Best Friends Forever!

Today I smiled because I got a letter in the mail from one Jess Yanz! It was her birthday card to me! With a very long note inside :)

 It pretty much made my year! And yes, Jess, I laughed very hard :) And seriously don't worry about sending me anything. I know it's outrageously expensive. I LOVE YOU!

Kayla

Chocolate=Love

So, I'm still here in Anaheim training hard for USA. Things are going okay for me, I guess. I'm playing pretty well. The team has been gone the past week and a half. They are currently in Mexico competing in the Pan Am Cup. Well, I guess I should say they just finished competing in the Pan Am Cup. They placed third today, securing a spot in the World Grand Prix in 2012. Good job ladies! They get back tomorrow and its back to having everybody in the gym on Monday. We then have three full weeks of practice before the team leaves for the next tournament: World Grand Prix. They'll be gone for the entire month of August. Summer has been flying by, which might be a good thing, because it's been a tough summer (as I'm sure everyone's first summer with the team is). But, hopefully once I get this first one under my belt, it will only get easier.

Like I've said before, I'm SUPER bummed I didn't get to spend this summer in Lincoln (again, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for being blessed with this opportunity). But, a summer relaxing, working out, and hanging out with my friends would've been amazing! So, needless to say, I've been a little homesick here this summer. However, this past week I received a few smiles in the mail! The first came on Thursday from my best friend, Jess Yanz! You all know about Jess. She is amazing! The best friend anyone could ask for! Aaaaand, she has recently been named Director of Operations at the University of Dayton! Read about it here. And to learn more about my bestest friend in the world, you could also read her blog Expected Serendipity. Anyways, she read a recent status update of mine asking if anyone had any suggestions of good books that I could read. And about a week later, I received this gift in the mail. Let's start with the card. Actually, let's begin with the envelope. This is why I love her.

You laughed right? So did I. :)

And here is the card...she added her own special illustrations to it. The inside says, "This is a card to say that number 3 sucks." That is does, Jess. That is does. Anyways, like I was saying, Jess, being the bestest friend that she is, came to the rescue and sent me a beautiful, brand new book!

I'm only a few chapters in, and already I'm finding it hard to put down. But, that is not all she sent me!

Oh Jess, you know me so well :) Okay, you caught me, they're opened....but at least they're not already gone! THANK YOU JESS!!

So, after an already pleasant surprise this week, the VERY NEXT DAY I received another package in the mail. This one was from my former teammate and good friend of mine, Jordan Wilburger (I guess I should say Jordan Sauer as she was recently married to the man of her dreams). It wasn't another book, but it did include a thank you card for her wedding gift. And guess what else it had inside?

Wow. Do my friends know me or what? Gosh dang it...YES OKAY YES! THE HERSEY'S BLISS BAG IS OPEN! Geez...get off my back will ya? :)

So, thanks to my amazing friends, I received two huge smiles in the mail this week! And I feel your love from Dayton and Lincoln. THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU BOTH VERY MUCH!!

On a different note, today is July 9th, which means it is my dad's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I'm super bummed I wasn't at home for it, but I am so excited to see you in a few days! I love you!

That's all I have for tonight. Sorry, Eric, but the clip you requested was block on YouTube. But, I hope you like this clip instead because I literally just laughed out loud when I saw it (I will preface it by telling you that they are trying to figure out which one of the employees was smoking).

Enjoy!

Kayla

The Perfect Weekend!

Okay I know it has been waaaaay to long since I've blogged and to those eagerly awaiting my next masterpiece, I apologize. A lot has happened since my last post so I guess I'll just start from the beginning. We played the Japanese Youth National Team on March 1st and 2nd. I was lucky to start both of those matches at libero and I didn't do too bad of a job. The first match I was pretty much fighting butterflies the entire time. It was the first time I had ever worn a USA jersey. It was just so mind-blowing. The second night I found a better rhythm and played a lot better and closer to my standard. It was amazing. The most surprising thing about the entire night is the entire new meaning that the playing of the National Anthem took on. Can't describe it. It just was a lot more meaningful now that I was representing that flag.

Here is our group shot after the match.

This past weekend was amazing because my very good friend Jess Yanz was in town! She was on her spring break and decided to come spend it with me! How lucky am I? For those of you who don't know Jess, here is a picture!

And here is her blog. The very blog that inspired me to do my own blogging. Yeah it's pretty sweet and I suggest you check it out. Anyways, she got in Thursday and right away I took her to see one of my favorites spots: Laguna. 

Okay, you caught me. I didn't take this picture, but it was honestly just as pretty. It was a cloudy kind of evening but still the beach was gorgeous. We checked out the scenery and took some beautiful pictures and then made our way to the surf shops right along the beach. I didn't get anything, but I didn't need to. Having Jess there completely made my night. We finished with a good dinner at a restaurant called BJ's. When we got home we started what would be a Criminal Minds marathon that lasted the entire weekend. 

Friday was uneventful. I had to give a couple of private lessons after practice so Jess came along and kind of hung out while I was doing my thing. Afterwards, she picked up a ball, looked at me and said, "Kayla, can we pepper?" Can you say volleyball withdrawal? She should so be out here training with us. Yeah she's a baller with absolutely perfect hands. She played at Penn State for two years, with me at Nebraska for two years, and she finished at Dayton. She's pretty legit. Anyways, after a good fifteen minute pepper, we went and cleaned up and headed to a UC Irvine guys volleyball match. It's pretty much my favorite pass time here. I love watching men's volleyball. Maybe it's because they are physically capable of doing things in the game that women can't. Maybe because it's a plus when guys are volleyball players and it automatically makes then ten times cuter than they would appear off the court. For whatever reason, it is mesmerizing for me. After that we went back to the apartment and hung out and continued with our Criminal Minds marathon. And then...gasp! Jess had the most brilliant beyond brilliant idea ever. CAKE BALLS! For those of you who don't know what these little balls of deliciousness are, they are pretty self explanatory. Tiny balls of rolled up cake dipped in chocolate. Is your mouth watering yet? I know mine is just thinking of it. They are quite possibly the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. And just because I want to share them with the world, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Saturday was quite possibly the most perfect day ever. It was sunny and about 80 degrees and we spent the entire day at Newport Beach. It was perfect. And at night, if you hadn't noticed the pattern, we chilled and watched Criminal Minds. Neither of us were even a little bit upset that we didn't go out. I was just glad she was here. 

Shot of Newport Beach from my cell phone. Pretty perfect huh?

Sunday we went back to Laguna in the hopes of laying on the beach for a ridiculous amount of time. But, it was pretty cloudy and a little bit of a chilly breeze going on, so once again we walked the streets checking out some more shops there.

And Monday morning I had to take Jess back to the airport :( it was the worst ever! I was about to call Hugh and be like "Hey I know a legit setter who should be here training with us" and then begin to beg him to let Jess stay. But, I had to say goodbye. And thus ends the best weekend ever! And I know Jess has been waiting for this picture for a few days so here it is: Jess and I at Laguna Beach.

Until next time...

Kayla

Longest. Day. Ever.

My schedule for today: Practice 9-12, lift 12-1, afternoon passing session 2:30-3:30. May not sound like a long day, but geez I was riding the struggle bus today. Actually, I was driving the struggle bus today. I wasn't playing that badly, but my body was just tired. I was pretty happy with the way I played defense today. But, it is so much harder than it needs to be because the gym's lighting background is so weird that your depth perception is completely thrown off and it is so hard to see the ball coming at you until it is about a foot in front of you. It is really tough. I find myself blinking excessively and squinting a lot during the play.

My brother, Eric, text me today and asked if I wanted to come back to play volleyball with him tonight...and I would LOVE to! Too bad I'm 27 hours away :( He told me today that he loves reading my blog. So Eric, I'm assuming you're reading this and just want to say I LOVE YOU! :) :) :)

Jess Yanz is gonna be here in 8 days. I cannot wait! We are going to have so much fun! She makes me so happy!

We play the Japanese Youth National Team in 6 days. I'm excited to put on the USA jersey! I can only imagine the goosebumps I'm going to get. And back to the good ol' high school days at Dubuque Wahlert, I'll be wearing the number 1 once again.

This blog was kind of a cluster of randomness. But, here is my third journal entry for my Leadership Class. Enjoy!

Journal Week 3: January 31^st, 2011

Where My Values Come From; How I Live Them

                As I have gotten older and experienced different things, the number of values I have learned and began to emphasize has grown as I have grown up. I got a lot of my values from my parents and my brother, and a few more when I went through college. When I was a young volleyball player, my parents coached me for most of my career up until about my junior year of high school. They were always there telling me where I went wrong and how I could fix it. They taught me to always work hard; never do anything half-ass. Sometimes they even showed me tough love. My first summer at Nebraska, I was super homesick. I called home crying every day. They would just ask me one question, “Are you ready to quit?” Of course my answer was “no”. During this three month period of my life, my parents taught me that anything worth accomplishing wasn’t going to come easy. Never give up.

 I’m a year and a half younger than my brother, Eric, and I was always playing sports with him, whether it was street hockey with the neighborhood gang, or dodge ball in the back yard.  Shoot, we even raced to the car every opportunity we had. He played baseball and football. But, I think his heart was set on baseball. That is what he was best at and that is what he pursued in college. He never had anything handed to him like I may have at times. He wasn’t always the starter in either high school or college (even though HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN). He was probably pretty pissed off about it, but he just kept working hard because he was passionate about the sport. He loved it and I know that when he did eventually give up baseball, it was probably a pretty tough decision. But, he didn’t let his passion die with baseball. He kept a passion going for everything he ever experienced. He fell in love with Dance Marathon at University of Iowa. He raised money and supported dancers and families affected by cancer. And NONE OF IT was for his benefit. Their slogan was “For the Kids!” It wasn’t for him. Around this same time, I was at Nebraska playing volleyball. Eric helped me understand that it isn’t always about me. Sometimes a passion and love can be generated by helping others to succeed.

                This brings me to my Nebraska volleyball days. It was at Nebraska that I learned responsibility, discipline, commitment, trust, and love. It definitely takes responsibility to be a great student-athlete. Our time schedule is crazy and there are so many things that you have to stay on top of just to keep your head above water. My teammates and coaches taught me trust, commitment, and love. I learned what it felt like to love something and my teammates with all of my heart and I learned what it felt like to be 100% committed to something. Every ounce of energy, every ounce of my being, and my entire heart was given to Nebraska volleyball and my teammates. I’m still trying to get some of that back for my next adventure in life. But, I’ll probably always leave a part of my heart there. 

Kayla

Gold Medal Monday

That was the theme of today's practice because last Monday's practice was a complete disaster. However, today was not that much better for me. I kept screwing things up that I know I'm capable of doing. I mean I've done them before. Example, back set a perfect ball to the leftside hitter. I've done it before and today I'm just chucking balls everywhere. And to make things worse, I let myself get frustrated and didn't move on to the next play. Which was stupid for me to do. Lesson learned. But, the universe made up for it in three ways. First, I found a dime right before lunch. I was confused when I heard about the dime theory at first too. Dimes are less common to find just lying around. Pennies and quarters are everywhere. Some of my teammates told me stories about people who were having a rough time and prayed to God to send them dimes to show them that He was still with them. They would then come across thousands of dimes or dimes would show up in large quantities everywhere. Well, God sent me a dime today. May not mean much to you, but it made me smile. Second, we got to sit down and have lunch with Karch Kiraly today and listen to many amazing stories that he told us about his career and his family. It's just amazing to listen to someone like that. In the presence of greatness hearing about things that at this point in my life I can only dream of accomplishing. Lastly, I received my very late birthday package from Jess Yanz today. It was Resee's Hearts and the book "The Hunger Games" and the movie "Lilo and Stitch". So, it turned out to be a pretty good day.


Anyways, staying true to sharing my class journals: here is the second journal entry for you to enjoy.


Journal Week 2: January 24^th, 2011

What You Know About Yourself

                What do I know about myself? I know that I am quiet and not all that outgoing. So, it was no surprise when my test results told me that I was an introvert. I know that I love sports (I’ve played volleyball and softball). My family is a volleyball and baseball family, and both my parents and my brother were great athletes and are very knowledgeable in the sports world. I know that I will work my butt off to accomplish my dreams, but when given the appropriate opportunity, I love to be lazy. I know that I find joy and inspiration in reading, writing, musicals, art, beautiful scenery, and daydreaming. I know that I am a homebody. I would choose sweatpants and a movie night over going out clubbing probably 80% of the time.  I know that I have a lot of built up love and inspiration in my heart that is waiting to burst out of me. I think I have been in love once. I may still be in love today.

                What do I know about my volleyball self? I know that I am hardworking, determined, and disciplined. I started my leadership days off being a quiet “lead by example” kind of player. But, throughout college, I have developed into a more well-rounded leader. However, I know that communication is still my greatest weakness. I know that if I don’t do something right, it will eat at my very soul until I perfect it. I know that I am always challenging myself to be better, even though my body, heart, and soul may experience days that throwing in the towel sounds so beautiful. I know that I am unsure of myself 75% of the time but I keep a pretty good game face on close to 100% of the time and keep grinding through my anxieties both on and off the court. I know that one day, only after I have conquered the world, that I will be 100% sure of myself and satisfied with my career. But, until I accomplish everything I want to accomplish, every day I have to fight off my self-doubt. I wonder whether or not I’m good enough for the goals I have set out to achieve, but I know that I won’t rest until I reach those goals. 


Kayla


P.S. I am setting a rule for this journal entry. No questions.

Let the Blogging Commence!

I did it! I am officially a blogger. Thanks pretty much 100% to Jess Yanz who inspired me to join the blogging world. I am still exploring my blog and trying to figure everything out. But, I like journaling a lot, and what a great, fun new way to get my thoughts down! Seeing as how there is probably a grand total of three people who will read this (Jess, Mom, and Dad), I'm using this as a test blog to continue to get acquainted with this new hobby.

However, if there happen to be some newbies reading, I'll give you a mini update on my life. I'm currently living in Anaheim, CA training with the US National Volleyball team. I grew up a midwest girl, so the California lifestyle is completely different. It's as if I took a running leap and cannon balled right out of my comfort zone. But, so far, it seems to be going very well for me. I'm getting used to the area, and adapting fairly well to the level of USA volleyball. I have no idea what the future holds for me. Literally, I'm not sure where I'll be or what I'll be doing in two months. I dream of one day playing in the Olympics, so hopefully USA volleyball continues to show interest in me as an athlete. Anyways, to put it simply, I'm in California "livin' the dream".

It was sunny and 70 today. Pretty sweet dream, huh? :)

Kayla