Opening Day

Saturday was the Opening Day for our Gilbert American Little League team. There was a procession of all the teams and all of the players' names were read to open the day, then we had photos, lunch and -- finally -- our first game! It was a long day, but the kids did great and everyone had fun. Here are some photos of Corey practicing for his photo, the players during the opening session, Corey (3) playing catcher and our happy boys at the end of the day.

Week of Nana and Papa

Of course we have to start out by saying that my parents were here only a day or so before Rob took off to meet friends in Vegas. Apparently my dad was either impressed or distressed enough over Rob's packing selection to take a photo. Yes - he packed over a case of Miller Lite for the three nights in Vegas. Probably how he managed to do the trip so cheaply!


Anyone who knows my parents won't be surprised that one of the very first things Nana and Papa did with the kids when they arrived was take them to Snip-Its to get their locks trimmed. And I have to admit, seeing the "before" photo here, it was probably time. I miss Brody's curly locks, but Corey's hair looked like it belonged in the 70s (and frankly, it was probably because of that hair that I thought he looked SO much like Rob in a photo album we have: 70s Rob standing on a pier fishing.)





I had an appointment scheduled which was subsequently postponed, so I got to join them for dinner at NYPD, our new favorite pizza joint. You can see that Corey has Rob's old GameBoy to keep him company in the car.

We made a trip to the zoo while they were here, truly testing my abilities post-surgery. However, it was just walking, and I took plenty of rests. Once we got to the elephants, Corey and Nana and I were ready to go to lunch. Brody, however, was "still watching the elephants" for some time. He spent similar time watching the zebras, where he would not allow Papa to take his photograph (the Papa-razzi can be stressful) because he was "too busy" watching the zebras.

At some point, Nana went out in the backyard with the boys, and next thing I knew it, they were stripped down to their underwear (or pull-up, as the case may be) and splashing around in the ice-cold water. For everyone freezing in the midwest, it's not truly swimming weather here. Only for the very brave or very young.

Friday evening we hosted Brody's BFF from Goddard School and his mother. The kids had a great time climbing on the slide, running from Corey's tickles, tickling Corey, playing with trains and watching Madagascar 2. We hope to get together with them again soon because it made Brody very, very happy!

Saturday morning we went to the Riperian Preserve for a family bird walk. I figured it would be a 20-minute walk where we'd see a few ducks and move on. It turned out to be about 90 minutes (again, testing my post-surgery limits!) and we saw enough birds that Corey got a triple Bingo on his bingo card. (Which earned him a book on birds in Arizona, and we've seen many of them in our backyard since then, as Nana installed a milk jug bird feeder for Corey's entertainment.)




And of course, no visit from anyone is complete without hockey. So Papa played hockey. Corey played hockey. Brody tried to play hockey. Even Nana got to play hockey!





Sunday we debated how to best be sure to watch the KU game. We finally decided that - given the timing was the same as a local team - we'd be best off hoping it was on TV, and using the free Internet feed as back-up. We needed that internet feed! We were all decked out in our crimson and blue, and thank goodness we saw KU sail into the Sweet Sixteen!





Against my mother's objections, we trooped out to dinner in our KU apparel. Nana and Papa aren't big Mexican fans so we get our fix in Z Tejas when they come. Papa had a steak smothered in gorgonzola dressing, and though Corey had a grilled cheese, there was a showdown between them for Papa's last bites. Guess who won?

We had a great time with Nana and Papa this weekend, and today seemed so slow and quiet without them! I went to the doctor for my post-op appointment and we (well, me) decided it's time for me to go back to work, but I'm giving it "one more time, last time" (Brody's favorite expression) week to make sure I'm fully recovered. I'm planning on heading back Monday. Meanwhile, I have knitted half a sweater (mind you, the back panel was finished in Kansas and the sweater is wool, so it's been some time since I approached it), knitted half a blanket and finished three and a half books. Still time to get that last book and blanket finished....

Kristin and John visit: Days 2-4

We're FINALLY getting caught up on the blog (Carrie is hoping to provide the Nana-Papa update soon), but we've been busy, busy, busy! Kristin and John got to see Corey's final Mini-Mites practice of the winter season. They did some drills, had a "skills competition" and of course a scrimmage.

The next day, Kristin, John, Corey and I went to an Indians' game in Goodyear. A bit of a hike, but beautiful facility and great weather! Obviously, the Indians lost, but we had fun!

The rest of the time was pretty much spent playing hockey (outside and Wii), playing games (they gave us a cool Cubs travel Yahtzee game) and puzzles. It was great to see them!

Kristin and John visit: Day 1

Carrie and Brody picked up Kristin and John on Friday morning, then cam home to get me, then we picked up Corey after his half-day at school and were off to the Cubs-Mariners game. (Brody refused to have his picture taken in the car, "I can't. I'm looking out my window.")

We had lawn seats for the game, so here are some photos of the craziness. Corey even got a piece of gum from Mariners relief pitcher Tyler Walker when we walked by the bullpen during the game. You can see how close we could get to the pitchers (warming up on the right) in the last photo ... don't worry, we weren't blocking anybody's view "ON THE RAIL!"

We also "opened" the pool yesterday, continuing the family tradition of swimming the Friday of spring break. It was a little cold -- our Canadian friends thought we were crazy -- but not too bad.

Today we're going to Costco, In-n-Out and Corey's final hockey practice/pizza party tonight.

NY Pizza Dept.

Corey had six great days at school in a row, and we didn't have any sporting events tonight, so we decided to celebrate at NYPD. Corey loved the butter noodles, Brody loved the ravioli, Carrie loved the dessert ... and Rob loved it all!

Goal #1

Goal #2

Flagstaff Fun, and More

At left is the Gilbert Polar Ice "mini-mites" team after their victorious run in Flagstaff on Saturday. Poor Rob had to drive Corey up and back (2 and a half hours each way) in one day, all by himself, on very little sleep.

According to Corey, they won the first game 9-2 and the second 6-1, or vice versa. I'm not the reporter in the family, as you know.

Each player got a trophy, and Coach Ben looks pretty proud of the team.

Corey only has two more weeks of hockey, and we've decided he needs a break (or we need a break!) from hockey over the summer. He's signed up for Little League machine pitch (with dear old Dad as coach), so no worries that his athletic skills will go under-utilized.

They put up dividers in the rink so they could have two games going on at once. Corey is in green, and luckily, they had numbers affixed to their jerseys so he's much easier to spot.

He's number 30, because ... he wanted 3 (he almost scored a hat trick during practice the day they chose numbers) but also 30, because it's 3 and 30 the same number as Bryzgolov, one of his favorite players and the Coyotes' goalied. (He has so many - I don't know half of who he talks about myself.)

Of course, Corey played goalie while up in Flagstaff. You can see him in the goal in this picture. However, he did make it out of the goal quite a bit - enough to score two goals, for which I'll upload the videos separately since they take a while.

Of course, I've got nothing but time right now. I'm recovering from surgery myself. I had surgery Tuesday morning and left the hospital Wednesday afternoon. I've been sleeping a LOT, which means Rob's been up with the kids when they inevitably get up in the middle of the night. Today I'm trying to go sans painkillers, but we'll see how long that lasts. I've been up walking around and I don't sleep all day anymore, which is progress. However, I can now reluctantly see why it's probably not a good idea to go sit at an office all day. But we all know me well enough to know I'm about a week from stir-crazy. Fortunately I've got a good book!

Grammy has been here since before the surgery to help out. She's been great with the boys and in preparing meals, so I'll miss her when she leaves tonight. The whole no-lifting anything over 10 pounds is a real issue for me helping out with the boys, and the inability to bend a lot right now is preventing me from helping out around the house.

On a more somber note, we withdrew Brody from Goddard School, beginning today. Rob is working only part-time now, and it's just too much in this horrible economy to do it all! However, I'm optimistic that something full-time will turn up for Rob soon and we can return Brody to his BFF and favorite teachers.