Putting the "Travel" in Travel Hockey

Having kids in travel hockey means putting a lot of miles on a vehicle; however, we don't usually have weekends like this one!

Friday Night High School game... 19.2 miles

Saturday Morning game with J-Mav's team... 57.9 miles

Saturday Night game with Keeper Boy's team... 48.5 miles

Sunday Morning game with J-Mav's team... 42.8 miles

Seen...

We saw this in the parking lot at Christiana Mall over Presidents Day weekend. Now that's a serious fan...

Christmas Recap

Christmas has come and gone, and we are barreling toward 2012. How is that even possible? Wasn't I *just* in Hawaii the other day?!

I suppose you could say our Christmas season began on Thanksgiving. That's when I dragged all the Christmas stuff out of the attic, discovered we did not have a single full, working strand of lights for the outside bushes, and trekked out to Wal-Mart, which for some strange reason is OPEN on Thanksgiving Day. Over the course of the weekend -- in between the kids' hockey games -- I decorated the house.

The following Friday was my company's holiday party. Hubby and I got all fancied up and made the marathon drive -- on a work night -- to Greenbelt, MD for a very nice shindig. Alas, neither of us won the ginornous flat screen TV or the game system or any of the other gadgets that were given away. But we had a good time, and the food is always good. :)

I did most of my shopping in the month of December this year. How unlike me. I have discovered Amazon Prime, which I highly recommend! My 30-day free trial is about over, but I think I will be paying the annual fee. SO worth it!

We took a break from holiday stuff to go to Lake Placid the second weekend of the month with Keeper Boy's hockey team. What a fabulous trip to a small town with such a history. I think its entire identity revolves around the events of February 22, 1980, but that's okay. We had a blast -- even though we rode up and back on a bus with a hockey team of 13 and 14 year olds.

Gma G arrived on the 22nd. By then we were all done with our shopping, and the cookies were all baked. Gma G and I attended the Grandparents Day Sing-a-Long at J-Mav's school. That day also signaled the beginning of the boys' break from school. And our cousin K and her new hubby arrived for an overnight stop before heading to the airport the next morning for their honeymoon. It was a fun evening!

On the 23rd, Hubby and I worked, and Gma G and the boys hung out, shopped, and wrapped gifts. We celebrated Gma G's birthday that evening (a few days early because she actually flew home on her birthday).

On the 24th we all got up early and drove up to PA for my family's annual Christmas Eve dinner. It was the first time Gma G had been to my parents' new home, the first time my family had all been together since my grandfather died, and the first time we got K-dog to successfully use the steps I bought her to get into and out of the truck (what a show). We arrived around 10am and were able to visit with our niece and her mom before the rest of the family showed up. That was nice. We had a great day... always lots of laughs. And we were back home by about 8pm. There was work to do. We put out cookies and milk for Santa, got the kids in bed, and did what needed to be done.

We managed to hold the kids off until 8am on Christmas morning. Then they opened stockings and we had some breakfast before my parents arrived. Once they arrived and brought their gifts in, the chaos ensued. We opened gifts for about two hours. Lots of awesome stuff all around. Then we had a relaxing day of games, food (steak, gourmet potatoes, garlic sauteed spinach...), and family. It was awesome to have all three grandparents here at the same time as it was the first time in many years that that happened. We talked to Uncle Hooter and Jenrie and kids in Hawaii a few times on FaceTime, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins in PA (love that iTechnology).

The day after Christmas was all hockey. Tournaments for each of the kids... at two different rinks.

And Gma G flew home on the 27th. It seemed like a short visit. My parents left last night. Their visit seemed short, too. It was nice to have everyone here, and we are looking forward to my parents coming back at the end of January and Gma G coming back at the end of March before she and Keeper Boy leave on their European adventure!

Hubby and I have returned to work, although I worked from home today and will do so again tomorrow. Cousin K and her hubby return to town tomorrow and will stay with us tomorrow night before heading out. And then we have a New Year's Eve party to attend, as well as a Winter Classic Party on Monday. And then I guess it's back to normal life as hockey craziness will resume.

But I can hold on to Christmas by a thread for as long as I have the tree up and decorated. Maybe a couple more weeks. Or maybe I can just take the Christmas decorations off and put hearts on it... then shamrocks... then eggs...

Seen...

On a Christmas ornament while poking around online...

"Hockey is where we live. Life is just a place where we spend time between games."

Sounds about right...

Thankful...

Day 9
Today I'm thankful for all of the wonderful friends, experiences, and opportunities my love of hockey has brought into my life.

Hockey Life...

Here's what I did yesterday between 8am and 4pm:


Keeper Boy had a game at Point B at 10:45am (needing to be there by 9:45). J-Mav had a game at Point C at 2pm (needing to be there at 1). We knew there was no way we could all do both, and Hubby needed to be at J-Mav's game since he's an official Assistant Coach on that team. So I took Keeper Boy. He had a great game in net, after which we stopped for a quick lunch and then headed down to see some of J-Mav's game.

Had I realized it would take more than two hours to get to Point C, I likely would've just headed home. But it was J-Mav's first travel game, and I really wanted to be there!

We did not go back the way we came because there was a charity walk going on in Baltimore (which we hit the beginning of going TO the rink), a home Ravens game, AND a home Redskins game. Instead we went out Rte 70 and down route 15. Beautiful day for a drive... Unfortunately by the time I got to the two-lane part of Rte. 15, we were behind some folks who were ONLY out for the lovely drive. They didn't appear to need to be anywhere anytime soon. :-(

Long story short, we made it to Point C with about 10 minutes left in the game, and saw J-Mav score a goal. I guess that made it worth it, but man was I tired by the time I made it back to Point A!

Heard...

J-Mav played in net on Saturday for his first Mite game of the Spring hockey season. At the Mite level, they actually use goalies, but few teams have a dedicated goalie. So they just issue a "keeper kit" to each team, and the players take turns in net. J-Mav went first.



After the game:

Me: Did you have fun playing goalie?
J-Mav: Kinda, yeah.
Me: So, do you want to be a goalie?
J-Mav: No way.
Me (in my head): Yessssss!

Exhausted

I think I've spent the entire day in my truck! Not really, but it seems like it...

7am-1pm: Sat at dining room table working on a proposal

1pm-1:20pm: Took a shower

1:30-2:30pm: Drove to doctor's office for pre-op blood work; stopped at CVS to get preventative antibiotic and (hopefully unnecessary) Percoset prescriptions filled

2:40pm-3pm: Picked Keeper Boy up from school and drove him to the doctor for his annual well-check

3-4:15pm: At the doctor's office... Keeper Boy has gained 10 pounds in the past year... woo hoo!

4:15-5:30: Run home real quick, then drive Justin to appointment at the mall to get his hair cut

5:45: Almost home; hubby called from the rink to say he and J-Mav forgot J-Mav's helmet (they were at the rink for spring travel hockey try-outs)

6-6:45pm: Drive to the rink, slow down enough outside to hand the helmet out the window to Hubby, and drive back home

6:45-now (almost 8pm): Supervise Keeper Boy doing his homework, work more on the proposal, and make dinner

I'm ready for bed! Unfortunately, I still have more work to do... and I need to get on the treadmill.

I'm ALMOST looking forward to my surgery and the post-Percoset nap on Friday!!

Thankful...

Day 27
... for our "hockey family."

FB status

Kirstin Mathers Mercer oh look! the only other car on the road at this time of the morning also has a hockey magnet on the back. go figure. on the way to Jack's 6am game.

10/23/10, 5:35am

Hockey, hockey, hockey

It's normal for us to be busy with hockey and spend half of our lives at one rink or another; however, this week takes it to another level completely! It's worse for Hubby since he does most of the running to hockey practice, but residually, I try to get home earlier to feed the troops. Check out this week's schedule!

Monday - J-Mav has hockey practice from 6 - 7:20pm, and Hubby and I have a parent meeting for about 15 minutes at the end of practice. At this meeting I think Hubby is going to presented as the new coach of J-Mav's team. :)

Tuesday - Keeper Boy has off-ice conditioning from 6:30 - 7:30pm and practice from 7:30 - 8:50pm. Hubby helps with the off-ice part of the practice.

Wednesday - Hubby has a hockey game. This is not normal... he usually plays on Sundays or Mondays; however, it's the end of their "summer" season and the hockey director is trying to shuffle ice times and squeeze everyone's games in.

Thursday - Keeper Boy has off-ice conditioning from 6:30 - 7:30pm and practice from 7:30 - 8:50pm.

Friday - Keeper Boy has a scrimmage at 6:20pm. This was just scheduled over the weekend. We were supposed to have friends over to watch the Caps' season opener. Had to cancel that. :-(

Saturday - J-Mav has his first game at 7:30am. Keeper Boy has a game at 7:40pm.

Sunday - Keeper Boy has a game at Noon in Maryland.

Repeat (except for the Wednesday game and the Friday practice.)

I'll say it again... it's a good thing we like hockey (and that we have a crockpot)!

It was bound to happen... I'm surprised it took 8 years!

So Keeper Boy has his first hockey-related injury; first sports-related injury at all, actually. He has a hairline fracture in his left pinky finger. That's his catch glove hand.

He sustained the injury on Wednesday night, while simultaneously attempting to catch a football thrown by his coach and elude his teammate (the other goalie), who was trying to keep him from getting open for the catch. This was an actual drill and it was fun to watch. Not necessarily as useful for the goalies as for the skaters, but they were having fun, too. Anyway, Keeper Boy hurt his finger. I was actually taking a video of it on my Blackberry for Hubby (who was away on business) when it happened and you can see him shaking his hand a little. But it wasn't enough that I even noticed anything was wrong at the time.

He finished practice, and told me that night his finger hurt. The next morning he said it still hurt. It was a little swollen, but barely. I ran out at lunch and picked him up a finger splint, and he participated fully in practice that night. Friday morning, he said it wasn't feeling any better. So after school on Friday, I took him to the urgent care (after the high school's homecoming parade that he didn't want to miss because all the groups throw out candy to the spectators... so it obviously wasn't painful enough to be an emergency!).

The doctor there took an x-ray and said he thinks it's a hairline fracture right above the top joint of his pinky. But he's not 100% positive. He wants us to take him to see an orthopedic doctor. I asked what would be done if the fracture is confirmed. As I suspected, the answer was really nothing other than what we've already done. He recommended that he not play until after we've seen the ortho doc though. While this is annoying because we know there is nothing to be done for the finger other than a splint, we also don't want him to go back in net too soon and have something flukey happen and have him really break his finger!

So, he went to practice this morning, but participated only in the skating drills. And he, unfortunately, is missing a two-day goalie clinic this weekend because of the finger. He will go to practice again tomorrow morning, but it's a scrimmage, so I guess he'll just sit on the bench and help open and close the door. Not much else he can do.

And first thing Monday morning, I'll try to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor, so he or she can confirm the fracture, tell us how long to keep the splint on, and tell us when he can play again. Because at this point, that's really all he or she can do. Oh, and probably charge us/our insurance an arm and a leg to give us that golden piece of information. Sigh.

Thinking...

We're minutes away from a long, hockey-less summer...

I guess it's been awhile...

OK, OK. I know. I have been slacking off on the blog... Here's some stuff that's been going on lately...

Baseball
Keeper Boy's baseball season actually ended today, one game shy of the championship game. They went out in spectacular style... a 13-1 loss. Ouch. While he hasn't complained (too much), it's been a frustrating baseball season for him and for us. He joined an already formed Majors team as a 12-year-old. That means he had only one season on the team before he aged out. Some kids have two or three years on a Majors team if they get drafted as 10- or 11-year-olds. Don't know if it was a matter of not wanting to make the investment in a player they'd have for only one year, whether it was a matter of baseball playing second fiddle to hockey for Keeper Boy, whether it was a matter of Keeper Boy being one of only a couple "new guys" on the team, or whether it was something else... but he played the minimum required time for Majors (2 innings; 1 at bat) in EVERY game this season but two. And in those he got three innings in one and four innings in one. Long story short, I think Keeper Boy's desire to play baseball has been severely curtailed through his experience this year, and it's a shame. I am very glad this season is over and I hope that some day he might want to try baseball again because he does have some talent.

J-Mav is having a great Single A season. He still has four games left. He's figured out the pitching machine and is getting hits in every game. In Single A the kids play all positions, so he's getting exposure to all of them. He is loving baseball (except when the pollen is really bad) and I hope that he can stick with his coach next year. He's great!

Speaking of allergies...
J-Mav was hit hard with allergies this year. Apparently the pollen is worse than it's been in 12 years. He was a MESS in April and through most of May. It seems to have gotten better now. I don't know if it's because the pollen counts are lower or if it's because the medicine regime is working. The doctor has him taking two 30mg Allegra pills in the morning and one at night, as well as antihistimine eye drops twice a day and prescription nose drops as needed. He also uses a Neti Pot sometimes. Poor guy. For a few weeks he didn't even want to go to baseball practice/games because his eyes hurt/itched so much. :-(

Other medical issues...
J-Mav has been dealing with a pesky case of ring worm for MONTHS. The actual rash/scaley stuff went away within a week of going on prescription cream. However, there are still a few red bumps so we continue to use the cream religiously twice a day, keeping it covered with a bandaid when he goes to school (as we were told to do by the doctor until it is completely gone). We have graduated from extremely large bandages at the beginnig, to regular sized bandaids, to the small bandaids he is using now. We are dredging the bottom of the bandaid barrel, using up all the random bandaids we have collected over the past 12 years. I think he's even worn a Sesame Street bandaid or two over the past couple of months. We'll always remember "the ring worm era" of J-Mav's life by the ever-present bandaid in all pictures taken of him from March until now. He has his 7-year well check in mid-July, so I guess we'll just keep using the cream until then and be sure to ask the doctor about it at that time. We were warned it could take a long time to completely clear up, but this is kinda bordering on ridiculous...

Hockey
J-Mav started hockey!! He's taking a learn-to-play hockey class and is all grins when he's on the ice. He'll be taking seven lessons (he's already had two) through the summer, and he will be playing on a Mites team in the fall. He looks so cute in his uniform. :)

Keeper Boy played the spring season with a great group of kids, competing in two tournaments: one in Richmond and one in Philly. The Philly tournament was over Memorial Day weekend. His team ended up winning its division and bringing home a big trophy. Woo hoo! There were three other teams in our division: a doormat team that scored, I think, one goal through the entire tournament; a thug team from New York; and a well-behaved, competitive team from New Jersey (the team we ended up facing in the finals). While playing the one team, our coach told our kids they had to pass at least three times before taking a shot, and Keeper Boy and our other goalie went almost entire periods without seeing the puck cross the blue line into their end. At any rate, the kids had fun (except for the one who broke his arm during the first game), and it was a good introduction to the world of checking for those who are new to Pee Wee level hockey. Keeper Boy will be playing with some of the kids from his spring team in the fall, so it was good to get to know their families over that weekend.

The hotel we stayed in in Philly is a whole 'nother story. It was a Quality Inn that is in the process of being renovated into a Wyndham Gardens Hotel. We checked in with little fanfare (once we figure out where to get into the hotel... construction had the front entrance inacessible); however, when we returned to our hotel that night after our first game, we were met with water streaming down our walls and out of the light fixture in the bathroom into the bathtub. That wasn't something we wanted to deal with all night, so we went downstairs to request another room. We discovered that the toilet in the room above us (one of Keeper Boy's teammate's familes) had overflowed while we were all at the hockey game. Great. Not just waterfalls within our room, but TOILET water falls. Ick. We got a new room, but it was a King bed instead of two doubles. Of course, this is the one time we didn't throw in a sleeping bag. Had to wait for a cot to be delivered. By the time we were all set up, it was after 10pm. Late night for J-Mav! Our room was fine after that, but we weren't impressed with the hotel for a variety of reasons. I won't even waste time talking about them, but I was moved to write a review on TripAdvisor.com. It's never good to piss off someone who likes to write letters. ;-P

Braces!
Keeper Boy FINALLY got his braces in April. He had relatively little trouble adjusting. I think he took Motrin for two days after he got them, and ate mainly soup, pasta, and mac & cheese for about a week. Since then, completely normal. And we've already seen a big change in his top teeth! Good thing because OMFG! Braces are WAY more expensive than when Hubby and I wore them many moons ago!

School
Eh. Not much new to report. Same old struggles. Keeper Boy did bring his Math grade up from a D (yes, he had a D for the second quarter) to a C and everything else back up to As and Bs. We're hoping for all As and Bs for the last quarter. We'll see. He has MUCH room for improvement in his study habits.

J-Mav is doing well in school. His reading has improved enormously since the beginning of the year, as has his writing. And he likes school most days. The attitude toward school is directly proportional to how tired he is. More tired=less enamored with school and with his teacher.

Weight Watchers
Yeah, not even going there. Let's just say I have A LOT of clothes in my closet that I can't wear right now. :-(

Hockey, Part II
The Capitals. Sigh. We had such high hopes that we'd be sitting here watching the Capitals in the Stanley Cup finals. But alas, instead I'm sitting here watching the Flyers (which I guess, for me, is the second best scenario) and Blackhawks. The Captials just couldn't get it done against the Habs. I guess the only thing that makes it slightly better is that the Habs also took out the Penguins.

We did hear late last week that the Caps will be playing in the Winter Classic (in Pittsburgh) on January 1, 2011. That's very cool. We entertained the idea -- for about a second -- of making a hotel reservation and trying to get tickets. But we quickly came to our senses and realized we'd be a lot more comfortable sitting in our own rec room. And we'd save A LOT of money. So that's the plan. Perhaps we'll try to go when DC hosts it, which apparently is also in the works for sometime in the next three to five years. Not quite sure how THAT's going to work since some years it's in the 60s over new years. This past year would've been perfect, though! Guess the NHL takes it chances...

Work
In other news, I quit my job at ManTech. My last day was May 24... almost exactly a month shy of a year there. Weird to leave a job so soon after I started, but it just wasn't the same job I took those 11 months ago. Re-orgs (yes, multiple) and executive management changes just weren't making me very happy to go to work every day.

I wasn't completely miserable, and I could've stuck it out, but I had an oppoturnity to take a position as Corporate Communication Manager at a small government contractor... Zimmerman Associates, Inc. I have been there a week and so far, so good. :) I will still be working in proposals, but I will also be working with website content and marketing material... much like I did when I first started at Datatrac all those years ago. :-) I am in the process of creating and implementing standards for proposals, style, editing, etc. Stuff I love! :)

Grandpa
When we were in the Philly area for the hockey tournament over Memorial Day weekend, we went to visit my grandfather. Well, first, J-Mav and I went with Mom and Dad to Grandpa's house. I wanted to visit it as I haven't been there in more than 20 years. I have such good memories of gathering there with my dad's side of the family every Thanksgiving, up until the year after my grandmother died. I remember the house being big, with a big yard. The thing is, it's not really so big! My dad pointed out that it seemed big because I was smaller. That's probably true. He said my next-oldest cousin had the same thought when he visited a few months ago.

I wandered through the house, which my parents and my aunts and uncles have been working on going through and boxing up since my grandfather moved into the assisted living facility. It was dark and seemingly stuck in the 50s or 60s. But it was much as I remembered it... except for the not being as big as I remembered it. J-Mav thought it was cool that my Dad had a bedroom in the attic and was very concerned that the floor was "tilty" in various parts of the house. He was fascinated with the sunroom for some reason. I finally saw the basement and wine cellar. In all my years, I had never been in that basement. I took some pictures of the outside when we left. It definitely needs some work, inside and out, but it's still my grandparents' home and the house my dad grew up in. J-Mav said it looked like a haunted house. That may be, but I think any ghosts that are there are the good kind. :-) That visit makes me want to go back and walk through my other grandparents' home again, just to see what the new owners have done with it. It was also a big, cool house.

On Sunday, Hubby, Keeper Boy, J-Mav, and I visited Grandpa between Keeper Boy's hockey games. We spent a little over an hour with him. He was eating lunch when we arrived. The man can put away some food! I went and said hello and told him we'd sit in the TV area and wait for him to finish because I didn't want him to not eat because we were there. I'm not sure he recognized me right off the bat. We took him down to his room after he was done, but not before a woman came over and told Hubby that he was very handsome and she loved him. :-) Did I mention my grandfather lives in the memory unit of his assisted living facility?

We took him down to his room, which is very nice. The whole place is nice, actually. It's in a residential area and it has a homey feel. Even the dining area looks and feels like a super-sized dining room in someone's home. Very nice. Anyway, we took him to his room and he was telling us how the restaurant has "gone down hill" and that they'd been going there for years and it just wasn't the same anymore. We played along. Then we started looking at some pictures that were displayed and at that point he definitely knew who I was, and he made the connection between the pictures of the boys and the boys standing in front of him. Keeper Boy and J-Mav did great with him. They didn't seem scared or put off by anything or the fact that he was in a wheelchair. We had warned them that great-grandpa might not recognize us, so they were prepared.

The TV had been on when we went in, I had my back to it most of the time. After a while, Keeper Boy made an interesting face and we realized it was on E! and the show that was on was Kendra... a reality show about a former Playboy bunny. We asked grandpa if he was watching it, and he said he never watches TV, so we turned it off. Didn't think the boys needed to be seeing it, though they might have disagreed. :-) Anyway, we looked at all of his pictures and talked about who was in them. And then we gave him a couple more that we'd brought. He seemed to like them -- he flipped through them multiple times, either to look at the again, or because he didn't remember seeing them a few seconds before... not sure which -- and made comments about how the boys are both so tall. Eventually we had to leave to get back to the rink, but it was great to see him and he looked good.

Summer
I think we're mostly organized for summer. We're renting a lake house with friends in late July. Keeper Boy is going to sleepaway camp in early August. J-Mav is doing the same camp in early July, but as a daycamper. He's not ready to go away for a week yet. He's a homebody. They're spending a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house in PA, and a week at Grandma's house in OH. Keeper Boy is doing tennis camp and is on the waiting list for an adventure camp. He's also doing a half-day, week-long camp as a sort of orientation to middle school at the end of August. J-Mav will be spending time with the same wonderful girl who watched the boys last summer, as well as a week with the college-aged daughter of family friends. They'll be busy all summer and I think it'll be a good one! The boys and I are also meeting my college roommate and her kids for a weekend at Knoebel's Grove. We're all looking forward to that!

I'm done...
OK... that's all I can think of for now.

Heard...

I came home from a weekend away last night around dinner time. J-Mav wanted to show me his new hockey helmet and stick that he got yesterday in preparation for his learn-to-play hockey clinic, which starts next weekend. He put his helmet on and assumed a "ready" stance with his stick (in the middle of the kitchen). I said, "you look just like a hockey player!"

He straightened up, looked me in the eye, and said in quite an annoyed manner, "I AM a hockey player."

My bad.

It had to happen sometime...

So last night Keeper Boy had a game. He was in net. Against his team from last year (the first of four during the season). With his good friend K in net for the other team.

Keeper Boy didn't seem to be nervous at all. He didn't really want to play against K; he'd have rather played against the other goalie on the team. The one who displaced him from that team. But that's not the way it worked out. What are ya gonna do?

While the 6-2 losing score wouldn't necessarily indicate it, Keeper Boy had a spectacular game. I wasn't sure how he'd do, but after he made a great save on the first shot he faced (the first of 42... yes, that's FORTY-TWO... as opposed to our team's 8), I knew he was fine. He was ON.

He made lots of great saves and the general concensus was that the score would've been a lot worse had Keeper Boy not kept the team in the game. Usually when other parents say that to me, I smile, but don't necessarily agree. But last night, I did. He really did have a great game. I was very proud of him.

So after the game, what did we do? We brought K (the opposing goalie) home with us for a sleepover and to hang out today. I don't think they stopped talking except when they were sleeping.

Sometimes friendship trumps rivalry. :-)

Weekend update...

Soccer! Hockey! Uncle Hooter! Huh?

Hubby's little brother acquired the nickname "Hooter" many years ago. I won't go into the whole story, but it's a funny one. :-) Anyway, he had to report back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) on Friday for a follow-up on his surgery last month. He checked in and proceeded to journey over to our house for the weekend. Needless to say, the boys were THRILLED!

But before the weekend of sports, we put Uncle Hooter to work. He and Hubby assembled J-Mav's new bed... the bed that came with the enourmously-less-than-helpful instructions... the bed we tried to assemble LAST weekend and couldn't even figure out where to start. Frustrating to say the least. Anyway, Hubby and Uncle Hooter figured it out and built a beautiful new bed for J-Mav. Yay! One step closer to the completion of the room makeover. :-)

Next on the agenda was J-Mav's soccer game. Due to it being a Jewish holiday, our roster was quite short. Of our 11 players, we had only six. But we made due and Uncle Hooter got a kick out of watching J-Mav play. J-Mav, knowing that Uncle Hooter played soccer all the up through college, even asked for some tips and pointers (and listened when they were given to him)!

From the soccer the field, we went directly to the hockey rink. Uncle Hooter, J-Mav, and I were able to partake in the organization's annual picnic prior to going inside to see Keeper Boy's team play. They were playing a team from Ashburn for which a few of Justin's former teammates play this year. It wasn't Keeper Boy's turn in the rotation, so he got to keep stats and watch, and I got to sit and talk to friends we hadn't seen in awhile. Keeper Boy's team won.

After the game we went to dinner with great friends (the family of one of the kids on the opposing hockey team) and had a fabulous time catching up while watching VA Tech win a great football game. Good times.

This morning Keeper Boy had hockey practice at 6am! Yeah, I didn't go. Neither did Uncle Hooter. Nor did J-Mav. There was some Rock Band competition, some chores, and some lunch. Then we all trekked up to Frederick, MD for another hockey game. Keeper Boy was in net and had a really good game! The whole team played awesome... for the first two periods. Then I think the 6am practice kicked in. There was a lot of standing around and not a lot of skating. We ended up losing by one goal that was scored in the last few minutes of the game. Kind of a heart breaker.

Went to dinner after the game (thanks, Uncle Hooter!) and then Uncle Hooter headed back to WRAMC and we headed home. The kids are in bed, Hubby has gone off to play hockey (his third rink of the day), and I am flipping between the Emmy Awards and the football game. Neither are really holding my interest.

We're all looking forward to having Uncle Hooter back with us next weekend!

Oh Where, Oh Where Has my Summer Time Gone?

Seems like it was just yesterday that I quit my job and had two glorious work-free weeks that coincided with the boys' last two weeks of school. And then we had the WHOLE summer before us with fun plans and things to do. And now it's done. Wow, that was quick! I did the summer wrap-up a few weeks ago. Here's what's happened since then...

Hershey Tournament
So the tournament wasn't great for Keeper Boy's new team. Three losses; one win. However, the coaching staff learned a lot about what worked and what didn't. (There was a lot to learn considering the team had exactly zero practices prior to the tournament). We had a great time and got to know the new hockey family. And, my aunt, uncle, and cousin surprised us by showing up at the game the day after I wrote from the tournament. It was their first ever live hockey game! Good times!

School
We're in week 2 and all is well as far as I know. J-Mav loves his teacher (he does magic!). And Keeper Boy isn't too overloaded with homework... yet. He did have a writing assignment on the second day of school, which didn't make him too happy. But he did well... at least on his second attempt, when he actually put some thought into it. J-Mav's Back-to-School Night is tonight; Keeper Boy's is October 1.

9|11
Eight years?!? Unbelievable. Remember that day like it was yesterday.

J-Mav's Room
Progress came to a screeching halt when the bed was delivered as we couldn't make heads nor tails out of the instructions for assembly. After sending an email to the company (and getting a response that basically said, "the instructions that came with the bed are sufficient to put it together") and then speaking to a representative from the company, we're going to try again this weekend. I mean, we didn't even know where to START! I believe I could make serious money re-writing assembly instructions for companies such as this one... if only these companies would realize/admit that their instructions SUCK!

Football!!
The NFL regular season has started. Woo hoo!! Both the Eagles and Cowboys won in Week 1, which makes our house a happy place. Keeper Boy is playing in a fantasy football league with his Godmother/my BFF (through her office). Keeper Boy named his team the Deadskins... I'm sure not a popular choice with Godmother's co-workers, who are likely mostly Redskins fans.

Hockey!!
The Caps are in training camp. I am attending a pre-season game with BFF next week. Yay!! There was a big article on the team's three goalies on the front page of the Sports section in the Post yesterday. Regular season starts in less than a month!!

School Band/Rock Band
Keeper Boy has switched instruments... he played clarinet last year, and did well. However, he didn't enjoy it. He had zippo interest in continuing with said instrument and was ready to quit band. He had always expressed an interest in percussion and, after seeing him rock the drums while playing Rock Band over the summer, we asked (with great trepidation) if he'd like to see if he could switch to percussion and stay in the band. His eyes lit up like Christmas trees and last night I signed a rental agreement for a "bell kit" (practice drum pad and bell set... basically a xylophone). Lord help me.

End-of-Summer Wrap-Up

Haven't posted in awhile...

Keeper Boy, J-Mav, and I went to the shore last week. A good time was had by all (after the remnants of the hurricane passed through the night we got there). We were busy for almost all of the five days we were there, and we all came home a few shades darker. Mom and I hit the annual sidewalk sale in Stone Harbor and did some Christmas shopping. The boys and I went to the beach/ocean one day. We visited with my grandfather, aunt, and uncle one afternoon and had dinner with them and went on a boat ride. We went to the Ocean City boardwalk one day and rented a surrey and walked the boards. And we hung out at the lake at the campground. Good times. Great weather.

We got home at midnight this past Wednesday, went to open house at J-Mav's school Thursday morning to meet his teacher for this year, did laundry and re-packed. Thursday night we left for Hershey, where we are at a hockey tournament with Keeper Boy's new team. We arrived late Thursday night, spent yesterday at Hershey Park and Chocolate World, and played two games today. We went 1 and 1 today, and we have a game tomorrow and one on Monday. The game tomorrow was the first time this group has ever played together in a game situation, and it showed. They lost 6-1 with Keeper Boy in net, but he played well and I like to think that his play helped a lot in keeping the score to just 6. He got the hard hat for the game for being the hardest working player, so that was cool. I know he just really wanted to play well and not let the guys down in his first game with them. We're getting to know all the new names and faces. Again. But it's all good. Seems like a great group of kids and a great group of coaches and parents.

Bonus for today was that my cousin D and her hubby G came out for the game. The EARLY game at 7:45am!! That's some good family! It was great to see them, AND they're coming back for tomorrow's game! Yay!!

Let's see... some random items...

• D and G are totally rocking Weight Watchers!! I didn't recognize them when they walked into the rink today! They've both dropped several clothing sizes and are still going!!
  
• Keeper Boy had his first "major" accident on his bike while we were at the campground... the pedal fell off his bike, and so did he. He got pretty scraped up.
  
• We got Keeper Boy on four roller coasters at Hershey Park yesterday, and -- more surprisingly -- we got J-Mav on three!
  
• My grandfather is still totally awesome at 96 years old; however, I was sad to see a marked decline from the last time I saw him. :-(
  
• Our Godson was almost totally back to normal just a week after his appendectomy. Kids are so adaptable!
  
• J-Mav is getting a room makeover. Hubby pulled up the carpet and laid laminate flooring, painted the walls, and put up new trim and baseboards. We are waiting for the new bed to be delivered. It's looking good!
  
• I can't believe summer is over and school starts on Tuesday.
  

Happy Labor Day!!

Heard...

So Keeper Boy's new hockey team sports a girl. She is a very good hockey player, and during this afternoon's game she was excellent. Apparently during intermission the head coach said to the team, "I want you all to play like a girl!" Silence. "Because SHE's getting it done." Or something similar. You go, girl!