Family

Most of you know... and can attest to the fact that I have a pretty cool family (immediate and extended)! :) And if you didn't know my family is cool... you know that I am cool! :) Therefore you can understand where I'm coming from!

It was Aunt Renee's 79th birthday this weekend and there was a nice little birthday celebration for her! It was awesome. It was so fun to see family we hadn't seen in awhile and to be able to celebrate with her. You could tell she had a great time! On our way home (Jess, Janna, Tracy, Kyle, and I) were having a nice little discussion. I said, "When we die, it's going to be a freaking party with all of our families together!" Not only am I grateful for an awesome immediate and extended family, but I'm also grateful for the plan of salvation and knowing we can be together forever as families!

It was a great weekend being able to spend time with some of my most favorite people! I've said it a few times... and I'll say it again... friends and family are the BEST!

Sundays

I woke up this morning, fully intending on only going to church for only one hour, at which point I was going to come home to watch the AFC Championship Game between the Colts and the Jets. I rationalized this decision all morning long! The Colts are Wade's favorite football team, I'm supporting my little brother by going home early and watching. Rationalization is a funny thing! Trying to make ourselves feel better about something you know is not right! Long story short, I ended up staying for all of church, and I'm really glad that I did!

There were a few things that happened throughout the meetings that made me ponder and reflect.

There were three or four people sitting on the bench in front of me, and then on the bench in front of them was one guy sitting by himself. The people sitting in front of me were whispering, and in the middle of them whispering the guy in front of them turns around and goes, "Sh..." and puts his finger to his mouth. I was like WHAT?! Did you really just do that? How old are we? I wondered how they would react to someone "shh"ing them. Suprisingly, the person in front of me was totally cool about it, he was just like oh yah, no problem. Sorry. I doubt I would have responded as nicely as he did. It kind of annoyed me that he turned around and said “shhh” in the first place. Even though I had no right to be annoyed! They really should have been quiet. BUT I couldn't believe he had the audacity to actually tell them to "shh!!" like he was their mom or something! The speaker's topic was reverence. Kinda ironic right! Haha!

The closing song was Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel. The chorus goes like this:

Put your shoulder to the wheel; push along,
Do your duty with a heart full of song,
We all have work; let no one shirk.
Put your shoulder to the wheel.

So as we're singing the very last verse, again, one of the people in front of me sings:

Put your shoulder to the wheel; push along,
Do your duty with a heart full of song,
We all have work; DON'T BE A JERK!
Put your shoulder to the wheel.

Pretty humorous! It made me laugh! So Sacrament is over. At this point, I rationalized, I will go to Sunday School, and then I will go home and catch the second half of the game. It will be the most exciting part right? Sunday School was awesome! I was so glad I stayed. It's funny because the things I learned were definitely things I needed to hear! At one point we were talking about Satan trying to tempt Moses, and 4 different times Moses tells Satan to leave! It didn't matter how hard Satan tried, Moses was strong and told him to leave. How hard was Satan trying to get me to go home and watch the dumb football game?

Towards the end of the lesson, I overheard someone say, I can't concentrate. The game is on, and I just keep thinking about that. At least I'll get to catch the last half hour after church. If other people were at church when they wanted to be at home watching, surely I could stay for one more hour! I needed to be where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there!

In Relief Society, the lesson was on anger. Once the teacher introduced the lesson, I was so grateful that I decided to stay for all the church meetings today! This last week and a half has been especially trying for me! It has been really really rough! The whole coaching ordeal (if you don't know what I'm talking about check out the posts below...) has been a trial to say the least! And to be quite honest I haven't dealt with it in the best way I could. I've been angry about a lot of things that have happened! So a couple of quotes that I thought were really good from the lesson!

"Anger is a mannerism that we show when we react to something we have no control over."

" If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry."

"Anger doesn't solve anything, but it can destroy everything."

As I sat pondering many of these quotes, I realized how durastically different my week would have been had my reaction to the situation been different. It would have been a MUCH less miserable week for me that is for sure!

My mom sent me this quote, "What cannot be remedied must be endured." This is so true! I couldn't fix the situation of being suspended and not being able to coach for a game. So, as painful as it was, I watched 3 boys’ basketball games on Friday and accepted the punishment of not being able to coach/watch my own teams play! I endured.

Some of you may be like, what's the big deal, it was only one game? You're being a little dramatic about the whole situation! But I guess the biggest thing was that I felt like I was punished and have to suffer consequences for something that was not deserved. That is one of the worst feelings! I was angry most of the week. Looking back, I wish I would have responded a little bit differently. The last week probably wouldn’t have been as miserable as it ended up being! So I will attempt to be better. Instead of being angry when things or situations don't go my way, I will try to find a more productive, positive way to deal!

I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am that I did not go home and watch the game today! There were so many things that I needed to hear and learn! Look at all of the things that I would have missed out on had I left after Sacrament Meeting! I mean the only thing I would have remembered from today would have been the guy turning around and telling people to “shhhh” and not to be a JERK! :) I would still be angry about everything that has happened over the past week. I would not feel at peace with the situation, as I do now. And who knows, maybe if I would have gone home and watched the game, the Colts would have lost? Who knows? I’d like to think I had something to do with their win today! :) haha! But I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend church—not for just one hour, but for all three hours and the many things I am able to learn in the process! :)

Suspended...

All actions have consequences I guess! The icing on the cake for this whole getting ejected ordeal... I can't coach on Friday, 1 game suspension! EXCELLENT.... I'm being punished for doing what? Probably one of the worst feelings I've experienced! Being punished, for doing nothing, yet still having to accept the consequences! This has been a learning experience to say the LEAST! Ugh.... frustrating! :(

Two Techincal Fouls = Ejection

I have officially been kicked out of a high school basketball game for the first time in my ENTIRE life! I'm so totally embarassed by the whole situation. I've debated about blogging about everything. I feel bad that I let the girls on my team down, our school now has a "bad image" so to speak, not necessarily from my actions specifically but because of the ENTIRE situation in general involving parents, girls, everything! I feel bad about it! The only reason I'm recounting it is, 1) so I can send it to Ashley on her mission (I sure do miss coaching with her! She would have appreciated the RIDICULOUSNESS of the situation), I'm sure she will find some humor in it, even though I did NOT! and 2) This being my journal so to speak, I guess I'll recount the events for posterity sake! :) Sadly, there's not even a real exciting story to go along with it! No throwing chairs, hitting somebody, not even yelling and screaming at the refs, nothing! Apparently... I was NOT sitting on the bench. In fact, to be honest, I don't even know if that was even the real reason? I'm not quite sure what the reason was at all!

A little background shall we... (granted this is from my point of view, and also getting the perspective from players/parents afterwards).

Earlier in the night during the JV game, I felt like I was yelling at the officials a little more than I normally did. I got a little upset at one point, because one of our girls fouled out (for the MILLIONTH time this season... Aliza!). :) I really didn't think it was a foul, but she ALOT of the time is at the wrong place at the wrong time, or bailing someone else out for getting beat on defense! And I was a little upset. Anyways... so starting the sophomore game, I was like okay! Be a little more calm! Don't freak out! Just coach! I thought I did a pretty good job of it. Compared to how I had been earlier, I was BEYOND calm.

So... the last part that I can remember... because it was like a freaking snowball effect, and everything went spiraling out of control in like 10 seconds! We're up by 4 with 2 minutes left in the game, we have the ball, and we waste quiet a bit of time off the clock, (no shot clock in Utah, HORRIBLE! Hate it. But that can be a blog post for another day!) so we're playing the stalling game, working the ball around. The other coach is YELLING "foul, foul, foul" and their girls are fouling our girl and they're not calling anything. So I say, "Their coach is telling them to foul, call the foul!" And so referee "A" (as I'll call him in this story), says, "Coach, that's enough sit down." I'm standing there just staring at him, and he's like "Get on the bench." At which point I go to the bench, sit down, and am just shaking my head! WHAT?! This is the first encounter of the night, it's not like I had been screaming or yelling previously? Okay. I'll sit down!

Game progresses, and we're still up by 4. Only like 50 seconds left now, and they call a foul on who? Who else... Aliza?! At which point I am standing up again, looking down the bench, deciding who to put in the game knowing it's her 5th foul! And looking on the court like, GREAT! So the referees have a conference, and referee "B" comes over to me, and he's like coach you need to be sitting down? And I'm like, I can't talk to my players? He's like you need to be sitting down, and that's five fouls on 21. I'm like so can I decide who I can put in the game? Am I allowed to talk to my team? He's like sit down and give me a sub. I'm like speechless. So, I sit down, put in a sub!

In the mean time, their coach is standing up and saying something, and our parents/fans, behind us, start freaking out and yelling at the ref to tell the other coach to sit down then. They're screaming, "Why don't you tell her to sit down." And things along those lines. Everyone is confused as to why I have to remain sitting? I'm quite confused myself. It would have been understandable if I had been going ballistic or something and he was sick of hearing from me and so he was like SIT DOWN! But this was NOT the case! Remember my goal to make an extra effort in this game!

So anyways, in the mean time, while the parents/fans are yelling, Referee "A" points a couple people out in the crowd and is like do you want to leave? And is like signaling for them to leave. Then decides he's had enough apparently, and gives a technical foul to the CROWD! My question to him was, "How do you even know if they're our fans?" (okay... so kind of smart... but really? I didn't think you normally gave technical fouls to the crowd, and if that is the case it is because people are throwing things onto the floor, etc. But even then it doesn't happen hardly ever!)

SIDENOTE: come to find out after doing a little research, our head coach found out that someone on OUR bench said something, which I don't know what that was, but the technical foul was on the BENCH and not the crowd!

SO....back to the game! They are NOW shooting, the 2 techincal foul shots, the 2 foul shots (for the foul on Aliza before she fouled out), and they have the ball back. There's 50 seconds left. And both girls make their sets of free throws, so the game is now tied!

After they shoot the foul shots, their coach calls a timeout. So I approach referee "A" and I ask, "Am I allowed to stand up and talk to my team?" He goes, you know the answer to that. And I said, well I wasn't sure, I wasn't allowed to before. And I turn around to return to the huddle and talk, at which point, he apprarently gives me a technical foul? Which I don't hear or see. I can honestly say that was the conversation, my tone was not condescending in any way, and it was an honest question. He must have been over the top annoyed at this point? I'm not quite sure? Lesson learned, don't press the issue, I guess? I don't know! An explanation is never given!

So I'm in the middle of the timeout, talking to my team telling them what to do, and Referee "B" comes over and says, "Coach you need to leave." And I go, what? He's like, you need to leave. I don't realize I've been given the technical foul, and I'm totally confused, because I'm not quite sure what's happening? Referee "A" answered my question, didn't give me a warning, tell me to be quiet, NOTHING. So, since the "crowd's technical/bench technical" was given to me, add the most recent technical and that would be TWO technical fouls. Well TWO technicals = ejection! Wow.

I grab my stuff, and as I'm like leaving, all the fans/parents are standing up and clapping. At which point the referees are "motioning" for the fans to leave? I'm now standing in the corner speechless, not knowing WHERE this all even began? How did it get to this point? It would be easier for me to understand had I gone ballistic and like been acting crazy, but I wasn't, thus the reason I'm still confused!

A few minutes later, I see 3 police officers come in the door, and I'm like really? I'm going to be escorted out by POLICE OFFICERS are you KIDDING me? This is A SOPHOMORE GAME first of all, and SECOND OF ALL, what did I freaking do? Not sit on the bench? Like this is a nightmare right? I will be waking up sometime? No... I'm already awake! They escort one of our fans out I guess? They never came and talked to me. But police officers... really? Like I'm still baffled by the whole situation!

Now what to do? Our poor BYU intern Heather, is left all by herself, thrown right into it? Holli, who helped run practices for me over Christmas break was there, and I was like GO sit and help! So anyways, we played great defense, got a stop and rebounded the ball as time expired. OVERTIME! In the mean time, I'm still standing over in my little corner. Shock is the only word I can think of that described the moment. Maybe disbelief?

Before overtime starts I have Holli come over and talk to me, tell her some things to tell Heather and the girls, and one of the parents from the other team comes onto the court and is talking to the official and is POINTING TO ME, again thinking to myself, this has GOT TO BE A JOKE right? Referee "A" doesn't do anything. He just gives me a little look. And people yell at the parent to go sit down!

Overtime starts... it was back and forth the entire game. We ended up hitting some CLUTCH freethrows! FINALLY!!! It's about time! I'm like DYING over in the stupid corner! But freethrows are probably our biggest weakness and to see them finally make them, especially when it mattered was something POSITIVE to take from the whole experience! Long story made short :) or maybe not? We ended up winning the game 56-51. Holli and Heather and the girls did GREAT! I was way proud of the girls for coming through and fighting until the end, despite all the craziness that happened, and the situation they were put in. Hopefully, other lessons were actually learned from the game. That is the great thing about sports... learning life lessons! :) I KNOW one thing for sure, there will be NO more "bench" technical fouls for the remainder of the season!

I still am at a loss for words as to why things happened the way they did and how it all spun out of control so quickly? Questions that have yet to be answered: Why I had to stay sitting on the bench the entire time? Why I got the second technical foul, with no explanation or warning, especially after he responded to my question? And what set him off in the first place? Lesson learned for myself, unfortunately learned the hard way, even if you don't think you are doing anything wrong, control what you can control. I have no control over the refs, EVER! Even if they ban you to the bench, with no explanation, or REASON! "You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do." Valuable lessons were learned Friday night!

So that's the story... I'm still like embarassed by the events that unfolded! I can't believe it escalated to the point that it did, and I'm not sure why things happened the way they did? But everything happens for a reason and it provided valuable lessons if nothing else. Like I said before, I have no control over what the other guys does, I only have control over what I do! I appreciate everyone who offered their support afterwards. The many text messages, phone calls, and words of advice were comforting!

Visitors :)

I just LOVE it when people come to visit! :) Staci stopped by during her little TRIP ACROSS THE UNITED STATES... on her way back home to Etna! It was fun to get to hang out for the night! We had our annual "Tuesday Night Dinner", yah don't worry... I know it's Wednesday! :) The food was delicious nonetheless! We were missing a few of our normal people, but added a few new ones! Played some 5 Crowns (we won't go into any more detail than that!) and we took a few pictures! We had a good time! EVERYONE come visit! The couch is real nice... and comfy too! It even pulls out into a bed! I know, I know! Hard to pass up... Start making your plans NOW!

Christmas Break

Christmas Break has come and gone and I only wish it could have been just a little bit longer! It was fun to be home and see friends and family and RELAX! December had been a stressful month! I started subbing for Nancy (our head coach) full time at the high school, because she had a baby, and I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning! I think I have it down now! :) But by the time the break rolled around I was definitely ready for it!

Mitch drove down from Idaho, picked me up after our game against Sky View, went to Aunt Janene’s stayed the night and headed home the next day! It was a LONG drive, as usual, and THANKFULLY the weather was really good. (minus the FOG!) And THANKFULLY Mitch drove the ENTIRE way! So to be honest it was an EASY trip for me! :) It was nice to just get home and be HOME.

Here’s some pictures to give a recap of the trip! Much more enjoyable than my boring recaps!

We got to decorate gingerbread houses which we haven’t done in awhile! It was fun to be able to do that again with everyone! We cheated a little bit and didn’t actually MAKE the gingerbread like we had in years past! But it was still way fun to decorate and hang out with everyone!


Some of us scrimmaged the high school team one day. It was so fun to play together again. Even after all these years we still dominated. It made me miss the good ‘ol days that’s for sure!


We had a little mini-class reunion! Haha… not really! But kind of... :) It was fun to see everyone I graduated with, cuz I haven’t seen some of them for way too long! We went to lunch at the pub, and ran into some other people as well! It was fun to see everyone and catch up! Pretty soon it will be our 10 year reunion…. Um… RIDICULOUS! I’m getting way old!

There was the annual CIDER PONG Harris Christmas Party. It never fails to entertain all involved. :) Troy was my partner this year, and it was too much fun! Sad to say we didn’t take home those trophies. But it was nice to see Chris and Mitch GET BEAT and NOT defend their championship! :)


Speaking of Chris and Mitch… after the Cider Pong festivities, it was brought up in conversation that THEY could beat me and Jaclyn in a game of 2 on 2, and then it turned into Jaclyn and Staci in a game of 2 on 2! Everyone was ready for them to play and settle it on the court, waiting in the high school parking lot for the key to arrive, but no such luck! So the game never went down. BUT… I’m pretty sure Jaclyn and Staci would have won! :)


We had Christmas Eve at Grandpa Berry’s as usual. The highlight for everyone I’m sure, was all of us kids rocking out on the Wii with American Idol! With us being so musically talented and all! :) Even if it sounded horrible, we had a good time!


Our first Christmas in the new house! We didn’t open presents too early! But Santa hooked us all up as usual! :)The grandparents came over for breakfast! And everyone enjoyed playing the new Wii!



We played lots of games during the break! Phase 10, Balderdash, BUNCO, and lots of other games with the family! Oh and watched the BYU-Oregon State football game! :)Go Cougars!


It was a GREAT break! And like I said before way too short! It was fun to see family and friends and to be home!

And special thanks to mom for helping me write my talk :) So that I had time to update this lovely little blog! :)

Interview with the Bishop = Speaking in Church!

I THOUGHT I was going to have time to update about Christmas break this week! I had an interview with the bishop last night, because I moved into a new ward before the break. So it was just a normal "get to know you" interview! Don't worry... I'm speaking in church on Sunday! I mean I guess that's better than being called to some overwhelming calling.... Knew I should have cancelled that appointment... :) So I guess I will be preparing a talk instead of updating... until next week!