well, we just wound down from a big hockey weekend. we had a tourament out of town and i think the kids and the parents all had a great time (except for the parents whose cars wouldn't start sunday morning, thanks to our negative twentysomething weather). anyway, the kids have all improved so much over the course of the year---it's totally rewarding to watch them play. Big J scored a hat trick (3 goals) his first game. that's him raising his hand in the air in the first picture. not to be outdone, little J followed his example and had a hat trick in his first game, too. he's got the 86 on the back of his jersey in photo #2. all in all, Big J had six goals and Little J had four. Big J's team played the toughest team in the state and did a heck of a job. they didn't win, but i've never seen his team play so hard. and this year, it's nice to see that he can handle a loss without getting upset. and little J--even when his team gets clobbered he's got a funny little math system that somehow puts them on top every time. and i'm just not going to take that away from him :)

i have to be honest. when we started this whole hockey thing a couple years ago, i was fairly reluctant. we have the commute every week, and the rink is freezing, the gear they wear is just nuts and the games mess up our weekends. now, though, i have to say i love it. i love getting to know all the kids and watching my husband coach them. i love meeting new friends through the parents of the kids. i never thought i'd be a mom who "yelled" for the team, but i do. i get into it just like everyone else. and staying overnight at a hotel with many other hockey families was fun. i like to laugh, and i laughed a lot on saturday night.

we have our last tournament next weekend. wish the marlins luck--we meet up with the "tough" team once again for a re-match. i'm not sure who's more excited, the parents or the kids. i'll let you know how it all turns out...