More Spring Happenings

I've gotten a little behind here, but in the past few weeks we've done Relay for Life, and we've been having an absolutely gorgeous Spring here in VT.  Here are a few pictures from Relay, where they had a bouncy house, and my kids (both my biological children, and my team!) were all enjoying that!!  Almost everyone from the team came down to take part in Relay, and it was a success yet again for Middlebury College Relay!  I camped out with my girls, and next year, I think we might get another "team tent" to spend the night--we'll see.  It's a great time, and is a powerful and emotional event. 

 There's a picture of Piper on her new bike, taking advantage of the great weather to get out and RIDE.  And, there's a picture of  our Magnolia Tree at home in full bloom.  Now, the lilacs are blooming beautifully, so I'll add a picture of that here very soon! 


Now, classes are over, and finals are about to begin--crunch time sets in!!

Busy Spring on Campus for MCVB'ers

While our juniors are busy studying and having fun abroad, those of us here on campus have been busy also.  I've been doing Leadership Training with Piper, Olivia, and Lizzy.  Lizzy and Olivia have been busy with Crew, and are having a very successful season again this year.  Many individuals have been doing community service through community friends, or helping with Special Olympics.  And, Spring is actually arriving, and they sent me this photo from the top of Snake Mountain recently on a gorgeous afternoon!

Several players from the team have worked with Special Olympics this year, and pictured here are Lizzy and Kathryn with a couple of their new friends!

 I was excited to get out to Lake Dunmore for the Home Crew race versus University of Vermont, which MIDD won easily!  Yeah MIDD!  I also got to meet Olivia's brother, and got to catch up with Olivia and Lizzy's dads, which was great.   The race was a couple weeks ago now, and literally, it was sunny one minute, and snowing the next.  The sun had some warmth, so when it was out, it was quite nice, but I left the lake with sun glasses on, and just a fleece, and by the time I got out to Route 7, it was raining hard, and when I stopped at Sama's Cafe in town, it was actually snowing!  Crazy!

    

Amy is Enjoying Prague!

Amy sent me a great update from Prague, and she's even been keeping up with our team emails bouncing back and forth about team happenings, recruits coming to visit, and logistics for next year like new jerseys etc. Thanks for keeping tabs on us while you're away, Amy!

A couple of her highlights include the great history of the city, and it's amazingly well-preserved architecture, and also the central location making her many travels easier.  So far she's been to Vienna, Budapest, Madrid, and Amsterdam, and will get to Munich, and Berlin before she leaves.  Her appreciation for different cultures and ways of life is growing with all of her travels and experiences, and that is a great benefit of study abroad, I think.   

She's learning to speak Czech, which has been interesting for her, but certainly helps when ordering in restaurants and getting around town.  Amy also expressed how much fun she's having traveling a lot.  Every time she travels somewhere, it makes her want to keep traveling; however, she's also realized how tiring that is, and realizes that even though it's very exciting, it takes more time to refuel during the week.  Nonetheless, what an experience!!  I'm so happy for Amy to have this opportunity to grow and push the boundaries of her educational experiences.   Amy, thanks for the update, and keep having fun!!  Here are some pictures she shared:

MJ and Amy Meet Up in Madrid!

MJ is studying in Madrid, and Amy in Prague, but the two recently got together when Amy traveled to Madrid for a visit.  And, with all the great sights to see, and places to go, where do they end up....Dunkin' al la Spain!  MJ sent me this picture, and I, of course, loved it!!  Where else would they meet up and immediately think of MCVB?!  They call it Dunkin Coffee in Spain, which makes sense since they're more known for their coffee than their doughnuts anyway.  I'm still waiting for the update of their "real" experiences abroad, but SO happy to get the picture with those wonderful smiles!  Thanks for sharing, guys!!

Spring Happenings

Spring is a busy time for everyone, it seems, but we did find time to get together for dinner recently.   The Team came out to my house for a fun dinner get together where we had "breakfast for dinner."  Since I have chickens, we had to have fresh scrambled eggs, and also pancakes, bacon, sausage and a large fruit salad.  Of course, Brian brought his usual bag o' goodies, which is ALWAYS a welcome treat!!

It was fun to see everyone again, although, "everyone" was a smaller number right now with our juniors abroad, plus Nicki, who's also studying abroad right now.  And, Julia was missing because she has been very sick, so we had a much smaller group.  (I'm sorry the picture is not in total focus!  Technical difficulties, I guess?!)

The team also recently participated in Girls in Sports Day.  There is actually talk of starting volleyball in the High Schools in the State, which would be great.  VT currently is the only state in the country that doesn't sponsor HS girls volleyball, so it would be a welcome sight for volleyball fans everywhere.   The girls that participated in Girls in Sports Day had a blast with the team, and loved learning about volleyball, so I hope that it works out to start a program here in the town of Middlebury.  We'd love to help out, so we'll see what happens with that. (The pictures are still coming, but will be posted soon...)

Meg Studies "Down Under"

Meg has safely made it to her destination down under--Australia!  She's started a blog so we can all keep up with her adventures.  Thanks Meg, and have a fabulous time!!

Here's the link:  megcanderson.tumblr.com

Team Teaches Volleyball at Local Elementary School

The opportunities to teach volleyball to young kids are few and far between in a state with no High School or Middle School Volleyball Programs.  We've offered a free clinic a couple of times, and participated in Girls in Sports day, but there just isn't a lot of organized volleyball here in Vermont.  However, one local elementary school has offered a volleyball class for the past two years.

The Bridge School is a private, alternative elementary school that allows it's students to choose their "arts" classes.  Each class lasts for two weeks, and can very greatly depending on the interests of the kids, and the availability/expertise of the teachers and local community members.  As an example, the choices for the past two weeks were:  ice skating, stretching and relaxation, or volleyball.  For the past two years one of the favorite choices has been Volleyball!  Another alternative school (grades 7-12) in Burlington comes down to teach volleyball at the Bridge School for one week, and my team has done the other week.

The students in the class range from 1st through 6th grade, so the players are challenged to make it fun and appropriate for a wide range of ages and abilities.  They're all new to volleyball, and it's been great fut to see them learn new skills!  

The kids are having a great time learning about volleyball, practicing the skills, and getting the hang of the teamwork involved in the game of volleyball.  They start out by getting warmed up and moving their bodies, followed by some basic skill work, and then play various types of games that relate in one way or another to the sport of volleyball.  As you can see from the picture, it's quite a bunch.  9 boys and 1 girl make up the class, so the team has had their hands full with little boy energy!!

Olivia has been the point person for this project, but several others have been involved as well. Piper has been a regular, Lizzy even made an appearance after returning from MiddCORE, Maddie and Lauren went for a day, and so did Kathryn.  Thank you all!!  The kids LOVED it!!