fall basketball league

Check this out:

 

http://www.sugarwomensbball.blogspot.com/

 

A blog on our Sugar City fall women’s basketball league!   We had good refs and everything

Beloved Emma by Lori Woodland

http://deseretbook.com/store/product/5007310

Coach Woodland's Book is #3 in Deseret Book's Top Ten List, and it's not
even available in stores. (I think it will be available next
weekend...but you can pre-order online now!)

Cool, huh?

You can also get it on Barnes and Noble for under $20 delivered...not sure
why you can't get it cheaper from the publisher, but hey, pass on the word
to your friends to get a copy.

Safety First!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Withdrawals

Anybody else going through Olympic withdrawals?

So what if I didn't get anything done for two and a half weeks, I want the Olympics back! Thank goodness we have DVR and I can watch the swimming events OVER and OVER and OVER again for the next four years.

Enrichment Night with Coach Woodland in Idaho Falls

Coach Woodland will be speaking at our Enrichment Night at my ward in Idaho Falls on September 17th. They are serving dinner at 6:30 and then Coach will speak to us. Please come if you're in the area! Directions from the freeway are to head West on Broadway, then take a left on Troy Drive, then a left on Brentwood and the church will be on the left. If you have questions please call me--757-8872. Someone from my ward actually called me to see if I could get Coach to speak because they had heard she was speaking in Dillon. She is in high demand!

Congratulations Coach Woodland

Coacher was writing this book when we were coaching in Winnemucca, I am so excited to read it. Congrats for making it a reality! Love you coach

Anybody up for a HALF?

This looks like a RIOT!

Alice Schenkk, a friend of my mom's from Rupert, told me about this "Prison Break" half marathon in Boise and I would LOVE to join her. I think it would be a fun thing to do on my birthday weekend. Check out the You Tube video of last year's race:

Idaho Idol Contestant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28c-PlATPMQ

I uploaded this video of my nephew for a local "Idol" contest. Isn't it cute!

Camille's Laugh

What a treat to get to see Cam! We had a few great laughs, (Cam told me some recent stories about funny things Susan said), a few tears, shared stories, and felt like we hadn't ever been apart. Cam's children are so beautiful, each with a unique personality. They were so polite and well behaved, (they even cleared their own plates without being asked.) When we were at Ricks I have a memory of watching "What About Bob" on the bus, and hearing Cam a few seats behind me laughing and laughing. I love Cam's laugh, it is one of my favorite things about her. Another is that when ever I was around Cam I wanted to be a better person. She still has that effect on me, she came to my home and left all of us wanting to be better. We loved her energy and her love for life. Seeing Cam was a "beautiful vista."

twelve hours

I’m so glad we could stop at Shannon’s on the way home from our family vacation. What a precious little family she has. Shannon’s boys are just darling- Gage included. Brock is at such a fun stage. Life is so exciting, full of discoveries, and there is so much to talk about. He is a very tender hearted little boy, just like his mama.I loved getting to know Shannon, the mom. And as you can guess, motherhood fits her very well. We were only together for a total of twelve hours: 10pm to 10am. So we talked a lot and slept a little. Some reminiscing (Shannon pulled out her Ricks scrapbook), but even more, I loved connecting with Shannon about life today- the joys and the challenges we’re experiencing, that come with opportunities for growth.
Having the chance to be together was . . . heaven. (We hadn’t seen one another for 6½ years.) The sad part was driving away from her home, and driving for 12 more hours before arriving at my home, realizing that every hour in the van, I was that much further from Shannon. And I feel that way about the rest of you beloved teammates! We’re so spread out, life is so busy, and the opportunities to see one another are so slim. But, it really is pretty cool that we’re still making the effort to stay in touch. I’m grateful for your friendships. And though it’s not quite the same as being together, laughing our guts out, or late night heart to hearts, I think this blog may be our best alternative. I love you guys.

Now for more pictures:

Moses and Brock bonded, using their tools to fix things. Lauren couldn't be left out.

The bigger kids playing (Moses, Brock, Sadie,Lauren)

Our babies. Margo 7 months, Riley 10 months.

I love that Riley is holding his toes in one hand, and touching Margo with the other.

dinner with Brownie

Hi folks.  I promised Kaly I'd take a picture at dinner and send it along.  Well, true to form, I forgot to bring my camera to dinner, so the best I have is this grainy picture taken with my phone.  We all look gorgeous, though, nonetheless.  Coach, Kaly, Rhiana, and SJ, it was so good to see you!  I wish the rest of you could have joined us.
 
-brownie

The Best Team EVER!!

I know, really bad picture, then to make matters worse I had to scan it into my computer. I think this is camp in the summer, but I might be wrong. I think that's why we're missing Niki, Rhianna and Camille. I loved camp it was so much fun, it was the first time I met most of you.....and got my first impressions, and I was more than frightened of Coacher. I remember sitting around at bunkhouse talking while Allison filed her super long and pretty nails. Funny, the things I remember. I'm going to love going down memory lane with you guys. GREAT IDEA to do a blog girls!!

Does anyone else remember anything about camp??

Request for Cam and Shan

I hope you girls took some pictures of your kids playing together this weekend. Do post!

Miss Caroline's trip to Boston

Alright my fellow teammates, Kaly told me I could cut and paste this post right into the team's blog and look, it worked. Now, this is awesome that we have a blog but everybody has to post. I'm talking to you, you know who you are, the ones who probably aren't going to post anything on this fabulous blog, well everybody has to contribute - right guys? Do I hear a "Hey-Ho-hip-hop-hooray-ho?"

Don't be jealous, teammates, that Caroline and I spent some quality weekend time together. She and her 7-month new husband were in from LA this past weekend. Brian is with the Air Force and comes to the base out here quite a bit, but this was the first time Caroline was able to come - and the first that I was able to meet her awesome husband, Brian . . . he's a keeper. While Brian was working during the day, Caroline and I would play. Our first stop was the North Bridge where:

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world."

Look at the beautiful clouds in the water - perty eh?
Besides the crash that Porter had on his bike, the scuffed-up knee, and the tears that were shed throughout the Ranger's entire presentation, it was a pleasant outing.

Then onto the Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. Caroline is a big fan of the book/movie and even recognized the rug and bedspread that look identical to the rug and bedspread in the movie. They are not the same, but they copied every detail for the movie. The house still has 80% of the original furnishings. All of the workers there were Little Women and Caroline and I asked if you had to be little to get a job there. They chuckled as they cranked their necks to look up at us. It was a delight to haul around with a fellow tall chic I must say.

On Monday we headed to the Revere Beach Sand Sculptures. Although it has rained for like a week straight, the sculptures are still standing. They are just amazing.

This one won first place.

My kids loved Caroline. When Caroline helped them jump the waves once, they wouldn't let her stop. We also were able to have Brian and Caroline over for Sunday dinner which was just so great to catch up with Caroline and get to know Brian. They're awesome.

Can't wait to see pics of the lil' Rexburg reunion and bbq at Kaly's. take lots-a-pictures!

Love you all.

Shannon and Camille's Brilliant Idea

Tonight we had a little get together in Rexburg because Rebecca was in town for a wedding. It was Coach Woodland and Rich, S.J., Brownie and her parents, and Rhiana and her sister and me. Oh, and Rebecca's son 4 month old Max who is adorable. I enjoyed every minute of it, and when I got home I got a call from Shannon and Camille who were "having their own BBQ". Cam stopped at Shannon's house in Oregon on her way back to Cali. from Spokane. Anyway, Cam said that Shannon had mentioned the idea of having a blog for the team, so here it is! I think it's a great idea and I hope everybody wants to participate. The email group has served its purpose, but blogging is way more fun!

The Spirit of Ricks

Ricks College Division of Education Convocation Saturday, April 25, 1998

"There are many things in life that will catch your eye. But only a few that will capture your heart. Pursue those."

This is one of my favorite quotes, first told to me by my roommate Shannon Jones. Ricks College has truly been a place for me to pursue the things I love. One of those things is basketball. I’ve had the incredible opportunity of being a part of the women’s basketball team here at Ricks. And I’d like to share some of the special things I’ve learned from this experience.

My first season was all about learning experience. It concluded on March 8, 1997 with a loss to North Idaho in the championship game of the Region 18 tournament in Couer d’Alene. More than anything, I wanted to win that game and go to the national tournament. We had worked so hard, and I just didn’t understand. Why didn’t we win? It was right there, within our grasp. I didn’t have an answer.

But as I stood on that court and looked into the tearful eyes of my teammates while North Idaho celebrated, I knew something. The Lord cared about us. The church was true. And this was happening for a reason.

From that moment, our goals as a team were clear. We were going to win the conference and host the regional tournament in Rexburg. We would be the team celebrating and going to nationals in Salina, Kansas. We had the desire and the love, so we went to work.

It wasn’t easy. We struggled through the uncertainty of a coaching change, the difficulty of pre-season conditioning, and the usual ups and downs involved with competition. The preseason games went well and we won by large margins. Finally, we had the chance to redeem our loss against North Idaho in the first conference game of the year. We were so excited for that game. We were going to show them that we were the team to beat. But we lost by a basket. And again, we were crying. We felt like it was the end of the world as we sat in the locker room, defeated.

Then Coach Woodland eloquently put things into perspective...
"Girls, is the church still true?" She asked. Is the atonement still real? Do we still love each other?"

We felt the comfort of the spirit, and she continued to tell us that when we looked back on our season, we weren’t going to remember the wins and losses. We would remember and cherish the relationships we had with each other. That’s something Coach Woodland and Coach Grant instilled in us throughout the year--to love each other, above everything else, and not get caught up in the immediate.

We came back from the loss and went on to win the conference, host the tournament, and go to nationals. But we weren’t finished. We had another goal to accomplish--a national championship.
We won our first game of the national tournament in Kansas and faced Central Arizona in the second round. They were ranked second in the nation, and we knew a victory would take all we had. We gave it everything, and had a ten point lead with only 10 minutes left in the game. But Central Arizona fought hard and all we had wasn’t quite enough. Our 21 game winning streak and our dream of a national championship was over.

Again, there were many tears in the locker room. And again, Coach said what we needed to hear. "Girls, is the church still true? Is the atonement still real? Do we still love each other?"

Then, as we were getting changed, Sharee Youngstrom cracked smiles through our tears. She said, "You know, I thought I’d hate you guys if we lost. But nope, I still love ya."

Still, it was hard to come back and play the next two games after such disappointment. Maybe it would’ve been easier if we hadn’t set our goals so high. After all, we’d had a terrific season by all standards. But easier isn’t better. We believed in what Teddy Roosevelt said,

" Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

In our final game of the tournament for 5th place, everyone played and we won by 27 points. A great way to end the season with a 33-3 record. So why were we crying when the final buzzer sounded? It was because we knew it was our last game together and we loved each other so much it was hard to see it end.

That night we watched Central Arizona beat undefeated Trinity Valley to win the national championship. It was hard knowing we could’ve been there, celebrating, hugging each other, and jumping around on the court. But we also couldn’t help but be happy for those girls, because it was their goal too.

Then, as they were about to start cutting down the net, something amazing happened. Their little point guard with the Nike swoosh shaved on the side of her head, stopped her teammate who was about to climb up the ladder. She said, "Come on you guys!" And we were shocked as the entire Central Arizona team left their celebration and their glory to come over to the sideline and give us hugs and thank us for supporting them. Not something you’ll see every day in athletics. But it’s what playing basketball, and life, is all about. It’s loving each other. Those Central Arizona girls had a national championship, but we had something even more precious--testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Like Coach Woodland told us, winning that championship game was probably the best things they’d ever experienced. Yet we could experience something greater every day as we felt the spirit when we prayed. This is a precious gift we all have. And we have an obligation to share this gift with our brothers and sisters who cross our paths. This will bring us true happiness and peace when we don’t get the worldy things we think we need.

Yes, as a great philosopher once said, life is like a box of chocolates. We never know what we’re going to get. :) But we can have faith that the Lord does. And often the disappointments in our lives are actually the catalysts that lead us to even greater success. That was certainly the case for our basketball team.

We thought was had to have a national championship, but the Lord had other plans for us.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said,

"Most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Ricks College has been a beautiful vista on the ride of my life. The greatest thing I will take from my experience isn’t about basketball. It’s not the feeling of playing in front of a great crowd in the Hart gymnasium, winning the region championship, or going to nationals. It’s not even the exhilerating feeling of seeing Ricky Bower hit the game winning shot in the regional championship and rushing down onto the floor. And it’s surely not the things I learned in english, chemistry, or anat. & phys., as great as they were. All those things are a wonderful part of my Ricks College experience, but the greatest thing I’ll take with me is the love I’ve felt from so many people, and most of all, the Savior. It truly is the relationships that touch your heart in a way that can’t be forgotten.

I was a part of the basketball team, but we’re all a part of something here--a ward, a family home evening group, a class, an apartment, a simple friendship. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the spirit of Ricks. And we’ll have it forever.

--Kaly