Upward Finale!

Upward is officially over - I say that with a little sadness, and some happiness! We saw God's hand at work in people's lives. We saw Him change and transform adults, kids and families. We saw 5-year-olds learn how to dribble, and make thier first basket! We saw friendships being made. We have build better relationships with families in the community. I could go on and on about the impact this season had in our life and others'....Overall, it was a great season! It was a long road, though. Ha! And this weekend was CRAZY!

Nik pulled into town Thursday night about 10pm. I was still decorating the gym for the Awards Ceremony but made it home by 10:45pm. We stayed up a little late talking about our weeks and going over the plan for Friday and Saturday (or should I say - I was going over the plan...)!

Friday started out bright and early with some major shopping getting ready for Saturday's games.

Pic below of trip to Sam's. I forgot to take a pic of the back seat after a trip to Wal-Mart. It was packed, as well!

We then went to pick up the DVD of the slideshow and get the coaches' giftbags and gifts from the very nice friend who helped make their gift!

Friday afternoon was spent organizing the night and putting the last touches on the decorations.

While I wrote Thank You cards to all coaches, referees and volunteers, Nik was off to Austin to pick up the speaker. Of course, he got caught in traffic and made it back just in time to run home and change clothes with about 15 minutes to spare before the Awards night got started.

The Awards Ceremony was so much fun! We laughed a lot. We had a great time talking to the families and coaches that participated this year. There were lots of hugs. It was sad - we have become like family with everyone involved. I can honestly say I might be a little lonely the next couple of weeks not talking to these people who have stood next to us over the last 8 weeks.

We could not be sad too long - there was work to do! We had to transform our gym back to 'game-ready' for the next morning!

We were beat by the time 9:30pm rolled around. But not to beat to continue celebrating with people over a Chinese Buffet! Ha!

Saturday - Last Game Day! No pictures. Way too busy to take pictures. It was a celebration - all day long! We brought a grill out and had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs (along with our normal concession). We had tables setup outside for people to eat at and hang out. There were a couple of soccer/kickball games happening outside - all the while, inside teams were playing thier last basketball game. Everyone was in good spirits and had a blast!

After the last game ended around 4pm - we pulled all the coaches, parents and referees (who wanted to play) on to the court for one last C.P.R. Game. I do have to say that my cutie husband played great - he made some great shots, had some cool passes and was super smooth when he came down wrong, rolled twice and hit the wall! (no pictures. sorry. but he is okay. only some scrapes - thankful, it was not anything worse).

After a quick shower and change by Nik we bolted out of town to Austin to see Tim Hawkins, live! That is one funny man. We laughed for over an hour, straight.

That was basically our weekend and the end of our Upward Season. I spent Sunday afternoon sleeping. And hope to get one more night of good rest. It is needed!