Holy Name Hockey, Round 2

Today marked the first weekend of Holy Name Learn to Skate, the same program Tyler participated in last year. Anxious to get out on the ice, Tyler was quick to get dressed for class this weekend. Of course, it also helped that for his birthday he got hockey pants, stick, socks, and a garter belt! We've got a real player on our hands! (note the game face in the picture below)
Tyler started this year in the intermediate group-- no walkers in sight! He got right out on the ice and skated around in circles! I guess skating is like riding a bike-- you never forget how to skate!

One of Tyler's most favorite activities at the end of the class is to play "Catch Coach Steve". He gets right into it and skated his little heart out to reach out and grab the coach, even for a split second! The kids always end up tackling him in the end and bringing him down to the ice. Something you must know about Coach Steve? He wears shorts week in and week out on the ice. I can only imagine what it must be like on the ice in your bare skin!

A short video of Tyler's self imposed warm up! We can hardly wait to see what this season will bring!

The Big E

If you live in New England, you know what the Big E is. Since it is held the last two weeks of September, right around Tyler's birthday, we always try and schedule his party for a weekend the Big E is running. Since it runs for approximately 17 days, it is not hard to find time to travel down the road to West Springfield and visit the biggest fair in the East!



Every year there is a new item to be introduced. A few years back, it was fried Twinkies. Although I never tried one, I did divulge in a fried Snickers (totally recommend it!). This years to be had item? A Craz-E Burger. What is a Craz-E Burger? Glad you asked! A bacon cheeseburger, flanked on either side by a Krispy Kreme buttered doughnut. Wow!



My dad and Frank had planned for weeks to track this diet marvel down and partake in one! Shortly after we arrived at the Big E, and found Tyler a suitable lunch (Nuggets and fries, of course), we headed down the rows of food to find the one booth that would cook a mean Craz-E Burger. The thing about the Big E? Most people go to eat-- there is no shortage of food and the booths that serve it! Luckily it did not take us long to spot this oasis:

My dad and Frank patiently waited in the line to order the $5.00 heart attack special (1500 calories if you are wondering).

The guinea pigs.

A close up of this delight. I must say delight because my curiosity got the best of me. I had to try a bite and you know what? It wasn't bad! A whole one though would be another story!

After the boys were all fed, it was time to feed the ladies. In our wandering around looking for this burger we saw many people eating very large corn dogs. Since it had been years since my last one, I figured it was safe to try one. In this picture I am eating the medium one. They were all out of the large size.... needless to say after a few bites the novelty had worn off!

Granpy did his part for Tyler and showed him a good time in the petting zoo. Tyler was a little skeptical of the friendliness of the animals and would not leave my side or feed the animals like Granpy was brave enough to do.

Two years ago, there was a shark exhibit featured. This year there were California Seals! If you look very carefully between Tyler and I you will see one-- kind of!

Each state in the East has a state building that features items found in that state. In Connecticut there is a dinosaur themed park and they provided a dinosaur exhibit to be displayed.

Frank and Grammy.

No fair is complete without the rides! Tyler was so excited to take some spins on the motorcycles.... the Jeeps...

spinning dragons....

and the flying helicopters.

After the rides, we had to stop and play a game. Tyler opted for the duck pond (my favorite as a youngster as well!). He had to chose three ducks/frogs from the pool, each marked small, medium, and large, and the one with the largest prize won. Well.....

Tyler won a large! The man who was running the game said to him "I had no idea there were any larges in there!"

My favorite part of any fair? The pigs!

You can take the man out of Indiana but you can't take the Indiana out of the man... I guess even professors can get milk from a plastic cow!

While Granpy was milking cows, Frank was dreaming of more food. At the top of his list? Another Craz-E Burger!

The events of the afternoon were quite trying on one little guy. Believe it or not? We left the Big E the go to Tyler's soccer game. When we arrived at the field he quickly woke up and was ready to play!

That night at home, Frank gave Tyler an early birthday present: a Sydney Crosby poster! Tyler immediately demanded that it be hung in his room so he can "look at it when I sleep". No problem Ty, you will be sleeping lots tonight! What a day!

Lunch, anyone?

Every night when I am on my way home, I call Frank and Tyler to check in and see how things are going. Tonight when I called Frank told me that Tyler wrote me a note today at school and he needed to "discuss" something with me. Obviously my curiosity was peaked. Frank would not let me in on the issue no matter how hard I begged and pleaded!

When I walked in the door, I gave hugs and kisses and asked Tyler what was up. He told me to go look in his lunch box....
Sure enough, when I opened it, I found his sandwich and this note:

And it said this:

"Mom, I don't like this bread. Love, Tyler"

I guess my desire to change things up a bit did not go over well. I had bought mutligrain bread which had a few whole grains in it. It obviously did not go over well. The part that was also left out of the note was the bit about the yogurt I had packed that day... it had chunks of strawberries in it... also not a bit hit. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Needless to say, peace was restored at dinner with a nice meal (approved by Tyler) of chicken nuggets and apples. All is well that ends well!

Just for Kicks!

After years of anticipation, Tyler started soccer this week! Yay!

He is playing in the Springfield Church League for Our Lady of Sacred Heart Church, or OLSH as everyone refers to it. He is playing with the 4 and 5-year-old group, and I could not be happier! His coach is Coach Joe, a very patient man to take on 12 preschoolers with tons of energy! Tonight was out first practice and Friday is out first game.
Right off the bat, Coach Joe had the kids passing the ball, dribbling through cones, and running drills.

It didn't take Tyler very long to learn that he was supposed to run, with the ball, and as fast as you can! Bedtime, here we come!

Towards the end of practice, they got to take some shots on goal. Tyler did fantastic! It is always nice when your child does an activity and you can watch and not have to worry about them running over to you! I can not wait to see his skills out on the field! Hopefully he's got mad skills like his mom! ;)

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend this year we headed straight to Eagle Lake to hang out with the Fagan's and enjoy the last blast of a great summer. We pulled in Friday night only to find that the end of summer celebrating had already started! While the parents hung out outside by the fire with family and friends, the kids entertained themselves (very nicely, I might add!) inside the loft area, happily building forts.
Kids, all hard at work, and more importantly, working together, to get those blankets to stay up!

Tyler...

Conor...

Skylar...

A cousinly hug!

On Saturday, the weather was beautiful and we decided to pack the kids up and we all headed over to the beach. The boys played games of football and Frisbee and Tyler quickly discovered that running in the sand is hard work when you are up really late the night before. Here he is taking a breather:

The whole bunch taking a breather!

On Sunday, Laurette and I decided that since it was the last big weekend of the summer, we were going to take it easy and have a relaxing mommy day. We awoke at a leisurely time, ate, rested some more and put the men in charge of the kids! They took them to the pool, to play horseshoes, and all around Eagle Lake. The little ones, Tyler and Skylar, didn't make it all afternoon, and came back for a late lunch. After lunch, we all decided to head out on the golf cart and we went to the park for some fun. I decided to take my camera and shoot a few pictures of the kids playing:

In the evening, Eagle Lake had a firework display that was quite tremendous for such a small community. We all gathered back on the beach to watch the sunset, hang out with friends, and let the kids run around with each other one last time. We all bought raffle tickets and needless to say, we all lost, but the kids got glow sticks to play with. Thank goodness, too, after awhile, it was hard to see where your child went-- now you could just look for the color of the stick!

Skylar was brave enough to climb to the top of the lifeguard tower and pose!

We had a great weekend and were sad to leave on Monday. It was the perfect end to a bust but wonderful summer and we can't wait to do it all again next year!