Opening day

Quinn had a great week ending with going to the Rock Cats opening game. They won 3-2 and the temperature was 41°. Matt was away, and I worked out a point system for Q that worked out really well. We'll see if I can use it again, but the idea was that Q had to earn 10 points by having good behavior to be ablento go to the game. I think that for him, having a concrete goal with a number attached worked a million times better than saying "you have to be good".


We really had fun today...we were both laughing when I called the mascots "stuffed animals". Then a baby's pants fell down which, of course, Quinn thought was hysterical. I guess Q told Mrs. Lindquist that he could go if he was good, and she said "when are you ever not good?"

Right now we're atayingnup past both our bedtimes watching BC in the Frozen Four.

March Madness

Quinn got a fish on Sunday. We went to Petco and learned about goldfish and how needy they are. Then we learned about Betta fish and got a fish tank kit for our new little swimmer. His name is either "Fishy" or "Sedin". He's dark red, and doesn't swim around a whole lot, but I think he will get to know Quinn when he feeds him a few times.

We had some great weather the past couple of days, and today we played soccer on the deck, then I threw the football to Quinn and Mei on the trampoline. It still works pretty well, even with the big hole from the storm in October.

Aruba, February 24

Today is our last day on Aruba. I am waiting for Quinn and Matt to wake up to go to breakfast. The weather has been awesome...today is just a little bit cooler and cloudier which is great because Quinn has had his limit of sun. The wonderful breezes (winds) do keep you comfortable. Last night we watched a band at our resort called Joy Ride. They played a nice mix of classics and new pop that Q loves. He finally made a friend to play with yesterday...Sanzio from NY...who is also a hockey player. Q did great talking to some adults last night about hockey.

I am currently watching the Zamboni beach sweeper go back and forth. Our beach is so perfect! Plenty of space and beautiful white sand. I think even our non-beach Dad is impressed.

Other highlights of the week include eating at Yemanga in Orangested...visiting de Palm island...going snorkeling there and off the catamaran. It was neat to be able to snorkel with Quinn. We saw some beautiful large green parrotfish, and I saw a pretty large starfish. I'm curious to see if the underwater camera worked. (Update, disposable underwater cameras are lousy!)

Yesterday Dad and Quinn did two fun activities...jet skiing and water sliding at the other Divi resort.

I think my favorite meal was at the Red Parrot...a delicious seafood pasta. The steaks are great here  as well. And I think I could talk Matt into buying one of those "grill-your-own" tables for our deck.

I saw some beautiful birds, but not as many as I had hoped for. We had a pelican mascot on our catamaran trip. Also, on that ride, Quinn got to sit up with the captain. I think I got a good picture.

First Snow

One year ago today, we were on the Epic cruise ship. Today we had our first winter snow, and I crunched my car with a sliding skid. Quinn played at the Xl center today with his team. The game was great, although Q didn't p,ay well. I think he was starstruck.

We finally had a good week for the ice rink, and Add,Elisa, James,Quin, Nick, Mei, and me al had fun skating. Mei is doing amazingly well with her skating...she is so coordinated, and so tenacious. She would be a great hockey player.

Our new pellet stove is making January much more tolerable...it's easy to go out to shovel pr walk Buster when you know that cosy fire is waiting. Buster loves the snow...I've been letting him loose fornhis figure 8 laps in the front yard.

happy new year!

2012 got off to a fun start thanks to Quinn's invitation to play on the ice at Fenway with his Mite A team. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed staying over in Boston with a few hockey families. Dinner for all15 of us was at Fire and Ice...fun, but Matt and I both had expected something a little better. And the night before on New Year's eve, we had dinner with the Anastasios after an exciting Ct Whale game. We got some interesting looks as we walked into Max Downtown with the three boys and their foam fingers and Whale shirts. Once we were seated everything was fine, and there was even a kid's menu.

A good month

After the storm, we have had beautiful weather and we have taken advantage of it with lots of walks, raking, and street hockey. Quinn has been everywhere on his Razor scooter...I'm so glad that he likes it! He had a fantastic report card last week with Mrs. Lindquist writing that Quinn is every teacher's dream. Grammy was showing it off to everybody, I don't think any of the other cousins ever had a report card quite like that. The problem is that there's only one way to go from here and it's not up. Our seven year old has set a high bar for himself! Speaking of high bars, the Mite A team has had a few tough games playing what appears to be tougher competition. The ages are the same, but the opponents seem a lot bigger. Maybe they are all 8-year olds. However, the kids are having a great time, and the coaches and parents are all very nice. I give a lot of credit to the coaches for volunteering so much of their time and effort.

We are definitely in Christmas mode, and Quinn and I put the tree up last week. Actually, I put the tree up thinking I was doing the family a big favor and Quinn started crying that he didn't get to help. So, I dragged the tree back into the basement and we brought it up again together. We only had 2 ornament casualties so far. One was a Quinn drop and one was a Buster steal. I am trying not to freak out about doing everything perfect for Christmas. I am trying to do one small decorating, shopping or packing project a day...and it seems to be working. Now I have to get to our Christmas card, which will probably be a hockey picture.

I retired from the Mother Ducks, only to go out and skate with Quinn's team. I felt a little ridiculous with all my stuff on, but who cares? Quinn and I were both disappointed we didn't have a scrimmage! Now I am looking forward to getting our rink going. I bought Matt a small fireplace today for it...it would be fun to have a little party down there. My 50th birthday is coming up, I'm anxious to see what Matt has cooked up for it!

We have a seven year old!

Quinn turned 7 last week and we had another party at the XL Center for the Whale game. We invited 9 kids but 11 came! (Reid and Alex joined the group). The kids were much better than last year. I think it was for a few reasons...1: we didn't load them up with sugary cake before the game; 2: it was a Friday night so all the kids were exhausted from the school week; 3: we had more parents than last year including 2 Moms! (Stephanie and Jackie) and 4: we didn't stress out about missing a few minutes of the game. The best part of the night was that the Whale won in OT with 6 seconds left. That got the kids out of their seats!

Quinn has also started having hockey games with his Mite A team, and he scored his first authentic full-ice goal in his first game. Not the prettiest goal, but he brought the score up to 5-7 vs. S. Windsor. The team did great considering that SW has been playing full ice for a couple of months. Black Friday we get up at the crack of dawn...not to get to the shopping doorbusters, but to get Q ready for a 7 a.m. start time at Simsbury Farms for the first game of his tournament.