Spring Ahead

It was time to change the clocks ahead this weekend which has resulted in some pretty tired, let me emphasize t i r e d, kids at our house.  The drag only lasts a couple days, thankfully.

In addition to the time change, we also had a change in weather which means no more snow in the yard!!!  We brought out the scooters, bikes, and helmets from storage on Sunday so all the neighborhood kids were ready to hit the cul-de-sac after school yesterday.  It didn't take long for one of the kids to acquire the first road rash of the season.  Paige was doing tricks on the scooter and wiped out.  It happens.  A quick spray of cleaning solution and a massive band-aid and she was ready to hit the pavement again...well, a little less literally this time!

So in addition to being tired from the stolen hour of sleep, they were now extra tired from running around, biking, riding scooters, playing cul-de-sac hockey, digging in the sandbox, and using the swingset.  Blake and Paige decided it would be a good idea to relax and watch a movie after they came in the house.  When I called them up for supper, Blake sits down and casually says that Paige is sleeping in the duck box (our family room blanket storage/coffee table).  "She's sleeping in the duck box?"  To which he replies, "Don't worry Mom, the lid is open."

Oh, I wasn't worried, but I did need to get a picture since this is, quite unbelievably, the first time one of the kids has actually fallen asleep while playing in the duck box.

Blake "The Puck"

River Lakes Stars Mites - Blue Team

To say that Blake loves hockey would be an understatement.  He loves to watch hockey, play hockey, talk about hockey, write about hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey.  And the neat thing is that he is pretty good at it too!  This makes me happy because I was never even remotely good at any type of athletic activity.  I tried, I had fun, but I was never good.  So it is great to know that even when he decides that he has had his fill of organized hockey, he will be one heck of a skater forever.

A game at the Hutchinson Jamboree.

This past weekend was the final jamboree for both Blake and Paige. Paige's games were on Saturday and Blake's were on Sunday.  We stayed overnight at a hotel with several other hockey families on Saturday.  The kids swam in the pool, ate pizza, ate snacks, played Wii, watched movies, and stayed up way too late.  We parents watched the kids have fun while having a few beverages and stayed up even later than the kids.  Everyone had a great time hanging out, getting to know each other better, and telling some ridiculously funny stories.

Hanging out between periods.

It was a genuinely good time with friends, family, and a super group of kids.  It was a hyped up end to a fun-filled season which included home and away games, lots of practices and skills nights, playing a mini-game between periods at an SCSU hockey game, backyard games, outdoor rink games, basement shinny games, and just a few games of Big Buck Hunter at Grizzly's and Buffalo Wild Wings!

The team waiting semi-patiently to get on the ice.

Paige "The Stick"

Game Face?

The regular youth hockey season officially ended last weekend. And, I must admit that I am a little sad.  I won't have to wait long for the next hockey related activity to begin (about 2 weeks) but this season just seemed to fly by.  Blake has been playing for River Lakes for three years, but this is Paige's first year.  My super fantastic husband did the majority of the work since he was a coach on both of their teams.  I will emphasize that driving them to practice and the occasional game is no small task given that between the two hockey players there was generally practice 4 days a week.  Also, since we live nowhere near the rink, a 1 hour practice takes nearly 3 hours from the time you start getting gear ready to the time you get back home.  And I know that non-hockey families think we are just about as crazy as you can get, but we love it.  What a great way to spend time with your kids!

    

                            

She even gets the puck on her stick from time to time!

Paige went from looking like Bambi out on the ice to being a pretty good little skater.  She never complained or whined when it was time to go to practice.  And, she put her own gear on, minus the helmet and skates, from day one!  I have said it before, but I'll say it again, I can't get over what a great attitude our funky monkey has.  I am so excited to see where that go-getter spirit is going to take her.  

This picture makes me laugh.

Odds are that the puck will make it into the goal, eventually.

Their were a total of five girls on her team so it was fun to see the interactions that resulted from the sudden influx of pink tape, pink laces, and ponytails on the ice.  My favorite was when I walked into this serious conversation between Paige and "the girls" and Joshua (one of her teammates) and "the boys".  

Paige - "Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars and boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider."  

Joshua - "And then at our next practice, boys go to Mars to get more candy bars and girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider."

Paige - "Yep."

Joshua - "Ok."

Then they all turn and head out on to the ice.  So cool.

Who knows...maybe a goalie?

Here I go again...

Well, I must say it has become incredibly apparent to me that intrinsic forces are much more motivating for me than extrinsic.  My wonderful family and friends of both the immediate and extended varieties have been giving me a hard time about not keeping up with my blog the last several months (perhaps an understatement).  Yet, I still couldn't bring myself to get back in the saddle. 

One thing that I realized about my blog, shortly after I started writing it, was that I was doing it more for me and less for you.  Huh?  I love to write.  It is therapeutic and fun and gives me a chance to really think about the silly little things that happen in our lives.  It also happens to be great to have people that like to share the journey by reading my entries.  It isn't that we haven't had a ton of experiences to write about since last summer; in fact, I have a backlog in my brain of stories to share.   So, I can't say why I haven't been keeping up. 

Wait, actually, I can.  Since I feel like I do this for myself, I feel guilty taking time to sit at the computer, peruse pictures, write, and edit.  And when I say time, I mean time.  It takes me at LEAST twice as long to complete any given task than it should take an average human being (being a perfectionist has some major drawbacks).  Henry will readily confirm this as completely true and can include some colorful examples as well.  That being said, I am ready to take some "me" time and give "you"/"me" the blog back.  Clear as mud? 

Thanks to all my family and friends for the gentle prodding!

Take a Picture. It'll Last Longer.

Hey Baby, Say Cheese!

I have an adorable video clip of this too.  But alas, technology interferes and I cannot get it into my video editing software.  It consists of Blake saying (repeatedly) in a high pitched sing-song voice "Say cheese Honey.  Blake takin' yo pic-cha."

I love those moments when one of the kids says something that just makes me smile.  These moments often stem from a comment they make when they are mistaken, misunderstand, or are misunderstood.  But what makes me grin ear to ear is when I can understand where their misdirected reasoning is coming from.

I was driving with Blake and Paige on our way to St. Cloud the other day when this absolutely fantastic conversation took place.  First, Blake brings up the following topic out of no where.  He has obviously been thinking about this for awhile during the car ride.

Blake  "Flies must be REALLY smart."
Mom   "Why do you say that?"
Blake  "They have about a million lenses in their eyes.  It would be very difficult to get your brain to focus on all of that information at once."
Mom    "Yes, I guess that would be difficult."
Blake  "We only have two and sometimes that is a lot to concentrate on."

Blake then realizes that poor Paige has no idea what we are talking about since this is obviously something that you don't learn until 2nd grade science class.  So he takes it upon himself to share his vast knowledge on the subject.

Blake  "Paige, flies have a million lenses in their eyes but humans only have two."
Paige   "Oh."
Blake  "The lens in each eye is how you see.  It functions like a camera.  Except it doesn't really take a picture...Unless you have photographic memory.

Yep, there it was.  That wonderful moment where something your child says brings true joy because it is funny and innocent and thoughtful and so many other things all wrapped into one.

Blake   "Right Mom?"

I can't answer right now, I am still smiling.