WCHA Turnement

Hockey, hockey, hockey! Last weekend was the WCHA tournament in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center. We got seats up on the top of the arena on the bar rail with our friends Jon and Denise's extended family, except they didn't come to Thursday's games.

We only purchased two seats for the games, so Adam and Eli got to sit on our laps, but with the bar table in front of us it wasn't too bad. We were watching the second game of the evening and Adam noticed the emcee sitting near our seats. He asked why he wasn't talking to us, and I said I didn't know, maybe he would. Next thing I new we were being handed bags full of Kellogs products and the emcee was standing by us trying to get Adam to talk to him so he could be on the big screen in the middle of the arena. Adam chickened out, but it was still fun!

Eli was go-go-go for the majority of the games. He wanted to go see the statue of Charlie Brown or run away. On our last visit to Charlie Brown Eli got up to give him a hug. He leaned in for a hug and when he was still hugging leaning on him a while later I thought maybe he was finally getting tired. I got down to ask him how he was doing and I got a response  "Charlie poopy." Oh really, Eli, Charlie needs a diaper change and Eli agreed he needed one too. 

During the intermission between the second and third period they dimmed the lights and both Adam and Eli both finally stopped moving and settled in to cuddle with mom and dad. We got to hold our kids while they slept during the third period and the game was so intense we didn't want to leave as it went into overtime. Dave's back was getting sore and so was mine so we transferred Adam to a bunch of coats on the floor and then took turns holding Eli for the rest of the game. Eli woke up during our last transfer and about 2 seconds later Colorado scored a goal. We were packing up our stuff and they announced the play was under review. We got to the stairs and beat the crowds out as they announced North Dakota lost because the CC goal stood. We had to walk almost a mile to get to our car and carry the crabby monsters, needless to say our arms were sore the next day.

Friday the boys went with us to the afternoon game, but in between games we did tailgating and my dad showed up to take the boys back to my parents house. When we got back to the tailgate after putting them in my dad's care Dave and I were smiling ear to ear. Our friends Denise and Jon said it looked like a weight had been lifted when we handed the boys over. They slept in the car and then both went right back to sleep at my parents house and slept for 12 hours. Hockey had exhausted them and they needed some sleep.

Saturday Dave and I got several house projects done during the day and right before dinner time we drove back into the cities picked up the boys from grandma and grandpa's house and went to the championship game. Again we had fun spending time with our friends Jon and Denise and their eldest son Nathaniel (Josh is a little younger than Eli and didn't go with).

Parents Gone Wild

Several of my friends ran in the Get Lucky 7k race in Minneapolis last year for St. Patrick's Day. Right away I new it was a race I wanted to do the following year. Dave found a great deal on a hotel and then I somehow convinced him to run the race too.

We shipped our boys off to grandma and grandpa's house and got to have dinner with our good friends late Friday night. The weather was so cold compared to the unseasonable highs of 80 degrees last year. I think it was 15 degrees on Saturday with a blistering wind that bit something fierce. We decided to walk up to the race an hour early with our friends.  And after standing around freezing for a while we smuggled ourselves into a hotel right at the start of the race to warm up with a our big green tutus.

I left the group to get into with the 9:30 minute pacer staging area. From what I've heard the Get Lucky is the largest road race in Minnesota. Almost 10,000 people ran the 7k in Minneapolis and 2,600 people ran the half in St. Paul. They started us in waves and I debated starting with the 10 minute group, but really I should have been with the 9 minute pace. Right away when I crossed the start line people in front of me were walking. The road was slick from the little snow that fell the night before and then I had to dodge non-runners. I ran a pretty consistent 9 minute mile despite the road conditions, so I was happy! I finished in 39:42.

After the race Dave and I went on a lunch date despite my exhaustion. We've been doing a pretty good job of going on dates since he started his new job and went on shifts. It was nice to just be us and have good conversations. And the Guinness was refreshing. Then we got latte's and attempted to walk around the old Mill City area of Minneapolis where our race was, but the wind was still horrible and sent us walking back to the hotel.

After our date we met back up with our friends and went to a crazy crowded Irish Pub for beers, Irish Whiskey and dinner. We managed to scout out a table and hang out for a while before we headed to the Shout House- a piano bar that we frequented just after college pre-kids. There we ran into two other couples from Hutchinson that ran in the race (and have sons close to Adam's age). Then we ran into another 3M couple with a son Adam's age (they just happened to be in Minneapolis for a date night). We shouted over the music for hours before we headed to a dance club. Yes all of us- me being the youngest and not quite 30 went to a dance club! It was like college again- parents gone wild! And so much fun.

The next day I was so anxious to meet up with our little leprechauns.  I got a double hug at the top of my parents stairs- best hug of the weekend!

Hockey and Bowling Weekend

We had a weekend full of excitement March 1st through the 3rd (so I started this but waited a while to finish).  Friday night the boys and I went to a Musical The Jungle Book.  It was the third grade musical production. It was only an hour long and there was lots of dancing and singing to hold their attention. A wonderfully free way to expose my children to culture :)

Then on Saturday morning we packed up to go to St. Cloud for the Huskies hockey game.  The Michigan Tech Huskies took on the St. Cloud Huskies. We've been going to Huskie Hockey games with two other families since 2007 when the Twins were just little babies in baskets (carseats).  Now look how old they are- kindergartners! 

We stayed in a 'o-tel (Hotel) again this weekend. There was lots of time for hockey playing like the last time we went in 2011 (before Eli was born).

There was lots of hockey playing and this year I even got in to playing with the little and big boys. The main event was going to the real hockey game. This was the first time our group has watched Tech beat the St. Cloud Huskies (or the faux Huskies as I sometimes call them).  It was a very exciting game Tech won 5-1!

Then on Sunday we went to Thunder Alley Family Bowling event for the second time. Again Jon, Denise, Nate and Josh joined us, but this year we had two lanes reserved. One for the four boys and one for the adults. It was Josh and Eli's first time bowling and they did great. The boys used a ramp to push their ball down the lane and the bumpers, but they still needed a little help from mom and dad. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Rub a Dub- 2 Boys in da Tub

Bubble baths are so much fun!