Volleyball Final Tournament in Portugal!
What a ride this experience was! Let me paint the picture for you....It's Ike's senior year, he LOVES volleyball thanks to his incredible coach, Coach Emmanuel. He has practiced, attended BYU summer volleyball camp, worked out hard and has been so excited for his final year of HS volleyball. ACS was slated to travel to Portugal this year for the final tournament. We paid all the fees so he was ready to go. Initially, Spencer and I had planned to go, but his work schedule was taking him to Canada that week, so he couldn't go, which meant I couldn't go because I wanted to also be home with Ty, Josh and Anne.
ONE day before Ike was supposed to leave with his team, I received a phone call from his IB English teacher. She explained to me that Ike was supposed to be in a 3 hour lecture with a guest speaker the next day. Because our Athletics Director did not book the flights early enough, Ike would miss the lecture in order to make the flight. She sternly explained to me that if he missed the lecture, it would directly affect his grade. And if it were up to her, she would have Ike miss the tournament because his grade was heavily influenced by this experience.
I quickly hung up the phone, called the AD and explained to him my dilemma. Although, sympathetic, it was not his problem. I checked flights...I found that Ike could attend the morning lecture, and make an afternoon flight. I asked the AD if he would be okay to have someone pick Ike up from the airport in Portugal. We would pay for the extra flight. He said that was against school policy and that even though Ike was old enough to travel alone, he had to be accompanied by an adult, in order to travel to a school function. However, if I was willing to RE-pay for Ike's and his ticket (roundtrip) he would happily travel with Ike as his chaperone. generous...
I hung up the phone frustrated and sad. I didn't want Ike to have to choose. Ike was DYING too. He didn't know what to choose. It was his final year, AND the IB program. Mommy Bear instincts kicked into full gear. All of my rather ridiculous traveling skills came together...
First...I called my friend Joy Preideman and asked if shed be okay to take two of my children for two nights? I decided to try and keep it a little less stressful and just ask her to take 2 kids instead of all three. (teehee!) She was adorable and said, "absolutely!"
Second...I got online and searched every website I could find. Within 45 minutes, I booked three round-trip tickets to Lisbon, booked a car for travel and found an Airbnb for Josh and I to stay at. ALL of this was done in less than 45 min AND was less expensive than the one tickets for Ike and the AD. (mic drop)
The next day, I got Anne and Ty all squared away and picked up Ike (who was extremely grateful and happy) and Josh (who was SO stinking excited to go watch Ike) and off we went to the Luton airport and flew to Lisbon. And OH WHAT FUN WE HAD!!! I'm SO grateful it all worked out this way and we got to go. Josh has to be one of the best fans ever. We had the greatest time and Ike was gracious, and played so hard. It was a great weekend.
What a ride this experience was! Let me paint the picture for you....It's Ike's senior year, he LOVES volleyball thanks to his incredible coach, Coach Emmanuel. He has practiced, attended BYU summer volleyball camp, worked out hard and has been so excited for his final year of HS volleyball. ACS was slated to travel to Portugal this year for the final tournament. We paid all the fees so he was ready to go. Initially, Spencer and I had planned to go, but his work schedule was taking him to Canada that week, so he couldn't go, which meant I couldn't go because I wanted to also be home with Ty, Josh and Anne.
ONE day before Ike was supposed to leave with his team, I received a phone call from his IB English teacher. She explained to me that Ike was supposed to be in a 3 hour lecture with a guest speaker the next day. Because our Athletics Director did not book the flights early enough, Ike would miss the lecture in order to make the flight. She sternly explained to me that if he missed the lecture, it would directly affect his grade. And if it were up to her, she would have Ike miss the tournament because his grade was heavily influenced by this experience.
I quickly hung up the phone, called the AD and explained to him my dilemma. Although, sympathetic, it was not his problem. I checked flights...I found that Ike could attend the morning lecture, and make an afternoon flight. I asked the AD if he would be okay to have someone pick Ike up from the airport in Portugal. We would pay for the extra flight. He said that was against school policy and that even though Ike was old enough to travel alone, he had to be accompanied by an adult, in order to travel to a school function. However, if I was willing to RE-pay for Ike's and his ticket (roundtrip) he would happily travel with Ike as his chaperone. generous...
I hung up the phone frustrated and sad. I didn't want Ike to have to choose. Ike was DYING too. He didn't know what to choose. It was his final year, AND the IB program. Mommy Bear instincts kicked into full gear. All of my rather ridiculous traveling skills came together...
First...I called my friend Joy Preideman and asked if shed be okay to take two of my children for two nights? I decided to try and keep it a little less stressful and just ask her to take 2 kids instead of all three. (teehee!) She was adorable and said, "absolutely!"
Second...I got online and searched every website I could find. Within 45 minutes, I booked three round-trip tickets to Lisbon, booked a car for travel and found an Airbnb for Josh and I to stay at. ALL of this was done in less than 45 min AND was less expensive than the one tickets for Ike and the AD. (mic drop)
The next day, I got Anne and Ty all squared away and picked up Ike (who was extremely grateful and happy) and Josh (who was SO stinking excited to go watch Ike) and off we went to the Luton airport and flew to Lisbon. And OH WHAT FUN WE HAD!!! I'm SO grateful it all worked out this way and we got to go. Josh has to be one of the best fans ever. We had the greatest time and Ike was gracious, and played so hard. It was a great weekend.
Sneek peek---Ike's team did well. :)
Joshy had two requests....beach time and watch every second of Ike that he played. "No Museums!"
São Jorge Castle in the background. Josh was so happy we just had to see it and not go in. haha!
Check out the jellyfish we found washed up on the beach.
Stunning coastal sites
Roosters are Portugal's iconic bird.
Stunning sites wherever you look.
Josh thought is was so cool that this building looked like an "H" so he drew the word HOLT next to it. haha!
Ike was so fun to watch serve
EVERY moment Ike was playing, we were at the gym watching the tournament. However, we had a few hours and I snagged Josh and up we went to Pena Palace. Josh DID NOT want to leave the gym, but I dragged him out because I wanted us to see this castle. OH MY GOODNESS! I was not prepared for what we faced. We went up the STEEPEST mountain, in our teeny, tiny car on a one way street. It was SO narrow that the only other vehicles we saw were tuk-tuk's. I was so scared and Josh was about to throw up. haha! But when we got there, it was totally worth it.
The Pena Palace is situated at the second highest point of the Serra da Sintra and it is a significant uphill hike from the historic centre of the park located below the mountain from the castle. This hike paid off because it got Josh out moving and climbing and he ended up really enjoying it. He even said, "mom, I'm not sure why I complain so much. It's almost always really fun."
The Pena Park grounds were spectacular.
The castle was built by Fernando II around 1910. It was built in the striking romanesque style with gothic touches, colorful terraces and mythological statues.
From the top of Pena Castle you are able to see the Castle of the Moors built in the 8th and 9th century by the Arabs. It was a fortress and a place of worship.
Pena Palace
And then came the good part.
The final tournament was ACS Jags vs International France team.
ALL indicators pointed to France for the win. And they were really good. It came down to the fifth set, final points of the game. Our boys played SO hard, worked well together and came out on top! It was so much fun. We had an absolute blast cheering our heads off.
Ike and Coach. He is such a great guy.
I'm not sure anyone was more excited than Josh. He cheered his head off.
Picture of the traveling fans! Me, Josh, and Tracy Pitcher
Seniors - Adam Unal, Ike and Bo Tigel
Coach Emmanuel, Coach Roach, Ike, Adam Unal, Bo Tigel, Scott Williams, Ben Mandyia, Daniel ,Mark & Ahzad Jalal-Krueger, Eugenio Abruzzini, Hayden Pitcher
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