Hockey Tournament with my Dad (By Mikayla)

     *Mikayla and Jeff had a really nice weekend together for her hockey tournament a couple of weekends ago so she wanted to write about it. The first game she had two goals, an assist, and some time in the penalty box (along with some time in the penalty box every game after too -- she leaves her quiet, sweet, and kind personality on the bench 😉). It's her first year not on an all girls team and we have been super proud of how much she has grown but even more happy with how much her, Malachi, & Ezekiel love the game and have fun playing. I think it's safe to say that Mikayla took out all her emotions on the ice in a good way that weekend and we are so grateful they had that time together making memories. One of the Jeff's highlights this year has been being her assistant coach. Although he'll have to take a break now he's really hoping no matter what we find on Monday he can help her finish out this year. While they were away the boys and I also had some quality time together along with getting to hang out with some special friends. 

    There are many different things that happen in life. Some things bring you closer to people or God. Other things help you get a new understanding in life. In this case, it would be both. Last weekend, I went on a trip with my dad. We went to Las Vegas and left on Thursday and came home on Sunday. We have been having some hard things going on in our life, and it involved my dad, so an almost private trip (we went because of a hockey tournament) was perfect because we got to hang out together. I felt closer to my father and closer to God.

    The first day we got there, Thursday, we did not do much. The 6-hour drive took most of the day because I had school and my dad had work. It was comfortable but yet a drive you would not want to take everyday. The next morning, we had to go to my first hockey game of our tournament. We got to go against an all girls team. This was fun considering that we usually go against boy teams. The boy teams can have some girls on it but it was fun just going against all girls. We won and afterwards I definitely knew that  this trip was going to be fun. We went to a place called the Hoover Dam. It is a dam named after president Hoover and it was almost over 100 years old. Overlooking the dam was a bridge named O'callaghan-Tilmann. We either had to walk up a lot of stairs or walk up a REALLY long ramp to get to the top so we could get on the bridge. We decided to take the stairs, taking shorter time than I thought it would. After getting to the top we strolled through many signs talking about the bridge. We finally got to the bridge and it was HIGH! We could clearly see the Hoover Dam and it was breathtaking. I held my dad's hand as we walked to the other side of the bridge. By the time we got to the end we were in Arizona. We hadn't noticed until we walked back and saw a sign saying that one side of it was Nevada and the other side saying it was Arizona. I thought it was really cool. We walked back to our car and drove up to the Hoover Dam. I hopped out and my dad and I casually walked down the stairs and onto the Hoover Dam. I looked down at the bottom. I am not usually afraid of heights but when you look down it feels like you are going to fall. I quickly put my head up. As I regained my control over my pounding head, I looked to see dad taking pictures of the bottom. "Make sure that your phone doesn't fall down there," I told him. We walked back to the car so we could go to our hockey game.

    In the early afternoon the next day, we went to a colorful place called Red Rocks. It was beautiful as we zipped past the colorful, red rocks. To me, it looked like a giant took a red paint brush and painted a red line through all of the rocks. I rolled down my window and looked at all of the colors and textures. The wind in my hair made me feel so ALIVE. I also felt like a dog. The cool air gently hitting my face was a great touch to enjoying to view. When the ride came to an end I felt sad and hoped that if we ever went to Las Vegas again I would like to go back to Red Rocks.

    Sunday was our last day. I had my hockey championship game and we got second place. I was disappointed we lost but I was happy that I got to spend the weekend with my dad. We rode home and it was the same six hours but I felt like it was shorter when we went back home then when we went to Las Vegas. I felt closer to dad because I got to spend more time with him and we had lots of fun dates eating and talking at Whole Foods. I felt closer to God because I felt more peaceful and happy even though we didn't get good news before we left. I loved that trip and I'd be glad to go on another one.

~Mikayla

https://youtu.be/95rl3Bx6yGA   (Mikayla & Jeff's Vegas Trip Slidshow)