Happy Birthday Grandpa McDaid

We weren't able to go up to Grandma & Grandpa McDaid's house for Christmas Eve like we usually do (in fact it didn't seem like Christmas because of that) but we were able to make it up to Grandpa McDaid's (86th?) birthday party today after Nathan's hockey game. It was a small crowd but it was still nice to see everyone that we missed at Christmas. Here is a picture of some of the grandkids with Grandpa McDaid.

Nathan M., Allison, Great Grandpa McDaid, Nathan D., Josee, and Cameron

Skiing & Snowboarding

We've been so busy with hockey and dance this winter that we haven't had a chance to go do another fun winter activity: skiing/snowboarding. But we finally had a chance today and decided to take it. We packed up the kids and headed out to Cannonsburg Ski Area near Grand Rapids to hit the slopes. Heidi and I used to go skiing a couple times each year when we were in college. Nathan and I snowboarded a couple times last year but Heidi has been skiing only once in the last 10 years or so. An interesting twist this year was we put Allison on skis for the first time. We probably could have worked with her and taught her how to do it but we figured she'd be more likely to complain or freak out if we did so we sprung for a 1 hour lesson and Heidi and I agree that was the best idea we've had in a long time. By the end of the hour, Allison had mastered the "snow plow" technique and her instructor took her up the chairlift and let her come down one of the medium difficulty runs!! Seeing that, Nathan decided to set aside his fear of falling off the chair lift and rode up with Heidi to the top of the same run and snowboarded down. By this time, I had re-injured my back while bending over to buckle my boots and ended my night after only one time down the hill (big bummer...but that's another story). So Heidi, Nathan, and Allison went up the chairlift and down the run for the rest of the night. It was a bit cold but it was snowing constantly and there were a few inches of fresh powder. It was a great night for skiing.

The instructor said he was pretty surprised Allison was doing so well since she'd never been skiing before and suggested if we do another lesson with her sometime he'd be able to take her down the face (most difficult run). I don't see any need for that at the moment but we're really happy she had fun. We'll have to do it again before all the snow melts.

Pond Hockey

After the boys beat Chelsea in the district play-in game, Coach Jim invited the team and families over to his house for pizza, skating, and hockey on the pond behind their house. Turns out the pond is larger than an Olympic size hockey rink. We only used one end of it for playing because it was snowing and we had to constantly have someone playing "Zamboni" with two shovels. Otherwise, the puck wouldn't slide through the snow real well. We had a game going for a couple hours and some of the girls were skating around next to the game.

It was a perfet day for skating and the ice was the smoothest pond ice I've ever skated on. Coach Jim takes some pride in keeping the ice nice and smooth. There were two full-size goals with "goalies" on them. There was also a perfect place inside the house with extra carpeting so everyone could put their skates on in the warmth. Plus, Coach Jim has a water pump, fire hose, and ice auger right by the back door that allows him to drill a hole in the ice, pump water from the pond and spray it all over the ice surface to get it nice and smooth. I bet he's having fun with that right about now since our temps are currently in the single (and negative) digits. Below are some shots from the party.

Game on!

One-timer... that's Nathan in the middle.

Nathan deking the "goalie".

Coach Jim acting as the Zamboni.

Maddeline and Allison figure skating. Maddeline's Mom, Tara, taught Ally how to twirl and that's all she wants to do now!

Qualified for MAHA District Tournament

Saturday was the district play-in game in Lansing against Chelsea. We knew nothing about the Chelsea team but the boys showed up to play and won the game 7-0. The highlight had to be Josh getting his first goal of the season. That was great to see. That win put us in the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) district tournament in Ludington in early February.

Sunday was a rematch with the West Shore Wolves (Ludington) at WIFC. The first period was going great. We were pressuring the puck quickly and forcing mistakes. We also had a number of shots on goal but couldn't put one in. After Ludington scored their first goal our skating slowed down and we started watching them too much. We gave up quite a few breakaways and didn't score on many of our own. The final ended up a loss 2-7. Upcoming practices will emphasize speed since we may meet Ludington or Lansing during the district tournament.

Games this weekend are Saturday at Georgetown (Jenison) 1pm and Sunday vs. Battle Creek at home (Walker) at 8:30am.

Hockey update

I just noticed my last hockey post was when Nathan scored his first goal. Since then, the boys haven't been playing too many games but as of late he's been in on the scoring quite a bit. Last weekend they played East Grand Rapids at home and won 5-1. Nathan got a goal on a nice move at the blue line, went wide left with a defender on his hip, and ripped a nice shot that hit the goalie's right shoulder and deflected up under the crossbar. Good thing he put some steam on that shot. He actually had two more very good scoring chances. One ended up with the puck on the goal line and the other was right into the goalie's glove as he was down.

Today, we hosted the Southside Owls. Nathan had a goal and four assists. All the boys were skating and passing really well today. They didn't do too bad on defense either allowing only 3 shots on goal in a 12-0 win. Nathan's goal today started with a nice feed pass from Dakota just inside the blue line. Nathan took the puck down the right side, made a nice deke to his forehand right in front of the goalie and slid it right through the five-hole for his third goal of the season. This was his first game on the new skates he got for Christmas. They seem to be just fine.

Next week is a district tournament play-in game against Chelsea who we know nothing about. Plus, a rematch with the Ludington team who has yet to be beaten this year. Go Hawks!

The picture above is a shot we got from when they had team pictures at the beginning of the year.

Allison lost her first tooth!

Allison took a bite of a hard cookie over the holiday break and said her tooth hurt. We thought maybe she was getting a cavity. But then the tooth started getting more and more loose. Well, she finally lost it at Noah and Layla's birthday party last night. She put it under her pillow and the Tooth Fairy left her $1. The tooth is now in her baby book right next to a bit of hair from her first haircut. And now she looks pretty funny when she smiles... It was only two years ago that Nathan lost his first tooth.

Great Wolf Lodge - Traverse City

After all the New Year celebrating (aka eating) it was time to head up to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City with Scott & Val and the boys for some fun in the waterpark. We only stayed one night but that's just about the right amount of time to enjoy the park without it getting too repetitive. Surprisingly, the crowds were rather small so there really wasn't ever much of a wait for anything. We did the big tube slides, the body slides, the kiddie slides... pretty much everything. I think Scott and I had the most fun finding a good spot on the giant treehouse and soaking unsuspecting people walking through. How old are we again? Here are some shots of our trip along with a classic video of Scott trying to cross the lilypads without touching the ropes. Unfortunately, I couldn't rotate the video. But it had to be posted nonetheless.

Allison on the lilypads. She had an unique technique... pull on the rope to get close and then do a belly-flop to the next one. Stand up and repeat.
Heidi and Allison splashing at the bottom of the green tube slide (the best of the big slides!)
Nathan going down the kiddie slides with Nick.
Scott, Zach, Val, and Nick after the green tube slide.
Scott trying to stay light on his feet... Sorry, you'll have to tilt your head to enjoy it

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve up north, warmed up the garage, and had a tiny party with a few friends. We ate, talked, listened to music, ate, danced, played Guitar Hero, ate, and even played some 21 (Blackjack to those of you over 18). Here are a couple shots from New Year's Eve in Bitely.

Allison trying out the pedicure kit she got for Christmas...We all had a chance to kick back and relax and this is how Allison chose to do it. Val, Brett, and Curt playing Guitar Hero World Tour on New Year's Eve.
Allison making Zoe wear a hat (as usual) on New Year's Eve.
Passing the time playing 21. If the kids were older we would call it blackjack :-) Whatever you call it, it was fun and helped pass the time until midnight.
New Year's Day was spent watching the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks in the NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, a little football, a little sledding, and some serious lounging. I love New Year's Day just for that reason!