How cute are these boys?

Here are some recent photos of the boys! We went to High School Music on Ice last week and rode the new METRO there and back (not quite as exciting in the dark). We also went over to Evahnekos on Saturday night where we stayed until MIDNIGHT! More impressively, the boys slept in until 10 the next morning!

Happy Tuesday!

Quick Visit

Nana and Papa passed through town last night for an overnight layover on their way home from Cabo. We sat out on the patio and grilled, watched the boys dance, watched the Wild win and Jayhawks win and played games and puzzles. It was short, but sweet, and the boys were soooo excited to see them!

More Howler Skating photos

These are the behind-the-scenes photos from my phone!

Another Day, Another Coyotes Event

Sunday was the Howler's Kids Club skating event at the Polar Ice - Gilbert. Corey got to meet Kyle Turris (who happened to score the game-winning goal in a shootout at the game we attended the night before ... of course, Corey was too shy to talk to him about it!) as well as another photo opportunity/autograph session with Howler.

Brody and I watched the proceedings from the stands (Brody: "Howler is BIG coyote."), but he did get to have some of Corey's pizza. I've done a separate post with photos from my phone. Enjoy!

Hockey Show

Corey had so much fun at his hockey "exhibition" last night. He and the other mini-mites (introduced as Arizona Heat - who knew they had a team name?) skated between first and second period and then again between second and third period of the Phoenix Polar Bears' game. The Polar Bears' are apparently Polar Ice's competitive team (they travel all over to play), and they were playing the San Diego Gulls. It was actually a pretty full rink; I was impressed.

To figure out which one is Corey in the videos, Corey is the only one on the green team with both a black helmet and yellow laces. His stick is white with green tape around the bottom.

In the first video, they come out on the ice, and he does a skate-by for Brody. In the second, the puck is dropped. In the last, his team scores twice and it's cute to see Corey celebrate. Plus he plays a little "D" in that video. My camera battery died then, so I missed the second round of play later (well, I was there, but can't share it.) You'll notice during the audio that Brody first says "Lemme see" about a million times, then cries because he can't (or won't) see what's displaying on the camera, and then he does a strange turn where he thinks a spider (his fingers) is crawling on the glass. What a character. I have another video of them playing but I think three will suffice!

In the end, both kids were up WAY too late. In fact, Brody slept in until 9:30 this morning, which is a first. (Guess he won't nap today!) Corey only slept in until 8:30. We left at the end of regular play and it was tied (Rob would not have let that happen, I'm sure!) I looked up the game though, and it turns out the Polar Bears (Brody would say "ROAR") won 4-3, and we did get to see six of the seven goals, so I'm okay with it.

Also, the coach bought the kids cookies and hot chocolate. The cookies amped them up considerably, and I doubt any of the kids finished any significant portion of their hot chocolate. Corey didn't drink his until it was cold.

It won't be long until Corey looks more the part of a hockey player - he has another tooth loose (one of the bottom ones, next to the two he's already lost and replaced.) They grow up so fast....

Video one: welcome to the ice, your Corey's mini-mites!!!



Video two: the puck drops!



Video three: celebrate the score (and what's up with the spider?)

Fiesta Parade

Today we went to the Fiesta Bowl parade. I may have been the only one who was disappointed that it did not include anyone from the Insight Bowl, but no worries: there were Ohio State and Texas fans everywhere (Corey himself "hooked 'em horns") and there were bands and bands and bands!!!

A parade wouldn't be complete without a stagecoach from "Grandpa's Bank" so it was among the first displays that got Corey excited. After 20 bands, pretty much anything is exciting (no offense, Grandpa.) Corey liked that it was from Grandpa's bank; Brody liked the horsies. And there were a LOT of horses. Including an actual 'longhorn' riding in a trailer behind the Texas band and cheerleaders.

I should mention we got free tickets from work, and they provided great parking and bleacher seating right where the parade started. Fun!!!

Melinda and Gary probably have their hands full with their little Jude right now, but hopefully they'll have time to check the blog for the picture Corey insisted I take. If you look VERY carefully, you MIGHT see that the folks dragging the owl in the cactus balloon (which, I might add, are MUCH smaller than the Macy's parade balloons - a little disappointing!) are wearing Cincinnati Reds shirts. They are from Goodyear and were promoting the spring training location. Corey knows how much Gary and Melinda like the Reds, so he wanted to be sure we captured that they were part of a parade in Phoenix, of all places. (Though no question that there were enough folks from Ohio throughout!)

But probably the kids' favorite parade participant were a Boy Scout troop (or something - the sponsor was lost among the commotion - every kid ran up to see them) dressed up as storm troopers. They were followed by Chewbacca and other characters but Corey was sad there was no R2D2. I told him they probably didn't have anyone small enough to fit the costume.

Brody was very cute - and he posed for a "picture" during the parade. Not sure if he's framing himself or actually trying to take the picture. You never know with that kid!


And now that we're back home, we're "resting" in preparation of Corey's big night. Corey and his Mini Mite team is playing hockey between periods of a Phoenix Polar Bears game. Their resting includes watching Mamma Mia over and over and over. Corey has the remote, so he's skipping to the songs he likes most (which, from the sound of it, includes Don't Go Wasting Your Emotion over and over and over again.) Frankly, it might just be the girl in the swimsuit.

More after the big game!!! Maybe even videos!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk and New Year Activities

First a few Rock Chalk tailgating photos... My boys were super-cute in all blue. Here they took a moment to pose - juice in hand - during the time Rob was setting up their movie.



And yes, for the youngest boys, tailgating did seem to mean "watching a movie." Starting with "bear movie" for Brody and ending with "high school musical 3" (which was really 2 for both of them. Oh well, it was a long day!


Our seats for the game were great. We were in the loge, so we had a little more room (and real seats as opposed to bench seats), plus free dogs and chips (but we'd kind of had our fill during tailgating.)


And today the New Year really kicked off. With Rob working his big trade show, Corey was a GREAT helper (he is SO Nana's grandson!) and we cleaned off the patio. It may not seem much to most people, but to anyone who has been in our backyard, this is a feat. And now Rob has a rather large trash pile to push out front during the next bulk trash pick-up!

We also cleaned up the boys today: nice haircuts! In case you are wondering what Brody is pointing at the camera, it's a wind-up, no-batteries flashlight. Actually, Corey's light, to be specific, as he got it for Christmas from Grammy and Grandpa. And it's hard to take pictures with a two-year old pointing an LED light at the camera! It took a few tries!

The boys have been really cute. Brody insists on Corey helping to sing songs, and tonight, Corey made it official: he added a YaYa's Song to the end of Elmo's Song (to follow Bobo's Song.) And Brody asked Corey to lay down and cuddle with him. Corey shrugged and said, "yeah, I could do that." So cute.

Now Corey is watching Mamma Mia for the second time in a row, so I'd best be off to supervise!