more vball

in the last few weeks we have had a lot of volleyball games, luckily we have won them all!!! but it was nice to have a week off to rest a little, we were playing saturday, wednesday, saturday and wednesday games. it is hard to stay focused, in good rythem and shape when you hardly have time to practice. but the most important game we played was the Finnish Cup semifinals. We won the game so we are playing in the finals on December 19th!!!

team bonding

a few weekends ago we had a free weekend..yay!! so we decided to spend the day as a team bonding day and it turned out to be a loooooong day and night but it was alot of fun!
First stop was a few games of bowling..i have to say i dont suck too much at bowling, i think it is my special technique of bowling.






after bowling we headed to the mens hockey game. we had good seats and tried cheering for the boys with our hpk volleyball cheer but it didnt help too much , they lost the game. but we had a fun time watching the game, eating free food, drikning cider and trying to see how cute the hockey guys were under their masks!



after the hockey game we went and crammed everyone in this little apartment for our little christmas party. they do not have thanksgiving here so they start the celebration of christmas in november already! so we had a secret santa exchange, wore our santa hats, played some games, ate some more food and went into the sauna.we had one girl that was helping us during practices and games acting as a team manager and she was leaving us but as a parting gift she bought some finnish alchol an wanted to have a goodbye shot with everyone. now this is not the besttasting stuff i have ever had but the finnsih sure do love it! we had a fun time laughing at peoples crazy gifts, the skills of the girls during the game and at each other!






after our party all 14 of us girls got ready to go out in that little apartment. we managed to set off an alarm and had a policeman come and stop by but i think once he saw all of us girls he just told us to have a fun night and we did!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy happy thanksgiving!!!

a few things that I am thankful for:

*for truly being a "dekiewiet"... i, like my dad and his dad, my grandpa, are happy enjoying the simple things in life. I am happy to say that I am like my dad in that way. My dads daily routine hardly ever changes but one thing that never gets old for him is to just sit outside in the backyard just watching the scenery and the sun go down. of course with a few beers in hand.

*for the part of me that is a fikse...the past year or so has been a difficult one for the fikse family but i remember someone telling my mom and a few of her of sisters that the fikse family was one of the nicest families they have ever met, even during the hard times. my mom is definitely one of the nicest people i know, even in the hardest of situations, i pray it has rubbed off on me

* for my amazing parents...growing up my parents were always there for us and supporting us. my mom said she doesnt know how she got lucky with 3 good girls but we are the lucky ones with parents that raised us the way they did.

*for sisters...they say that sisters are your best friends, my sisters and i have gotten alot closer over the years and now i can say that both my sisters are my best friends. they are the ones you can be yourself with and still love you.

* for friendships, old and new...those that have been there a lifetime, a few years or just recent friends, i have learned so much about myself and about others from each friendship. those close friends that have been there through everything and have loved you no matter what happens along the way.

*for experiences...i never imagined when i first started playing volleyball that it would take me to the places it has taken me. each experience has taught me more about myself then i could ever imagine, good and bad. for the opportunity to do something i love everyday and experience different cultures,people and Gods world while doing it.

*for HPK volleyball...this season has been a tough season for many players to find good teams, but i am so happy to be with a team that i have so much fun playing with and hanging out with outside the gym.

*for my health...although i complain about bad knees and bad back, i am definitely still able to do all that i want, play volleyball and much more.

*for change

*for taking chances and trying new things

*for strengthening my relationship with my Savior

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~JFK

free time

I have been scrapbooking alot lately in my free time, which i have alot of!! This is what my floor looks like when I start scrapbooking, one big mess!! But I like to have everything out so I can see what Im doing with all the pages! But I am so happy I brought all this stuff with my, I finally get to catch up on my scrapbooking!! and I got another package in the mail!! yay! this package had a lot of goodies in it! thank you thank you! I had to go pick this one up at customs and they made me open it and everything and apparently they thought i was a drug dealer because they wouldnt let me take my 2 bottles of ibuprofin with me. Then I had a bag of Skittles in there and they were questioning that too, they asked me if I was going to sell them..and I told them no way!! the whole bag is for me!!!

m.e.

Im just a bit excited about my hair being long! My hair does not grow fast at all so it has taken awhile to get this long. It hasnt been this long since high school! I usually do my hair maybe 3 times a month so it was nice to see how long it was when I actually spent time on my hair! :)

Here is Finland for each game they award points to the players that stand out that game. They give 3 points, 2 points and 1 point and with those points you get prizes! Here I am sporting the prizes. For one point I got a red beanie, 2 points i got that bright crosswalking guard vest and for 3 points i got the flashlight head thing, which I actually have used to read in bed at night! :)

Hameelinna

ok so it has begun. the freezing weather. the snow. walking carefully so you dont slip and fall from ice or slush. here are a few pics of the snowy town!

this is a view from my apartment window.

i took this as i was walking to practice...

i took this as i was walking home from practice...this is my apartment complex on the corner there.