Fort Fun

Last weekend we went up to Tacoma for Special Olympics. Everything went off so well. Thank you all who have prayed so faithfully every year for this event. It always seems like there are so many stresses leading up to it, and then everything works out in the end. I praise God for His faithfulness and his mercy and grace.

I was so blessed to have Andrea with me this year. It was so nice to have company on the drive. It was fun to have Kirby too. He was funny because whenever he saw me on the field, he started whining to go out there with me.





A competition note: Vancouver School for the Deaf won their first gold medal this year! I've been officiating that team for many years, and they always seemed to come up short. This year was different. Way to go guys!! They are the team in green in this picture. That was the first game I did on Saturday morning. I just randomly chose a field to ref a game at, and it turned out to be their game! It was good to talk to them on Sunday after they got their medals. A good friend of mine has a nephew who plays for the team, so I got to talk to her (see last year's post from May 1st for more on that).
































Have I ever mentioned the view?






Of course, this weekend would not have been possible without hundreds of volunteers. The referees are the group that I'm rather partial to. They did a great job as usual! This is such a fun group of people to work with. I look forward to seeing them every year. It's a blessing to have a crew like this who has a passion for the game, and for Special Olympics.


Here you see us talking intently about some rule or something (actually, it's probably about our best BBQ recipe or something ;). From the left: Jon, Bruce, Pam, Paul, me, and Kevin. I love these guys' committment!















Here's me sitting with Cal (front) and John.
















Paul has a passion for Poms!




















Here I am talking to a couple of old friends. The gentleman on the left has an unusual condition: his legs seem to be fused, so his knees don't bend. I'm always afraid his legs are going to snap in half if he gets tackled hard or something. Here's the amazing part: he plays at the top level of Special Olympics soccer!














Thank you to all who have helped so much over the years!!