Tailgating ... Sinclair Style!

We arrived 4 hours before the game with our subs and a stocked cooler. We've eaten lunch, had a few cold beverages, played catch and even watched some DVDs. The sun is hot, drinks are cold and life is good. Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Go KU!

Grammy and Grandpa

We had fun with Grammy and Grandpa while they were here. We enjoyed another Christmas, went to a Coyotes game (of course), saw Christmas lights and spent quality time with the boys! We even took a trip to Build-a-Bear thanks to the cousins!

Phoenix METRO Lightrail

We took our first train ride while Grammy and Grandpa were here. You can't tell from the photo, but Brody loved it! :-)

Early Christmas photos

These are just a couple of quick photos from my phone. I'm sure we'll do a more comprehensive update later. Merry Christmas!

Coyotes 2, Blue Jackets 0

Corey and I went to the Coyotes game Saturday night, so I figured I'd share some photos. As of tonight, Carrie "officially" is on vacation ... although I'd argue she's been on vacation since Thursday. :-) Tomorrow Corey is "helping" the staff at Brody's daycare while I'm working and Carrie is running errands.

Busy Week

It seems every week is a busy week in the Sinclair household.

I uploaded pictures today and found a cute one of Corey on a horse, but it's from the Hope Kids' party that was Dec. 7. They had pony rides, a full buffet of turkey and fixings, carnival games and a present for each Hope Kid. It was very nice. Corey wrote them a thank you note and they just might be able to read it. (But it's the thought that counts, right?)

So our kids have grown up so differently than we did. For example, they don't understand why anyone would watch commercials, and they can't understand when they can't instantly see the exact show they're wanting to watch. And also, they demand to have their picture taken pretty frequently.

One such demand was in the bathtub recently. They posed like little models. I believe Brody is trying to rest his head on his hand like Corey is, but who knows.

Brody also recently demanded his picture be taken at the rink during Corey's practice (I mean, why should Corey get all the videos and pictures, right?) Lately I've been walking to the rink with Brody, and he doesn't understand that Mommy's camera doesn't take pictures!

On Tuesday last week, a coworker invited Corey to skate with her son, Richie. Richie is a PF Chang's hockey player (a competitive team), and he was just drafted by the USHL, meaning that he'll play for the Sioux Falls team for a year or so before college. It was really nice of them to invite him, and I think it was Richie's idea, not his mother's, which is even cuter.

Richie tought Corey some "moves," according to Corey. So I sat on the sideline and talked with Perri, while Corey skated for over an hour. Then he and Richie were the last ones off the ice to go get pizza, and Corey ate pizza (though he'd had dinner less than two hours earlier!) and was back on the ice in a flash. Where he proceeded to skate for another hour!!! I've never seen him so excited to skate. He looked a little ticked off when I dragged him off the ice at 8:20. (Past his bedtime!) He talked and talked in the car, and I finally had to do the "silent game" to get him to stop talking so he'd fall asleep. Corey had a great time with the older kids, who also gave him a practice stick they'd all signed! (His third stick, he informed me.) Also, one of their coaches works for the NHL and happened to have a game puck from the Coyotes-Red Wings game we'd been to, and gave it to Corey.

Corey has had such a great week at school (behavior-wise, he's always good at schoolwork!) that he's been able to play more Wii, and he's been playing Aunt Kristin and soon-to-be Uncle John. (That's a good story too: Kristin called Corey during the Coyotes' game last Saturday and asked if John could be his uncle, and Corey said "sure" and they got disconnected. It was minutes later when Rob pieced together the story and could call them back and congratulate them on their engagement, and I didn't get the story until later in the evening because Corey "forgot" to tell me.) No, they haven't made any trips to Phoenix. We've been playing on the Nintendo "network."

Friday night we had a babysitter so we could finish up some shopping (yes, we're DONE!) and had a nice night out. Then last night, Corey and Rob went to the Coyotes' game and Brody and I went shopping. (He loves shopping with mommy!) Actually, we had a quick dinner at the mall, and walked around until the "snowfall" at 7 p.m. It's probably bubbles, but it's enough to get a lot of Phoenix folks excited! Brody liked it until it fell on him, and he said "snow hurt Bobo," but I can't see how.

That's your update! We have a new blog to link to - Melinda and Gary are expecting their son/daughter any minute, and I put the blog links in a new format so you can see when they are updated!

I am expecting a lazy day today before my final day of work this year, and then I'm off until Jan. 5th!

Weekend Update, part 2

When Make-a-Wish called last week and offered us a few Tower Suite seats (which seats 50-60 people) for the Coyotes' Saturday night game vs. Detroit, we figured a company had rented it out and donated some of its extra tickets. Well, as it turned out, WorkInSports.com actually put on a special event for Make-a-Wish families!

When we got there, they handed Corey a backpack FILLED with Coyotes gear ... including a brand new home sweater, which Corey was able to exchange for the black alternate third jersey!






During the first period, Howler came up to the suite and got his picture take with the kids (Corey's eyes were closed in his), and during the second intermission Daniel Winnik stopped by and talked to the kids. Corey actually wasn't very shy for a change, and talked about playing hockey that morning. The great group from WorkInSports.com also took great care of us!

Brody made a new friend ("Bob-O," not to be confused with Bobo) and had MORE than his fair share of pizza. They showed the suite on the videoboard during the game and Todd Walsh from Fox Sports stopped by and did a live interview with the owner, John, on the telecast during the game. The game even was exciting (unlike Corey's actual Make-a-Wish game against the Red Wings), although the Coyotes lost in a shootout.

It really was a great night!

Weekend Update, part 1

We certainly had a fun and exciting weekend! Corey had FOUR "green lights" last week, so we rented a movie and Wii game Friday. The family all watched "Horton Hears a Who" that night, and Corey played Legos Batman most of the weekend (when he wasn't playing MarioKart online with Kristin and John)!

Saturday morning Corey had hockey practice and scored two of his team's goals during the scrimmage portion. Our coach also said they're trying to schedule a home-and-home series with a team from Flagstaff. Everybody knows, "Bobo LOVES Canaroon!"

Saturday afternoon was spent at Kaden's birthday party (where this photo was taken). The next post will include photos from the Make-a-Wish event at the Coyotes on Saturday night. Stay tuned!

Classic Corey

Corey and I went to the Coyotes game last night (we've seen the last TWO Wild losses to the Coyotes ... spanning 758 days!), and he was almost as entertaining as the game:

1. At one point, I told the Wild to do something, and Corey said, "You're not the boss of them." It led to a whole conversation about the hierarchy of Wild management.

2. Also, the kid who loves goofing off and talking all day long, was as shy as a mouse while the Pack Squad was TWO FEET IN FRONT OF HIM during the T-shirt toss. His explanation? "I have lots of T-shirts."

3. At one point during the second intermission Corey turned to me and said, "Aren't we leaving?" I said, "Well, yeah ... after the game." He thought it WAS over. I finally convinced him when the players came back out on the ice.

4. At the end of the night, I gave Corey a piggy back while he gave the backpack a piggy pack (aka wearing it) and the backpack gave his program a piggy back!

Tom and the Boys

I think it was ROB who most loved meeting Tom and his son. Tom is a big supporter of Hope Kids. The kids' shirts say "Got Ho-Ho-Hope?" on the back.

Best Family Photo Ever!

We had a busy, but fun weekend. Saturday morning Corey had hockey practice, followed by his third (and final?) birthday party at the ice skating rink for the year. Last night we went to Mind Over Splatter in Chandler, and then hung around for the parade of lights in historic downtown Chandler.

Today we went to the annual Honeywell on Ice Christmas gathering at the U.S. Airways Arena, followed by a great Hope Kids Christmas party, where we met Tom Lehman (PGA Tour golfer from Minnesota) and got a family photo with Santa!

Nana and Papa's Visit

We had a great week over Thanksgiving with our guests, Nana and Papa. Not sure which movie we're all watching here - probably Wall-E (Brody would say, "no, no, like this: Wallleeeee!") We also watched Kung Fu Panda while they were here, ate out (of course), had a night out without the kids, courtesy of our free babysitters, and went ice skating!


Here Papa looks very happy. It must have been pre-falling down. :) Brody had some ice time, as did Corey (who does wear the helmet and hockey gloves whenever he ice skates, by the way.)

But all good things must come to an end, and Papa ended up on the ice!

We had a great time with our visitors, and we're wondering how many visitors we might get if KU makes the Insight Bowl as we hope they do!

Brody's on skates

How cute is he!!!

Corey skating

It's just like being there!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my Corey!

Corey's birthday!

Corey insisted on breakfast in bed on his birthday. To be fair, we typically give Daddy or Mommy breakfast in bed on THEIR birthdays, so I guess he expected the same. In fact, I believe he purposefully slept as late as possible in order to leave time for us. What a goofball. His typical breakfast: pop tart, gummy vitamins, milk and gogurt.

Brody helped Corey open all of his presents. And you can see that neither are completely dressed, as the birthday had to begin as early as possible.

Corey got "football guys" from Melinda and Gary. These joined his hockey guys and baseball guys. He loves miniature sports guys! He's played with them several times already, usually while watching football on TV. And Rob looked up some games they can play with them as well.


And no hockey ice skating birthday would be complete without a hockey cake! Corey had a great sixth birthday party. He had eight friends (and Brody) join him for ice skating. He basically skated for two hours after his party, and that doesn't include over an hour on the ice for practice earlier that day. He slept well that night!

Brody made his ice skating debut at Corey's party, with the double blades our friend Nancy picked up in Edmonton (thanks, Nancy!) They are nice because he didn't have to balance. It wasn't long before he was gliding along on his own. (Okay, more like walking on ice, but that's just getting picky.)

Corey got quite a few Legos for his birthday, and of course, help was required to put the castles, Star Wars and other items together.

Rob and I got Corey roller blades for his birthday. First, because Rob has been doing it lately (after taking them out of their semi-retirement the past five years), and also, because it's much cheaper and easier than taking him to the ice skating rink all the time! He loved it, and he looks like he's ready for his Mighty Ducks movie debut any time now.

Getting caught up

I finally downloaded photos/videos from the camera (for the first time since Halloween!) so here are some of the older ones ...






This is a photo of Brody eating chocolate fondue on election night. As you can see, he made quite a mess!









Here are photos of Corey and Brody getting their hands painted to make their "Turkey tiles" at Mind Over Splatter in Chander. Brody was entertained by painting the hands. Corey's turkey turned out pretty well, but Brody just painted all over his handprint!


















And, finally, here's a photo of Corey playing goalie during one of the practices earlier this month.




More to come!

Operation!

Nana and Papa bought Operation, and Corey finally got a green so he could play it today. Brody was fascinated by all the sounds and the red light!

P.S. Check out those great haircuts!

Bobo LOVES skating!

Here's another quick update for Corey's birthday. He had his party at the ice rink (after practice this morning) and it included skating afterward ... which Brody loved!

With blades that strap to his sneakers (thanks, Nancy!) and a parent in tow Brody took laps around the ice ... and kept saying, "One more time!"

They also sang Happy Birthday to Corey twice this morning during his practice (here he's playing goalie)!

Corey and I are going to the Coyotes game tonight to cap the hockey birthday tripleheader ... maybe Carrie will upload the video of Brody skating. :-)

Corey's Birthday Begins!

Finally a green day at school! Yesterday was NOT good (he was literally chasing the girls and making them cry.) So as a reward for today's behavior, we started his birthday celebration a little early.

We let him open two gifts, trying to strategically select them to avoid Finley Farms' movie night. They were showing Kung Fu Panda, and luckily Cool Aunt Kristin had gotten him Kung Fu Panda, so we didn't have to go and instead got to have "movie night" at home. Corey picked our "dinner store," and believe it or not, he picked IHOP. He loves pancakes! He wanted to go to the Good Egg, but they don't do dinner. (We often went to the Good Egg on his MRI days when he couldn't eat until lunch.)

In addition to Kung Fu Panda, Kristin and Silly Goofball Johnny got Corey MarioKart, so I'm pretty sure that makes him the most spoiled kid ever!!!

He also got a gift card from Toys R Us from Nana and Papa, and we talked him into waiting to go pick out a toy until Sunday, since we don't know what he might get on his actual birthday! It seemed okay to do that one early, since my parents never made me wait to open cards. (Rob hides them from me so I can't open anything early.)

During Kung Fu Panda, Corey tried to tell everyone what was going on (I think he may have Aunt Julie syndrome - the urge to give everyone the ending when they don't want to hear it), and Brody said "goose!" and "mean kitty cat" throughout. He loved that goose!

Brody's school did pictures this week, and I found he really had nothing to wear. There was the "whales" shirt, but I figured in 10 years, I'd have no clue which boy was in which picture, since we have a pretty cute pic of Corey at Brody's age wearing the whales. Brody and I went to San Tan and I let him pick out his "picture shirt" and he picked out the "red stripes" immediately. We practiced our "picture smile" and I was sure he was going to cooperate. Not so much. Even as adorable as he was in his new outfit with his practiced smile, we'll be lucky if we get a shot out of it with eyes open. He was NOT happy about being separated from me and he looked at the photographer like she was nuts when she tried to get him to smile about a stuffed animal on her head. Nothing gets by Bobo. He didn't smile until the photographer changed gears and started tickling ME.

Tomorrow is the big day! I heard Corey explaining it to Kristin and I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little. "First I have hockey practice, then I have my hockey birthday party and then I am going to the Coyotes' hockey game with Daddy." Oh dear, what has happened?

Meanwhile, Ikea is giving out free sheets and pillows to anyone with a birthday this weekend, so I'm totally dragging Corey there on Sunday to get our free stuff. Luckily it's close to Toys R Us, so he'll be rewarded!