my friends in Houston in a long time, so it was great to get to see them again!

I had the Christmas party on my calendar for months, so it was a definite part of my plans for this weekend.  The only problem was, after I was assigned my volleyball team, I learned that I had a volleyball tournament scheduled for this weekend too!  So, Travis and I left Austin on Saturday morning, drove to Houston, helped set up for the party, ate lots of food, and then drove back to Austin again on Saturday night.  I had to show up for the tournament at 7:15am in Austin.  Needless to say, it was a long night!  Travis drove me back from Houston, and I stayed awake as long as I could, but ended up sleeping in the car for about an hour.  Neither of us remember much about the drive, but we made it safely home at about 1:45am.

Then, at 6am, my alarm went off, and I got ready to coach in my first volleyball tournament of the season.  I showed up to the gym at 7:15am for the scheduled coach's meeting, which ended up not happening until 7:45am.  Boo.  My team showed up, stretched, and got ready to play our first game at nine.  We played two games in a row, had a quick break, kept the score for the next game, and then played again.  For our first tournament, we did pretty well.  I figured out the positions I want the girls to play and the rotations I will probably use for the rest of the season.  We only won one game, but I saw some great playing going on!  The rest of the season should be pretty good.  Luckily, our next tournament isn't until the middle of January, so we will have several practices before then to work on our skills as a team.

Travis came to watch our last game of the morning and then we went out for lunch before he headed back to San Antonio.  I went home and crashed on the couch.  I ended up sleeping for about five hours!  So, I haven't finished grading my tests from Friday (two out of three classes are finished), I don't know what I am teaching tomorrow, I don't have a gift for my secret Santa, and I didn't get anything done that I wanted to get done this afternoon, but I did have a really nice nap. :o)  Luckily, this is the last week before Christmas break, so I don't have TOO much going on, but it will be busy.  Progress reports are due Tuesday and several kids are in trouble because of the test they just took.  Grades aren't what I thought they would be, which just means I will get to talk to parents all week about those grades.  *sigh*

BUT....good news!  In five days, I will be on vacation for two weeks!  And this vacation includes a trip to Houston, my grandparent's house, Travis' brother's house, and NEW YORK!  So, I will make it through these next five days so I can enjoy the holidays!

Only five days to go...