Tonight was a tough Ulti game for me. I played through the cold I currently have, but I was pretty beat on some points. I tried to handle as much as I could for the night and that I did well. My hands were catching everything that came my way, and my throws were going (mostly) where I wanted them too. I felt like I was making smart plays too. I would bide my time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. I was directing people, showing them where I was going to throw.

I managed to catch a few points, and throw for a few points too. The women on the team are very good about getting open in the end zone. One bad throw I made was to one of the women on the team. She was open in the end zone, and her check had no clue where the disc was, nor where her check was. I pointed to where I wanted her to go and sent the disc there. Unfortunately the check was also moving in that direction and the disc hit her right in the butt. Bad throw.

The other team battled hard. We were up 8-3 at one point, and near the end of the night it was 11-11. We scored the next point maing the score 12-11. We were pumped to score the last point. We marched the disc up the field with myself and V as handlers. Near the end zone we called a stack and everyone went there quickly. I broke out to the corner of the end zone as V sent the disc there. The cut was perfect and the throw was awesome. The disc was knee height, and I did the proper two handed catch. And yet somehow the disc popped out of my hands. I hadn't dropped anything all night, and the one I drop was the game winner. Aaargh.

Of course the other team making the score 12-12. The universe point was called. We did our best, but failed. The other team capitalized on a small mistake and won the game. Bummer for us. I am still beating myself up over that one drop.

Last weekend we were on Saltspring Island. We stayed at a nice cottage, checked out the Ganges market, went to the beach, went for a hike, and more. It was a lot of fun, but we experienced a lack of sleep unlike anything we had felt in a long time. Both the kids were waking up multiple times in the night, and since we were all sleeping in the one room, well, we all woke up multiple times in the night.

The cottage had a nice flower garden.

The hike was pretty steep, so Amy got carried the whole way.

Snack time.

Snack time silliness.

These trees grew so close together that it almost looked like they were melded together.

Arbutus trees can be quite photogenic.

A couple weekends ago we made a trip to Sechelt area to have a family get together. We've been trying to do this yearly as a way to get the cousins to all connect with one another. It has been wonderful seeing the kids develop as they grow. They all get along so well and were playing together extremely well. Lots of good times, that's for sure.

Last weeks ulti game was a win, but it was a bad game. The night started off badly by the team captains arguing over some rules about how many women needed to be on the field. Both teams had three women, the league is a 4 men/3 women on the field league, yet the other team only wanted to field two women. Strangely they had a sub (male) and we had no subs. They wanted to field five men, two women against our four men three women team. Weird.

Throughout the game there was lots of checking on rules causing stoppages in the play. This made for a game that didn't flow very well, and really wasn't very much fun. The rules are important, but so is the spirit of the game.

On the field I felt pretty good, barring my stomach. That felt like a shrunken pit that bounced around inside me. Not sure what was happening there. Throwing was pretty good for me, and I made a couple nice catches.

Last weeks Ulti was a double header, our third and last of the season. It was a great night for playing too. Hot, very, very hot. The games themselves were pretty good too. The teams we played were competitive, challenging, and yet we still won. Our team has really gelled and we are making plays, catching well, and defending quite well too.

I really feel like I am coming into my own as a handler too. I am very comfortable catching and throwing in any sorts of conditions. I still make mistakes like everyone else, but I don't dwell on those.

One play there was a long bomb to me striking in the end zone. I broke away from my check and raced after it. Unfortunately the disc hung in the air right in the end zone and I got there too early and had to wait. I stopped right where the disc was coming down and could hear my check racing in after me. I boxed him out, protecting my space, and when the time was perfect he and I both jumped up for the disc. Luckily I came down with it. We both congratulated each other on a good play.