We just got back from one of the greatest experiences!!
Back in March of this year, Ty's team won the State AAU Championship!
Because of that, it qualified them to play at the National Championship in North Carolina.
This year, the league changed the age rules,
in hopes of keeping people from holding back their kids.
Some of these tournaments we had played in over the year, we played double hold backs.
Meaning, Ty's team was playing against some kids that were Garrett's age.
It was exciting when the league changed the rules, because that meant we were going to be
able to play at a more equal playing field.....our own age group!
The only downside to this, was that some of the boys on our team were not eligible to play
with our team in the State Tournament, due to them having summer birthdays.
They were now considered too old to play with our team.
That made it hard and sad that they couldn't play with us.
We had to bring a couple of other kids on to fill the team for State.
After we won State, there really wasn't much talk of us going on to Nationals.
A couple of months passed by, and one night Trav got a call from Ken Hall on our team.
He talked to Trav for quite some time about going to Nationals.
This was a huge opportunity for our kids and to not take it, seemed crazy.
They would finally get to play Nationally, and Finally get to play vs. kids their own age.
Trav and Ken both felt like we'd be good enough to compete.
After talking it over, and gathering kids that could and wanted to go play,
we had a team together and made plans to go to Nationals.
Ken and Nicole were very generous in contributing to help get the boys there,
which was such a blessing to many of us on the team!
They held practices up in Harrisville a few nights here and there,
so we could play together before heading off to nationals.
After our last practice, they invited us all over for a swim party at their beautiful home.
The kids had a blast!
(Monday, June 29th)
(Monday, June 29th)
The next day was spent getting the house ready to leave,
and getting all of our bags packed!
A boy on our team, Dax Pew, was vacationing in the Dominican Republic with his family
and had to fly from the Dominican to Raleigh North Carolina on his own to
be there in time for the games to start.
Because of that, Trav took the Red Eye on Tuesday night (June 30th)
so that he and Dax would get in to Raleigh at the same time and Trav could drive him
to Greensboro to meet up with all of us later that after noon on Wednesday.
Garrett and I flew separate from the team because I found tickets that were cheaper.
We left SLC 20 mins after them and were to arrive in Greensboro 20 mins after them,
so it was the perfect scenario......plus we were able to send our bags with them!
I drove Trav to the airport at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night, came back home around Midnight
and finished getting us all packed.
By that time, I had to shower and be ready to leave. So.....I didn't sleep an ounce that night.
Hamblins were here to pick us up at 4:30 that Wednesday Morning (July 1st).
Gma Davies had slept over that night so that there would be someone here that early
with Julia and Austy......that was a huge help!
It was fun to meet up with everyone at the airport.
There was a ton of excitement in the air at that point......
we couldn't get to Greensboro fast enough!
We all ate some breakfast at the airport McDonald's and then the team went one way,
and Garrett and I went the other to our different terminals.
We flew right over Davis High (Could see their football field) and close to Gpa Randle!
Garrett and I had a lay over at the Detroit Michigan Airport.
Talk about Huge! The place had a monorail system and underground moving walkways to
get people from one terminal to the next.
It was a good thing we had a long lay over to have the time to get from one end to the other.
It was really fun exploring that place!
I even took a few minutes to call Lavonne Cooper to let her know I was only a few minutes away!
Garrett and I made it to Greensboro, but the team was stuck in Atlanta and ended up
getting in to Greensboro an hour after us.
So we greeted them at the baggage claim!
We got in the rental vans and headed to our hotel to get checked in and get ready
to head to the Coliseum to get the team checked in for the tournament.
Cole's Mom, Bobbi, works with an Eye Wear company and got awesome deals
on some Oakley shirts and shorts for the coaches and kids!
They looked so sharp going to check in for the Tournament and for their pictures!
(Cole, Mason, Colby, Ty and Hayden)
(Cam, Bridge, Dax and Garrett)
Team Photo Shoot at the Greensboro Coliseum
Kids got free sunglasses from East Bay!
We ate dinner that night and the kids all hung out together.
I, on the other hand, text Lisa and told her I was going to just lay down for a bit,
and then we'd head to Walmart to get some snacks and drinks for our rooms.
I laid down alright......and didn't wake up until the next morning!
I was going on 4 hours of sleep in a 48 hr. period and was gone to the world!
Good thing Lisa was a good sport and laughed at the fact I totally dogged her!
Our first game was that next morning, Thursday, July 2nd.
We played against the Georgia United Stars from Atlanta.
The boys played their hearts out.....just couldn't get shots to land.
We lost that game by 13 points. We felt really good about that.
We hung with them most of the game and towards the end, they gained on us.
Not bad for our first Nationals game.
Waiting for our game to start.....
I looked over just before they went out to warm up and caught them in prayer.
Favorite Picture of the Tournament!
Garrett and Hayden Hall.....Our two assistant Coaches hard at work!
Warm ups!
Game Time!
Ty at the foul line.
We went back to the hotel after that game and the kids hung out for a while,
then we all met up for dinner at Villa Rosa, a Mexican Restaurant by our hotel.
The next morning, Friday, July 3rd, we got up and got ready for our game.
This game was vs. St. Louis, B-Mack Bounce.
They took 4th at Nationals in 2014.
We knew this would be a tough game, but we were hoping
we had our nerves all settled and would do well playing against them.
It was a 5-6 point game the whole time,
with us having the lead on them at many points. We were super excited!
We were playing so well, and giving them a run for it!
However, they went on a long run and by the start of the 4th quarter,
it was 53-42 them.
The final score of the game was 78-68.
Again, towards the end, we just couldn't get a shot to land and they couldn't miss.
Still, to play the #4 ranked team in the Nation and only lose
by 10 and also have a lead on them at times, felt like a great accomplishment!
We had a tough bracket. We played the #4 and #6 ranked teams in the Nation, right off.
Dax Pew messed up his ankle really bad in that game, which really stinks,
cause we needed his size and his Mom was flying in 2 days later from the Dominican,
hoping to be able to watch him play the rest of the week.
The Athletic Trainer the league had there, took care of Dax and got him all wrapped
up good and gave him some pain killer to help get the swelling down.
She loved watching us play and was there at the tournament all week with her 3 daughters.
They each picked a team they wanted to go all the way at the first of the week.....
the trainer picked us and was so nice every time we ran in to her from then on,
and even asked us to text her a picture of our team when we won it all!
She took care of Dax for a few days.
We babied him when we got back to the hotel with some ice, Baconators from Wendy's,
and Cabbage leaves wrapped around his ankle!
The kids all got in the pool, because the trainer said it would help Dax.
It was a little cold, but didn't stop any of them!
Earlier in the week, I had called the Raleigh North Carolina Temple to schedule
a time to take the boys to do Baptisms for the dead.
The Temple was only an hour and 15 minutes away from Greensboro.
I found it a little funny when I called to schedule us, the Sister had to get
permission from the Temple President because we were such a "large" group!
We only had 7-9 kids we were planning to bring.
They are such a small Temple though, that she was worried that would be too many
to have there at once! Something we definitely take for granted here in Utah,
where often times we take over 20 at once!
She called me back a couple of hours later though, and said,
"Sister Burke, we'd love to have your Basketball Team here at the Temple!"
I was so excited! We had names we were bringing that Aunt Ronda had gotten together
for us and we also had Trav and Eric Tadje (Cam's Dad) that would be our Priesthood.
They also asked that each of us Mom's would be willing to help too, if we were endowed.
The boys weren't thrilled by that night to be going.
We heard a little whining from all of them.
They were tired after the game, and swimming, and just wanted to hang out.
However, us Mom's prevailed and they loaded in to the van with us.
Some still decided to stay, and some weren't able to get recommends in the short time
we gave them before we flew out.
But, we took the kids that had them and off we went.
What a beautiful drive. Trees everywhere! Everywhere!!!
The Temple was tiny. They told us it is one of the smallest in the world.
Gorgeous grounds though and a special spirit there.
(Nicole Hall, Malin Hall, Ty, Trav, Garrett, Me, Bridger Hamblin, Lisa Hamblin
Eric Tadje, Cam Tadje)
(Cam, Bridge, Ty, Garrett)
The spirit was strong with the kids that night.
The Temple President came and spoke with the kids, then asked us to have opening prayer.
We had closing prayer around the font just before we left.
As we walked out, we realized two of the Sister's names we had brought with us,
were born in North Carolina.
How neat is that, that we were able to bring them home for their baptisms?
Pretty awesome night.
We ate dinner at Panda Express and headed back to the hotel
to get some rest before our 3rd game the next morning.
Our 3rd game was held that next day, Saturday, July 4th!
We played vs. West Coast All Stars.
This was the game that will go down in history as the "Buzzer Beater!"
Still makes me sick to think about this one!
We were up the entire game on this team.
At half time we had a 13 point lead.
It really seemed like this would be our game.
Infact, the way it turned out......there was a 3 way tie between all of us teams,
to still have a shot at playing in the Championship Bracket.
In order to still have a shot, we had to beat this team by 15 points.
It looked like we were right on track.
It was all their parents could handle.
No way were they losing to a bunch of White Boys from Utah!
I couldn't believe their crowd.
They became unglued.
They were yelling at our kids, at the refs, etc.
They even went as far as calling our kids names.
"Hollywood" was one they kept yelling. (Meaning, we were acting pretty well to get fouls!)
So ridiculous.
Yell at the adults and refs all you want, but leave the poor 13 yr. old kids out of it.
Anyway, they came back after half time and went on a big run.
The game ended up being neck and neck from that point on.
SO INTENSE!
With 13 seconds left in the game, we were up 75-73.
They fouled us and we had the chance to shoot fouls shots to put us up by 4 and missed both shots.
At this point, their crowd has totally lost it.
At this point, their fans are yelling, "You didn't lose this game to this team!
You lost it to the refs!"
Yeah, give us zero credit people! They ran down the court and scored to tie it up. 75-75.
With only 6 seconds left, we had the ball and threw it across the court, thinking
it would kill the clock and we'd go in to over time.
One of their kids, jumped up and caught it and seriously chucked it back across the court......
and SANK THAT SHOT IN THE HOOP AT THE BUZZER!!!!!
They won.
78-73.
Sickening. So sickening!
We all sat there so completely stunned. Could not believe it.
That was our game. Man, that was a hard loss.
As I was sitting there, picking up my camera, etc. and minding my own business,
one of the Mom's on their team, with hair died pink, etc. came right over to me,
got right in my face and pointed her finger at me and said,
"It ain't over til the buzza beeps. Remember dat!!!"
What???
Two seconds before she was screaming about her defeat, and then she has the nerve
to treat me like that?
I hadn't said a word the whole game and truly was just minding my own business.
Not sure why she picked me out......but wow! That was some classy sportsmanship.
I let her know I thought she was classy, and she started to come back at me.
Ha ha! I picked a battle with the wrong lady! Her husband came and pulled her away,
all the while she ranted and raved something about me.
So, so crazy! Couldn't believe it.
I had to walk away, and was grateful Sis started texting me funny pictures to
lighten the situation. I grabbed Bridge and Lisa and we sent some back to her.
(Couldn't get old Bridge to play along! :)
The kids were feeling a little down and defeated.
Long way to come to lose three games in a row.
We sat for a while and watched a couple of other teams play.
So, now at this point we were in the Classic Bracket and hoping to win at least one game.
We went to eat lunch.....
Garrett had been begging, and begging, and begging to go to a place by our hotel
called Bojangles ever since the first night we pulled in.
We finally gave in and took him there for lunch.
Lisa and Bridge were the only ones who agreed to come fulfill this dream for Garrett!
It actually wasn't bad.....really, it was just the KFC of North Carolina!
After lunch, we went back to the hotel and chewed on that game for a bit.
Total Disbelief.
After we rested for a while, we headed to Jimmy Johns for dinner.
(Ken Hall, Eric Tadje and Trav discussing game strategy!)
From there, we went to watch a game that determined who we would play the next day.
Lisa and I were so full from the day, we didn't go to dinner with the rest of the moms.
We went with the team to watch the game, and then were hoping to stay for the fireworks,
that the league had made to look like they were providing for the teams that night.
When we arrived at the Coliseum, we quickly realized that was not a fireworks show solely for
the Nationals Teams......it was a major community Firework event, that just happened to be at the Coliseum and they capitalized on that whole thing!
We watched the game and then hurried to get out of the parking lot before fireworks started so
we wouldn't be there all night and stuck in traffic.
We didn't make it. We were stuck and stuck good.
Couldn't even move the car anywhere, and had no choice
but to watch the fireworks from the van windows!
It was a good show, and as soon as it was over, we inched our way out
and luckily weren't stuck too long after that.
We went right home and got to bed for our game the next day.
Grandpa Randle had Sis and Aust on the 4th and took them to the Kaysville City Carnival.
They sent us pictures and were having a blast.
Faces painted and playing on the blow up toys!
Thanks Grandpa!
Happy Independence Day 2015!
July 5th -
Utah vs. Boston Bobcats
From here on out in the tournament, if we were to lose, we were done.
Each game was a must to continue on for the Championship of the Classic Bracket.
We were excited and anxious and hoping to win a game!
We played tough and beat Boston by 20.
We were on fire and played awesome! They didn't have an answer to it!
So fun to finally win one and play so well!
Such a fun game and so good for the morale of the boys!
Afterwards, Trav, Ken, Garrett, Ty, Mason and Dallin, all paid $5 to play in
a 3 point shot contest.
Trav only lost to the Bay Area Mamba's Coach by one!
Trav had 10 3's and that guy had 11.
The whole team stood off to the side and cheered them all on!
We went and grabbed some lunch, went back to the hotel so the boys could shower,
and met back down in the lobby to head off to see some of the major
Universities within an hour from us.
We assumed where we didn't have a tour signed up, we wouldn't get to see much,
other than walk around each campus and see what we could see.
Boy......were we in for a couple of fun surprises!
We went to Duke University first.
When we got there, we parked by their Football field, which none of the boys
were interested in much.....because apparently Duke Stinks at Football!
Ha ha!
We stopped a couple of college kids that were on a golf cart doing some work,
to see what the possibility would be of getting in to see the Basketball Arean.
The Coach K Court.
They just kindof laughed and said it was closed and we wouldn't be able to get in.
A little disappointed, we walked over the the court anyway, thinking
we'd get a picture of the kids standing outside of the building!
When we got there, a gentleman came walking out of the door of the gym
and held it for us to walk it!!!!!
We thought for sure we'd get kicked out in a heartbeat, so we hurried and lined the kids
up in their walk of fame hall and took some pictures, trying to be so quiet about it.
After we took these pics, and realized no one was coming to kick us out,
we quietly walked in the to actual court!
Talk about awesome!
It was so quiet in there and only a few lights were on.
It is tiny!
And.......it smells like an old church!
Really surreal being in there and watching the kids excitement.
We quickly realized other people were getting in somehow and that we had
full reign of the place.
We ended up right down on the court!
Colby Browning, Mason Falslev, Ty, Cam Tadje, Cole DeBoard,
Dax Pew, Bridger Hamblin and Dallin Hall
The Mom's couldn't miss out on this photo op!!!
Nicole Hall, Hollie Falslev, Bobbi DeBoard, Lisa Hamblin, Sarah, Malin Hall
We wandered around a little bit longer.....
and ended up in the Media Room!
The kids thought that was awesome!
From there, Garrett found their Athletic Museum that houses all of their trophies,
and awards for every sport over the years.
When the kids got tired of walking around the museum, they decided it was time to shop!
We walked through that beautiful campus to the main bookstore.
The buildings were all so old and neat.
They had really cool wavy glass windows and awesome architecture.
These were their housing buildings.
It was so hot walking back to our cars! We were a sweaty mess.
We Left Duke and headed towards UNC.
University of North Carolina - Tarheels.
I wasn't aware that UNC is where Michael Jordan went and we were able to see the facility
he played at......that was a lot bigger than the Coach K Court and was definitely locked up.
Dean E. Smith Center
The kids wanted to go shop there, but they were closed for the Holiday weekend.
That was kind of a bummer......until we ran in to their Football Stadium!
That was open and the kids were able to get on the field and we all sat on the bleachers.
We had the whole place to ourselves.
That was pretty dang awesome!
It was so funny.......Hayden Hall, who is 5 years younger than Garrett,
ran out on to the field all by himself.
When he got down there, he yelled, "I wanna race!"
His parents asked him who he wanted to race and he said, "I'm calling out Garrett!"
Before we knew it, Garrett, Bridger and Hayden were out on UNC's football field,
Shirts off, shoes off, and stretching out for a race!
We were laughing so hard! It was hilarious!
We got video of it, but here are some pictures!
Garrett killed them all by a good margin.
Bridge swears he wasn't running his hardest! Ha ha!
Within a few minutes of their race, and after they had all come in the stands to
relax with everyone.....we looked down on the field and a guy was out there,
sitting down, putting cleats on and started to warm up on the field.
The kids were pretty intrigued as to who he was and were pretty sure if he was out there
in cleats warming up, he had to be a UNC player.
A few of the kids got brave and went down to ask who he was.
They came running back so excited to tell us that he had played at UNC for 4 years,
and had just been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.
They grabbed a note book and marker from one of the Mom's and got brave again,
to go down and ask him for his autograph for each of our team to have to keep!
He was so nice and did that for the kids.
We were actually his first autograph opportunity as a Dallas Cowboy player!
He waved to all of us parents in the stands and we clapped and cheered and
told him thanks and good luck!
The kids thought that was pretty cool.
His name is Tim Scott. We'll be looking for him come football season.
There wasn't much more to see at UNC after that,
so we took off to get the kids some dinner at Chili's.
That was such a fun day and a major highlight of the trip for most of us!
So fun, and some major cool things we were able to see and do on our own!
We were exhausted that night, so we hurried back to game film session in Coach Hall's room,
then off to bed to be ready for our next game!
Monday, July 6 -
Kids woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, then they left for practice that Ken
had arranged for them on one of the free courts before our game.
Utah vs. Dream Chasers Academy from Georgia
This game was ours from the very beginning.
This team only wanted to shoot 3's at the first. They would not bring the ball inside.
They couldn't shoot, and we were not missing.....so it made for a hard game for them.
We were up by 20 almost the whole game and
ended up winning 66-44.
We were so proud of our team. They played incredibly well.
People were amazed at our team.
White Boys??? Utah??? Wow!!
A couple of guys from Boston saw us playing some of those first few games,
and came to watch every game we played after that.
Many people were very complimentary of us!
We were out in the foyer of the coliseum when a reporter approached Ken
and asked to interview him. Our team made it on the local news in North Carolina that night!
They aired it on the 6 and 10 p.m. news broadcasts! Pretty awesome!
(Director of the Tournament - Shawn Kilpack)
We took some pictures by the AAU National Championship flags and then took off to eat.
Later that afternoon, we took Lisa and Bridge to the airport.
They flew home a couple of days before the team, because they had scheduled to
do Marli's Temple Work on July 7th, before we planned to go to this tournament.
I called Lisa over to our hotel room before we left, so I could give her a special
Temple envelope with the Bountiful Temple embroidered on it with
Marli's name and the date.
I was so heartbroken not to be able to be with them for the endowment,
so I wanted to do something special for her to have to remember the day by.
Lisa and Bridge got all packed up and we drove them to the airport.
The boys all hugged Bridge good-bye and tackled him in their hotel room!
It about broke my heart to see them have to leave.
Knowing what they were headed to do, and knowing what they were having to leave behind....
we were doing so well in the tournament, hated to see Bridge have to miss out,
but no place else he should be than at the Temple for Marli.
Tuesday, July 7th -
We had to play 2 games this day.
That was a little nerve wracking. Knowing that we could be done with one loss!
The kids were playing so well though, that we were all pretty confident and excited to see how the day would play out with these 2 games.
- Game 1 -
Utah vs. Bay Area Mambas (San Francisco Area)
We were down the entire first half of this game and
had an awesome comeback just before half time, putting us at 28-27 right at half.
From then on, they never took the lead again.
We won 65-58.
- Game 2 -
Utah vs. Team Go Hard (North Carolina)
This was a crazy, crazy game!
Not as far as the game itself, but the crowd!
It seemed like the closer we got to the Championship game, the crazier the fans got.
Started off ok.
Their whole team of fans on one side of the spectator seats, and our's on the other end.
We were up most of the first half again, and then had some dumb turn overs
and trouble getting shots to land.
By half time the score was 34-33. Us only up by 1.
Just after half time, one of the dads from their side started to pace back and forth
right in front of where we were sitting.
He kept getting in the way of our video recording and was yelling at his team.
Finally, Nicole told him to sit down and stop walking in front of us,
and that he was interrupting our recording of the game.
She told him to go sit back down on their side.
He came unglued and told her to "Shut her big fat &!# and not to talk to him. She had no right to tell him what he could and couldn't do and that he wasn't bothering her one bit!"
That did not sit well with Nicole, rightfully so.
She went and told one of the Tournament Directors.
He told her he would watch the situation.
The man continued to do this over and over.
With 2 minutes left, we were up 65-55.
The ball went out of bounds and that Dad stood up,
grabbed the ball and drop kicked it across 2 courts!
We couldn't even believe it! Talk about crazy.
By this time the authorities came over. I couldn't believe they didn't give their team a tech for that.
They didn't even kick the guy out. They just made him watch from behind all the chairs.
He pulled the race card at the authorities and said, "Oh what? You can shoot me. You can put me in jail. You can make me be your slave, but I cant kick a ball at a basketball game?"
Super ridiculous! I was blown away! Horrible behavior and so embarrassing for their team!
I was so proud of Ty though. Here we were in a game, that really could have gone either way.
At one point, the ball was thrown by their team, and Ty jumped up to grab it and missed.
It went out of bounds and the ref said it was our ball.
Ty came right over to the ref and said, "I tipped it Ref. It should really be their ball."
The ref seemed somewhat shocked, and gave the ball to the other team.
I was so, so proud.
We won the game, 67-59!!
On to the Championship!!!!
We went to the mall later that night to shop and hang out a little.
We bought souvenirs at the athletic shop, since we couldn't get in to UNC's store!
The kids enjoyed that!
Wednesday, July 8 -
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Utah vs.Virginia Academy Prep Hawks
Before this game, our team was on an empty court practicing.
A woman approached Ken Hall and told him that she wanted to let him know
how impressed she was with our team, and that they had done so well with our kids in coaching
them and teaching them how to behave and play.
She said, "I was so impressed with one of your players in yesterday's game.
In all my years of watching sports, I had never seen anything like what happened yesterday.
That game could have gone either way. It was tight. Your player tipped a ball out of bounds,
the ref didn't see it and awarded the ball back to your team.
Your player told the ref that he had touched it, knowing that would give our team the ball.
I was so impressed with that, and just wanted you to know!"
She was talking about Ty. How proud Trav and I were when that story was relayed back to us.
So grateful Ty's integrity meant more to him than that game.
I also loved that that lady noticed and took the time to seek us out to say thank you.
We were all a nervous wreck for this game. At this point, coming from so far behind and then playing our hearts out and not losing one more game since then, we really wanted to go home with this Championship under our belts! It was a huge accomplishment and
I was crossing my fingers for our team!
We had the lead the entire game! It was a tough, hard fought game,
but each of our kids played so, so well!
There was a point in the game, that Ty shot 2 3's back to back!
That was pretty dang fun!
That team was very good and the game became very close with a short amount of time left.
It was pretty intense!
But, we pulled it off with a win of 74-69!
National AAU Division 1 Classic Champions!!!!
1st 3!
2nd 3!
Game winning celebrations!! (Trav and Ty running to each other!)
Ty receiving his.....
Coach Trav receiving his medal....and getting one to take home to Bridge.
AAU NATIONAL CLASSIC DIV 1 CHAMPIONS!!!!
Team Selfie!
We had to RUN back to our hotel, let the boys hurry and shower, and move our bags out
ASAP!!! If we weren't out in just a few minutes, we would all be charged for the rooms for the day.
So silly......we spent the whole week there and they wouldn't give us
45 more mins. to get out of there.
When we got to our rooms, housekeeping was standing outside of our doors.
We shoved Ty in that shower so fast it was crazy!!
We got some pics of the boys all clean with the plaque they gave Ken and then took off in
our mini-vans to eat dinner at Long Horn Stake House to Celebrate our huge victory!
Before we had to get to the airport!
Ken's van
Nicole's Van
Trav's Van!
Ken got the kids into a game of Two truths and a lie after we ate our dinner.
They were having a blast listening and trying to decipher!
We filled the vans up with gas, took the kids to a grocery store to grab treats for the flight
and made our way to the airport to check in and get settled for our long flight home!
Garrett and I were on the same flight as the team from No. Carolina to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to SLC, we flew alone......with Jamee Pew and the team got in an hour after us in SLC.
Knowing we would get home earlier than the team, I thought it would be fun to have a big
Welcome Home for them.
I called Lisa to see if Bridge would want to drive down with my Dad so we could get a group
picture of the kids all together with their medals.
She said she would bring Bridge, because they wanted to be a part of it for sure.
We made arrangements for Lisa to have balloons with her, and Jamee had her Sister
make a huge banner to have there for the kids too.
I was excited for all of that to take place.
Grandpa Randle was planning to be there too, to pick us up and be part of their welcome home!
Jamee Pew
We were delayed leaving North Carolina,
so I was worried we were going to miss our connecting flight and
not be able to be there when the team got home.
We ended up leaving sooner than we thought,
and prayed we would make our connecting flight in time!
We had some beautiful scenes out the plane window on our way to Atlanta.
The airline attendants asked everyone on our plane to please stay in their seats,
if they were not in a rush to get to another flight.
We hurried down the isle and said our goodbyes to the team as we rushed to get to our flight!
We ran through the airport and luckily, Jamee knew her way around and was a huge life saver!
We got on the subway just in time!
We made it to our gate just as they were loading up the last of the passengers!!
PHEW!!!!
We were on our way home and would make it in time to greet our team!
YAY!
Even bigger bonus?
This was our long leg of the flight......3.5 hours, and the plane was completely full.....
except our row!
We had room to spread out and be comfy!
They even showed a movie......only problem was, our headphones were on the team's flight!
Dang!
That's ok. We were both exhausted! We ate our snacks and then slept!
When it came time to land, there was horrible lightning out our windows.
It was raining in SLC. When we landed, our plane was all over the runway!
We sat inside the terminal and charged our phones to have battery to record the team.
Within a few minutes, some Delta employees came and told us the weather
was so bad and the lightening so dangerous that they were thinking incoming planes would be delayed and unable to land.
It was 11 p.m. when we landed, and the team was supposed to land at midnight.
We were bummed thinking everyone would be there to welcome them,
and may not be able to come due to the weather, or may not stay if the team would be really late.
It all worked out ok though.
Grandpa showed up, so we went down to baggage claim to see him.
Then Lisa and Bridge got there, along with Colby's Dad and Sisters.
His sister had just gotten home from her mission the day before, so it was kindof fun
that she would be welcoming Colby home, instead of the other way around.
The Pew family showed up with their banner as well, and had an app that we could track
the teams flight with. We could see that they were just circling over Vernal,
hoping the weather would die down so they would be cleared to land.
We finally got word they had landed closer to 12:40 a.m.
We got ready and I text Nicole and told her to have the team come down all together.
No one else had any idea that we had something set up.
We made Garrett take Bridger up the escalator so he
could see the team first and come down with them as a team!
It was fun watching the team run to Bridge happy to see him again!
Saying their goodbyes.....until we have our Celebration Party!!!and getting all of our bags packed!
A boy on our team, Dax Pew, was vacationing in the Dominican Republic with his family
and had to fly from the Dominican to Raleigh North Carolina on his own to
be there in time for the games to start.
Because of that, Trav took the Red Eye on Tuesday night (June 30th)
so that he and Dax would get in to Raleigh at the same time and Trav could drive him
to Greensboro to meet up with all of us later that after noon on Wednesday.
Garrett and I flew separate from the team because I found tickets that were cheaper.
We left SLC 20 mins after them and were to arrive in Greensboro 20 mins after them,
so it was the perfect scenario......plus we were able to send our bags with them!
I drove Trav to the airport at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night, came back home around Midnight
and finished getting us all packed.
By that time, I had to shower and be ready to leave. So.....I didn't sleep an ounce that night.
Hamblins were here to pick us up at 4:30 that Wednesday Morning (July 1st).
Gma Davies had slept over that night so that there would be someone here that early
with Julia and Austy......that was a huge help!
It was fun to meet up with everyone at the airport.
There was a ton of excitement in the air at that point......
we couldn't get to Greensboro fast enough!
We all ate some breakfast at the airport McDonald's and then the team went one way,
and Garrett and I went the other to our different terminals.
We flew right over Davis High (Could see their football field) and close to Gpa Randle!
Garrett and I had a lay over at the Detroit Michigan Airport.
Talk about Huge! The place had a monorail system and underground moving walkways to
get people from one terminal to the next.
It was really fun exploring that place!
I even took a few minutes to call Lavonne Cooper to let her know I was only a few minutes away!
Garrett and I made it to Greensboro, but the team was stuck in Atlanta and ended up
getting in to Greensboro an hour after us.
So we greeted them at the baggage claim!
to head to the Coliseum to get the team checked in for the tournament.
on some Oakley shirts and shorts for the coaches and kids!
They looked so sharp going to check in for the Tournament and for their pictures!
We ate dinner that night and the kids all hung out together.
I, on the other hand, text Lisa and told her I was going to just lay down for a bit,
and then we'd head to Walmart to get some snacks and drinks for our rooms.
I laid down alright......and didn't wake up until the next morning!
I was going on 4 hours of sleep in a 48 hr. period and was gone to the world!
Good thing Lisa was a good sport and laughed at the fact I totally dogged her!
Our first game was that next morning, Thursday, July 2nd.
We played against the Georgia United Stars from Atlanta.
The boys played their hearts out.....just couldn't get shots to land.
We lost that game by 13 points. We felt really good about that.
We hung with them most of the game and towards the end, they gained on us.
Not bad for our first Nationals game.
I looked over just before they went out to warm up and caught them in prayer.
Favorite Picture of the Tournament!
We went back to the hotel after that game and the kids hung out for a while,
then we all met up for dinner at Villa Rosa, a Mexican Restaurant by our hotel.
They took 4th at Nationals in 2014.
We knew this would be a tough game, but we were hoping
we had our nerves all settled and would do well playing against them.
It was a 5-6 point game the whole time,
with us having the lead on them at many points. We were super excited!
We were playing so well, and giving them a run for it!
However, they went on a long run and by the start of the 4th quarter,
it was 53-42 them.
The final score of the game was 78-68.
Again, towards the end, we just couldn't get a shot to land and they couldn't miss.
Still, to play the #4 ranked team in the Nation and only lose
by 10 and also have a lead on them at times, felt like a great accomplishment!
We had a tough bracket. We played the #4 and #6 ranked teams in the Nation, right off.
Dax Pew messed up his ankle really bad in that game, which really stinks,
cause we needed his size and his Mom was flying in 2 days later from the Dominican,
hoping to be able to watch him play the rest of the week.
The Athletic Trainer the league had there, took care of Dax and got him all wrapped
up good and gave him some pain killer to help get the swelling down.
She loved watching us play and was there at the tournament all week with her 3 daughters.
They each picked a team they wanted to go all the way at the first of the week.....
the trainer picked us and was so nice every time we ran in to her from then on,
and even asked us to text her a picture of our team when we won it all!
She took care of Dax for a few days.
We babied him when we got back to the hotel with some ice, Baconators from Wendy's,
and Cabbage leaves wrapped around his ankle!
It was a little cold, but didn't stop any of them!
a time to take the boys to do Baptisms for the dead.
The Temple was only an hour and 15 minutes away from Greensboro.
I found it a little funny when I called to schedule us, the Sister had to get
permission from the Temple President because we were such a "large" group!
We only had 7-9 kids we were planning to bring.
They are such a small Temple though, that she was worried that would be too many
to have there at once! Something we definitely take for granted here in Utah,
where often times we take over 20 at once!
She called me back a couple of hours later though, and said,
"Sister Burke, we'd love to have your Basketball Team here at the Temple!"
I was so excited! We had names we were bringing that Aunt Ronda had gotten together
for us and we also had Trav and Eric Tadje (Cam's Dad) that would be our Priesthood.
They also asked that each of us Mom's would be willing to help too, if we were endowed.
The boys weren't thrilled by that night to be going.
We heard a little whining from all of them.
They were tired after the game, and swimming, and just wanted to hang out.
However, us Mom's prevailed and they loaded in to the van with us.
Some still decided to stay, and some weren't able to get recommends in the short time
we gave them before we flew out.
But, we took the kids that had them and off we went.
What a beautiful drive. Trees everywhere! Everywhere!!!
Gorgeous grounds though and a special spirit there.
Eric Tadje, Cam Tadje)
The spirit was strong with the kids that night.
The Temple President came and spoke with the kids, then asked us to have opening prayer.
We had closing prayer around the font just before we left.
As we walked out, we realized two of the Sister's names we had brought with us,
were born in North Carolina.
How neat is that, that we were able to bring them home for their baptisms?
Pretty awesome night.
We ate dinner at Panda Express and headed back to the hotel
to get some rest before our 3rd game the next morning.
Our 3rd game was held that next day, Saturday, July 4th!
We played vs. West Coast All Stars.
Still makes me sick to think about this one!
We were up the entire game on this team.
At half time we had a 13 point lead.
It really seemed like this would be our game.
Infact, the way it turned out......there was a 3 way tie between all of us teams,
to still have a shot at playing in the Championship Bracket.
In order to still have a shot, we had to beat this team by 15 points.
It looked like we were right on track.
It was all their parents could handle.
No way were they losing to a bunch of White Boys from Utah!
I couldn't believe their crowd.
They became unglued.
They were yelling at our kids, at the refs, etc.
They even went as far as calling our kids names.
"Hollywood" was one they kept yelling. (Meaning, we were acting pretty well to get fouls!)
So ridiculous.
Yell at the adults and refs all you want, but leave the poor 13 yr. old kids out of it.
Anyway, they came back after half time and went on a big run.
The game ended up being neck and neck from that point on.
SO INTENSE!
With 13 seconds left in the game, we were up 75-73.
They fouled us and we had the chance to shoot fouls shots to put us up by 4 and missed both shots.
At this point, their crowd has totally lost it.
At this point, their fans are yelling, "You didn't lose this game to this team!
You lost it to the refs!"
Yeah, give us zero credit people! They ran down the court and scored to tie it up. 75-75.
With only 6 seconds left, we had the ball and threw it across the court, thinking
it would kill the clock and we'd go in to over time.
One of their kids, jumped up and caught it and seriously chucked it back across the court......
and SANK THAT SHOT IN THE HOOP AT THE BUZZER!!!!!
They won.
78-73.
Sickening. So sickening!
We all sat there so completely stunned. Could not believe it.
That was our game. Man, that was a hard loss.
As I was sitting there, picking up my camera, etc. and minding my own business,
one of the Mom's on their team, with hair died pink, etc. came right over to me,
got right in my face and pointed her finger at me and said,
"It ain't over til the buzza beeps. Remember dat!!!"
What???
Two seconds before she was screaming about her defeat, and then she has the nerve
to treat me like that?
I hadn't said a word the whole game and truly was just minding my own business.
Not sure why she picked me out......but wow! That was some classy sportsmanship.
I let her know I thought she was classy, and she started to come back at me.
Ha ha! I picked a battle with the wrong lady! Her husband came and pulled her away,
all the while she ranted and raved something about me.
So, so crazy! Couldn't believe it.
I had to walk away, and was grateful Sis started texting me funny pictures to
lighten the situation. I grabbed Bridge and Lisa and we sent some back to her.
(Couldn't get old Bridge to play along! :)
Long way to come to lose three games in a row.
We sat for a while and watched a couple of other teams play.
We went to eat lunch.....
Garrett had been begging, and begging, and begging to go to a place by our hotel
called Bojangles ever since the first night we pulled in.
We finally gave in and took him there for lunch.
Lisa and Bridge were the only ones who agreed to come fulfill this dream for Garrett!
It actually wasn't bad.....really, it was just the KFC of North Carolina!
Total Disbelief.
After we rested for a while, we headed to Jimmy Johns for dinner.
From there, we went to watch a game that determined who we would play the next day.
Lisa and I were so full from the day, we didn't go to dinner with the rest of the moms.
We went with the team to watch the game, and then were hoping to stay for the fireworks,
that the league had made to look like they were providing for the teams that night.
When we arrived at the Coliseum, we quickly realized that was not a fireworks show solely for
the Nationals Teams......it was a major community Firework event, that just happened to be at the Coliseum and they capitalized on that whole thing!
We watched the game and then hurried to get out of the parking lot before fireworks started so
we wouldn't be there all night and stuck in traffic.
We didn't make it. We were stuck and stuck good.
Couldn't even move the car anywhere, and had no choice
but to watch the fireworks from the van windows!
It was a good show, and as soon as it was over, we inched our way out
and luckily weren't stuck too long after that.
Grandpa Randle had Sis and Aust on the 4th and took them to the Kaysville City Carnival.
They sent us pictures and were having a blast.
Faces painted and playing on the blow up toys!
Thanks Grandpa!
July 5th -
Utah vs. Boston Bobcats
From here on out in the tournament, if we were to lose, we were done.
Each game was a must to continue on for the Championship of the Classic Bracket.
We were excited and anxious and hoping to win a game!
We played tough and beat Boston by 20.
So fun to finally win one and play so well!
Such a fun game and so good for the morale of the boys!
Afterwards, Trav, Ken, Garrett, Ty, Mason and Dallin, all paid $5 to play in
a 3 point shot contest.
Trav only lost to the Bay Area Mamba's Coach by one!
Trav had 10 3's and that guy had 11.
The whole team stood off to the side and cheered them all on!
and met back down in the lobby to head off to see some of the major
Universities within an hour from us.
We assumed where we didn't have a tour signed up, we wouldn't get to see much,
other than walk around each campus and see what we could see.
Boy......were we in for a couple of fun surprises!
We went to Duke University first.
When we got there, we parked by their Football field, which none of the boys
were interested in much.....because apparently Duke Stinks at Football!
Ha ha!
to see what the possibility would be of getting in to see the Basketball Arean.
The Coach K Court.
They just kindof laughed and said it was closed and we wouldn't be able to get in.
A little disappointed, we walked over the the court anyway, thinking
we'd get a picture of the kids standing outside of the building!
When we got there, a gentleman came walking out of the door of the gym
and held it for us to walk it!!!!!
We thought for sure we'd get kicked out in a heartbeat, so we hurried and lined the kids
up in their walk of fame hall and took some pictures, trying to be so quiet about it.
we quietly walked in the to actual court!
Talk about awesome!
It was so quiet in there and only a few lights were on.
It is tiny!
And.......it smells like an old church!
Really surreal being in there and watching the kids excitement.
full reign of the place.
We ended up right down on the court!
Dax Pew, Bridger Hamblin and Dallin Hall
The Mom's couldn't miss out on this photo op!!!
and ended up in the Media Room!
The kids thought that was awesome!
From there, Garrett found their Athletic Museum that houses all of their trophies,
and awards for every sport over the years.
We walked through that beautiful campus to the main bookstore.
The buildings were all so old and neat.
They had really cool wavy glass windows and awesome architecture.
These were their housing buildings.
We made it to the gift shop and each kid bought a little something.
We got Austy a nerf Duke Basketball and Sis a Duke cheerleader T-Shirt.
Outside of the University Store, the kids found these rocking picnic tables.
We Left Duke and headed towards UNC.
University of North Carolina - Tarheels.
I wasn't aware that UNC is where Michael Jordan went and we were able to see the facility
he played at......that was a lot bigger than the Coach K Court and was definitely locked up.
Dean E. Smith Center
That was kind of a bummer......until we ran in to their Football Stadium!
That was open and the kids were able to get on the field and we all sat on the bleachers.
We had the whole place to ourselves.
That was pretty dang awesome!
ran out on to the field all by himself.
When he got down there, he yelled, "I wanna race!"
His parents asked him who he wanted to race and he said, "I'm calling out Garrett!"
Before we knew it, Garrett, Bridger and Hayden were out on UNC's football field,
Shirts off, shoes off, and stretching out for a race!
We were laughing so hard! It was hilarious!
We got video of it, but here are some pictures!
Garrett killed them all by a good margin.
Bridge swears he wasn't running his hardest! Ha ha!
relax with everyone.....we looked down on the field and a guy was out there,
sitting down, putting cleats on and started to warm up on the field.
The kids were pretty intrigued as to who he was and were pretty sure if he was out there
in cleats warming up, he had to be a UNC player.
A few of the kids got brave and went down to ask who he was.
They came running back so excited to tell us that he had played at UNC for 4 years,
and had just been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.
They grabbed a note book and marker from one of the Mom's and got brave again,
to go down and ask him for his autograph for each of our team to have to keep!
He was so nice and did that for the kids.
We were actually his first autograph opportunity as a Dallas Cowboy player!
He waved to all of us parents in the stands and we clapped and cheered and
told him thanks and good luck!
The kids thought that was pretty cool.
His name is Tim Scott. We'll be looking for him come football season.
so we took off to get the kids some dinner at Chili's.
So fun, and some major cool things we were able to see and do on our own!
We were exhausted that night, so we hurried back to game film session in Coach Hall's room,
then off to bed to be ready for our next game!
Monday, July 6 -
Kids woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, then they left for practice that Ken
had arranged for them on one of the free courts before our game.
This game was ours from the very beginning.
This team only wanted to shoot 3's at the first. They would not bring the ball inside.
They couldn't shoot, and we were not missing.....so it made for a hard game for them.
We were up by 20 almost the whole game and
ended up winning 66-44.
We were so proud of our team. They played incredibly well.
People were amazed at our team.
White Boys??? Utah??? Wow!!
A couple of guys from Boston saw us playing some of those first few games,
and came to watch every game we played after that.
Many people were very complimentary of us!
and asked to interview him. Our team made it on the local news in North Carolina that night!
They aired it on the 6 and 10 p.m. news broadcasts! Pretty awesome!
They flew home a couple of days before the team, because they had scheduled to
do Marli's Temple Work on July 7th, before we planned to go to this tournament.
I called Lisa over to our hotel room before we left, so I could give her a special
Temple envelope with the Bountiful Temple embroidered on it with
Marli's name and the date.
I was so heartbroken not to be able to be with them for the endowment,
so I wanted to do something special for her to have to remember the day by.
Lisa and Bridge got all packed up and we drove them to the airport.
The boys all hugged Bridge good-bye and tackled him in their hotel room!
Knowing what they were headed to do, and knowing what they were having to leave behind....
we were doing so well in the tournament, hated to see Bridge have to miss out,
but no place else he should be than at the Temple for Marli.
Tuesday, July 7th -
We had to play 2 games this day.
That was a little nerve wracking. Knowing that we could be done with one loss!
The kids were playing so well though, that we were all pretty confident and excited to see how the day would play out with these 2 games.
- Game 1 -
Utah vs. Bay Area Mambas (San Francisco Area)
We were down the entire first half of this game and
had an awesome comeback just before half time, putting us at 28-27 right at half.
From then on, they never took the lead again.
We won 65-58.
- Game 2 -
Utah vs. Team Go Hard (North Carolina)
This was a crazy, crazy game!
Not as far as the game itself, but the crowd!
It seemed like the closer we got to the Championship game, the crazier the fans got.
Started off ok.
Their whole team of fans on one side of the spectator seats, and our's on the other end.
We were up most of the first half again, and then had some dumb turn overs
and trouble getting shots to land.
By half time the score was 34-33. Us only up by 1.
Just after half time, one of the dads from their side started to pace back and forth
right in front of where we were sitting.
He kept getting in the way of our video recording and was yelling at his team.
Finally, Nicole told him to sit down and stop walking in front of us,
and that he was interrupting our recording of the game.
She told him to go sit back down on their side.
He came unglued and told her to "Shut her big fat &!# and not to talk to him. She had no right to tell him what he could and couldn't do and that he wasn't bothering her one bit!"
That did not sit well with Nicole, rightfully so.
She went and told one of the Tournament Directors.
He told her he would watch the situation.
The man continued to do this over and over.
With 2 minutes left, we were up 65-55.
The ball went out of bounds and that Dad stood up,
grabbed the ball and drop kicked it across 2 courts!
We couldn't even believe it! Talk about crazy.
By this time the authorities came over. I couldn't believe they didn't give their team a tech for that.
They didn't even kick the guy out. They just made him watch from behind all the chairs.
He pulled the race card at the authorities and said, "Oh what? You can shoot me. You can put me in jail. You can make me be your slave, but I cant kick a ball at a basketball game?"
Super ridiculous! I was blown away! Horrible behavior and so embarrassing for their team!
I was so proud of Ty though. Here we were in a game, that really could have gone either way.
At one point, the ball was thrown by their team, and Ty jumped up to grab it and missed.
It went out of bounds and the ref said it was our ball.
Ty came right over to the ref and said, "I tipped it Ref. It should really be their ball."
The ref seemed somewhat shocked, and gave the ball to the other team.
I was so, so proud.
On to the Championship!!!!
We went to the mall later that night to shop and hang out a little.
We bought souvenirs at the athletic shop, since we couldn't get in to UNC's store!
The kids enjoyed that!
Wednesday, July 8 -
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Utah vs.Virginia Academy Prep Hawks
Before this game, our team was on an empty court practicing.
A woman approached Ken Hall and told him that she wanted to let him know
how impressed she was with our team, and that they had done so well with our kids in coaching
them and teaching them how to behave and play.
She said, "I was so impressed with one of your players in yesterday's game.
In all my years of watching sports, I had never seen anything like what happened yesterday.
That game could have gone either way. It was tight. Your player tipped a ball out of bounds,
the ref didn't see it and awarded the ball back to your team.
Your player told the ref that he had touched it, knowing that would give our team the ball.
I was so impressed with that, and just wanted you to know!"
She was talking about Ty. How proud Trav and I were when that story was relayed back to us.
So grateful Ty's integrity meant more to him than that game.
I also loved that that lady noticed and took the time to seek us out to say thank you.
We were all a nervous wreck for this game. At this point, coming from so far behind and then playing our hearts out and not losing one more game since then, we really wanted to go home with this Championship under our belts! It was a huge accomplishment and
I was crossing my fingers for our team!
We had the lead the entire game! It was a tough, hard fought game,
but each of our kids played so, so well!
There was a point in the game, that Ty shot 2 3's back to back!
That was pretty dang fun!
That team was very good and the game became very close with a short amount of time left.
It was pretty intense!
But, we pulled it off with a win of 74-69!
National AAU Division 1 Classic Champions!!!!
Coaching Staff
Hayden Hall, Garrett, Trav, Ken Hall
We took pictures of the boys with their Moms. Cam and Colby didn't have their Mom's there....
so they were more than happy to accept the next best thing.......Garrett.
I love this picture......everyone loving Garrett!
Next up.....Awards time!
The directors gave each kid and coach their medal and then did team pictures.
Coach Garrett getting his medal
ASAP!!! If we weren't out in just a few minutes, we would all be charged for the rooms for the day.
So silly......we spent the whole week there and they wouldn't give us
45 more mins. to get out of there.
When we got to our rooms, housekeeping was standing outside of our doors.
We shoved Ty in that shower so fast it was crazy!!
We got some pics of the boys all clean with the plaque they gave Ken and then took off in
our mini-vans to eat dinner at Long Horn Stake House to Celebrate our huge victory!
Before we had to get to the airport!
Ken got the kids into a game of Two truths and a lie after we ate our dinner.
They were having a blast listening and trying to decipher!
and made our way to the airport to check in and get settled for our long flight home!
Garrett and I were on the same flight as the team from No. Carolina to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to SLC, we flew alone......with Jamee Pew and the team got in an hour after us in SLC.
Knowing we would get home earlier than the team, I thought it would be fun to have a big
Welcome Home for them.
I called Lisa to see if Bridge would want to drive down with my Dad so we could get a group
picture of the kids all together with their medals.
She said she would bring Bridge, because they wanted to be a part of it for sure.
We made arrangements for Lisa to have balloons with her, and Jamee had her Sister
make a huge banner to have there for the kids too.
I was excited for all of that to take place.
Grandpa Randle was planning to be there too, to pick us up and be part of their welcome home!
so I was worried we were going to miss our connecting flight and
not be able to be there when the team got home.
We ended up leaving sooner than we thought,
and prayed we would make our connecting flight in time!
We had some beautiful scenes out the plane window on our way to Atlanta.
if they were not in a rush to get to another flight.
We hurried down the isle and said our goodbyes to the team as we rushed to get to our flight!
We ran through the airport and luckily, Jamee knew her way around and was a huge life saver!
We got on the subway just in time!
PHEW!!!!
We were on our way home and would make it in time to greet our team!
YAY!
This was our long leg of the flight......3.5 hours, and the plane was completely full.....
except our row!
We had room to spread out and be comfy!
Dang!
That's ok. We were both exhausted! We ate our snacks and then slept!
When it came time to land, there was horrible lightning out our windows.
It was raining in SLC. When we landed, our plane was all over the runway!
We sat inside the terminal and charged our phones to have battery to record the team.
Within a few minutes, some Delta employees came and told us the weather
was so bad and the lightening so dangerous that they were thinking incoming planes would be delayed and unable to land.
It was 11 p.m. when we landed, and the team was supposed to land at midnight.
We were bummed thinking everyone would be there to welcome them,
and may not be able to come due to the weather, or may not stay if the team would be really late.
It all worked out ok though.
Grandpa showed up, so we went down to baggage claim to see him.
Then Lisa and Bridge got there, along with Colby's Dad and Sisters.
His sister had just gotten home from her mission the day before, so it was kindof fun
that she would be welcoming Colby home, instead of the other way around.
The Pew family showed up with their banner as well, and had an app that we could track
the teams flight with. We could see that they were just circling over Vernal,
hoping the weather would die down so they would be cleared to land.
We finally got word they had landed closer to 12:40 a.m.
We got ready and I text Nicole and told her to have the team come down all together.
No one else had any idea that we had something set up.
We made Garrett take Bridger up the escalator so he
could see the team first and come down with them as a team!
We drove home, telling Grandpa all about our week!
We had text him updates during every game, so he was anxious to hear more about it all!
We are so grateful for all those who helped babysit for us while we were gone.
The kids were with Gma Davies and Chance Heap the first couple of days.
Spoiled from Gma by day, and Chance by night.
Chance made them rainbow spaghetti, had the shoe very come and leave prizes in their shoes,
made crafts with them, took them swimming at her home, etc.
The next couple of days they were with Gpa Randle, where he took them to the 4th of July Carnival.
Then, they went to Spencer and Stephs and loved playing with Teag and Millie and swimming too!
The last 2 days they were with Gma and Gpa Hale, swinging on their awesome new swing
and having all kinds of fun.
We couldn't have done this without the help of everyone back home.
Thank you, Thank you!
And.....last but not least, Ken and Nicole.....
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having this dream and making it a reality.
This never would have happened without your sincere dedication and your incredible generosity.
These kids and all of our families will forever be grateful to you for helping to provide this
amazing opportunity and wonderful memories.
One of our most favorite tournaments to date.
Such a neat thing to witness, these "White Boys from Utah" as we were referred to,
more times than we can count,
coming from behind and then winning the entire Classic Championship.
We went from thinking we weren't going to win one game and would be finished early,
to never giving up and playing our hearts out to play every day we were there and bringing home
a CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
So, so proud! Loved being there with these boys and their parents!
Incredible week, never to be forgotten.
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