E- Showing Drazen Spring in Vancouver

Sunday morning

Great news, blog readers! It's almost track and field season again, so get ready for some track meet intensive posts in this blog's future. 

Finny got some new spikes for this season. Her old ones are size 5, but she was right out of them. This year...size 7! That's a ladies 7...! Although, I have to say, I have no idea how those sizes work, because there's no way she's that close to my foot size. 

First thing this morning, she wanted to get out to try her flashy new shoes. She was working (with good cause...) on her starts. 

A close up of the cherished shoes:

And then inside for Dutch Baby breakfast. 

Now we are watching a bit of NBA and relaxing. Hooray Sunday!

E- hockey in the heat

After a great weekend with Les in Yontville for my first Napa experience, it was time to head to LA to join 16 guys from my department for an IAFF hockey tournament. 

My bags got lost for the first 5 days of the trip...meaning I had to miss the first game...and the team picture. 

Apart from the bag it was a great trip. We rented a house a few minutes from Disneyland that was big enough for the 17 of us to comfortably spend the week. With the ability to cook meals, hang out by the pool and massive living room/kitchen, it was way better than getting a hotel. 

The House of Blues "sponsor" bar was almost an hour away, so we rented a party bus to take us to Sunset Boulevard on one night and went to Fullerton another.   We also went to Ducks and Angels games to take advantage of the sport Mecca that LA is this time of year.  

The morning after we saw the Ducks play, we had an early game ourselves. On the ice immediately after us....yup, the Ducks practiced...less than 12 hours after watching them play. This was the same rink that our guys were complaining about the poor ice quality. 

After winning 2 games, we just needed one more to advance to the semi finals of the 16 team bracket. Up 2-1 with 3 minutes left, we got called for 2 questionable penalties and were short 2 players when they scored the tying goal. Our eventual shootout loss put us out of contention for the final...but we left with our heads held high knowing we had played well and deserved better. 

In addition to the hockey, heat (it was 30 most days) and comraderie, the best part of the trip was hanging out at Huntington Beach, playing volleyball and football.  

Hockey celebration etc.

A typical day in our house equals a maniacal juggle of overlapping activities. With Eric away in LA, this mama is flying solo. A bit of help getting Finny to running. 

Then, dropped Molly off at my parents' (her happy place). She has been felting like crazy. Her creations are so her...charming and whimsical. 

Then I took Lukey to his hockey party. This is him lately:

All goalie, all day (I'm not kidding). 

I has to leave the hockey banquet to pick up Finny. I bolted out to Saint George's to grab her at 7. Which would have been great of she'd been there...instead of where she really was...Point Grey. 

A quick semi-panicked phone call to ensure she wouldn't be left all alone, I made stellar time over to PG and wasn't even late (practice has gone a little over). 

Back to the Arbutus Club. There were many cupcakes eaten, a lot of bouncy castle stuff. And these:

They had a characture artist, which was so much fun. 

We left at 8:30...grabbed Molly. Drove home, reheated some pizza from after school. Bed. 

Another normal day. 

Ridiculously Great Weekend of FUN...part 1

I love amusement parks. When Eric and I were in Florida over our 20 year anniversary a couple of years ago, the one thing I wanted to do with our day was go to Universal Studios...even though we had just spend four of the previous five days at Disneyland. 

So. I love amusement parks. But Eric and I found something new. An amusement park for grown ups. No rides or costumed mice. Some line ups and lots of princesses, though. Napa Valley. Specifically Yountville. 

After visiting with our dear, dear friend Holly in San Jose last October, we took the bull by the horns and booked a trip to Napa, hoping she and Craig would join us (help us, teach us, lead us to the beauty of Yountville).

And that is exactly what happened. Holly and Craig got grandmother help for their lovely little girls and we got grandmother help for our little crew...and we met up in Yountville. 

Holly and Craig's friends own a spectacular house a hop, skip and a jump from the centre of town, which is where they were staying. We had a room at a bed and breakfast kitty corner across the street. 

And so it began.

We started on the front porch of the house with some wine (Cakebread and Hill Family...see above). Then, a quick five minute walk away to Lucy in the Bardessono hotel. Holly and Craig had a gift certificate, so they asked the executive chef to bring out his choice of dishes.

A parade of delicious ensued.

My best dishes of the night were the gnocchi, the scallops and, surprisingly, the antelope. Yep. Antelope. It was really good.

Even better than the food (if that's possible) was the company. We laughed and laughed (and poured and poured).

After dinner, we walked back to the house for more drinks and a game of Cards Against Humanity. It was the best. If I had known how grim I would feel the next day, I might have held off on the last couple of cocktails, but no...I wouldn't change a thing about the night. Sometimes you have to accept with grace the consequences of a great time.

24 Hours as a Single Mother of One Small Boy

Saturday afternoon Eric headed off to a 24 hours shift at work and the girls were picked up by Jane for an overnight before a Sunday of skiing.

That left one Lukey and one...me.

Lucky for us, we had a great diversion planned. We had tickets for the Canucks game, thanks to Uncie. My dad dropped us off in time to catch most of the pre-game warm up.

It was a bit of a stinker game (we lost 5-1), but there's no one I would rather watch a hockey game with than Lukey. He knows EVERYTHING, but he also doesn't mind my fairly stupid observations. We chatter away, sing to all the songs that come on and cheer our heads off.

That's Lukey's ear hovering over the rink

After the game, it was clear and bright out. We had some energy left to spare, so we walked all the way home from Rogers Arena. I figure we're pretty lucky to be able to walk home from a hockey game, so why not?

When we got home, I made Lukey a smoothie and made myself a margarita. Yeah, that's right. I also made him a sandwich AND a hamburger. It was a midnight party, actually.

Needless to say, we slept in the next morning...but then it was up to watch the Bruins against the Flyers. Because...you know, there's never enough hockey.

Oh my God, what has this kid done to me?!

We missed Eric and our girls, but it was a pretty great stretch of time for just us. Rare, but a treat. 

Our Bird Girl

Oh, the drama. 

After enjoying a great theatre program in the fall, Molly auditioned for a part in a musical the same group was mounting in the spring...Seussical the Musical. She got a part: Bird Girl.

Rehearsals were two or three times a week between January and the middle of March. None of us had seen much, or heard Molly practicing, so we weren't too sure what to expect at the performances. 

Molly had a HUGE fan club assembled to watch her sing and dance her little heart out: Me, Eric, Finny, Lukey, Gram, Grandad, Omi, Aunt Betsy, Uncle David, Poppa, Barb, Uncie, Julie, Mandy and Hannah. Not bad. 

Luckily, the show was amazing. The performances were at the Norman Rothstein Theatre at the JCC and everything about the production was impressive. They treated the kids like professionals, complete with a bio board outside and beautiful colour programs. They took head shots of all the kids and the costumes and production value were incredible. 

Our Bird is second from the left

Far left this time

Sing it, girl!

Molly was so proud of herself and with good reason. She worked hard and memorized a lot of songs and choreography. She looked beautiful on stage. Her lovely personality sparkled.

Molly's bio on the board...great picture of her!

The gorgeous flowers she received from Julie and Uncie...on her dresser where she could see them from bed

Sparkles

I got so much joy from theatre and I think Molly has the bug, too. Hopefully, Seussical is the first of many productions we get to enjoy with our girl.