Japanese Speedskaters!!

We live quite close to Vancouver, where the Vancouver 2010 Olympics are being held...so our town is accomodating alot of the Olympic venues. At our local ice arena...the Russian Figure Skaters and Japanese Speed Skaters are practicing. I wanted to take the kids to see this, and it proved to be a great time!

In the first picture here, you can see the man in the white jacket...he appears to be a coach/trainer, I am not sure which.  He was checking the skates for precision something or other.  It showed me how little I know about speedskating.  They would sit and stare at their skates, looking for any flaws, or uneveness...or so that is what they appeared to be doing.

My camera is not good enough to catch action shots...so you will just have to take my word for it that it was a great experience! :)

Russian Figure Skaters...

The Russian Figure Skaters were also practicing in town.  It was alot of fun to watch them.  I cannot remember their names, but we are planning on watching them to see how they do!  There were 3 couples that we were watching...

Below, he kept trying to do a jump with his partner, but couldn't hit it at all, fell each time.  You could see the look of discouragement each time...

YEAH!! HE did it! 

Ryan has Monia...

Last week was a bad week for Ryan...he ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. It was not a fun time for him. He especially did not appreciate the male nurse who put that needle in his hand while he was sleeping. He is still asking, "Why would he do dat to me?! It hurt me so bad!" He did handle it like a trooper though. Basically, he was having a hard time breathing. His little tummy blows up like a ballon and deflates like a balloon, in a matter of seconds. He has trouble finding his breath. When we went into emergency, they said he was definately in distress and sent him for an xray. There, they saw the pneumonia in his upper chest. They then decided they would admit him. He was on this mask, that you see below, every 4 hours.

We would pass the time with movies, and his Geraffy, that Grandma and Grandpa brought him, really made him feel better!

The first day was a rough one, but by morning, he was back to his usual self.  When they brought him breakfast...OH MY!  You should have heard him moan with every bite.  Hospital eggs..mmmmm!
Cold toast...mmmmm!!
Crunchy pears....mmmmmm!!
Corn flakes....mmmmm!!
Warm milk...mmmm!!
Grape juice...mmmm!
Just imagine the yelp I heard when I found him some cheese in the fridge...His favorite!
Yep...he was one happy boy by this time!

Before you know it, he was up walking around his room. He was in isolation, as it was a respiratory thing, so he couldn't leave his room.

He was playing video games...

His nurses came in, and offered to give me a break, and played games with him.  I kinda think that made his healing much better!

Just look at the eyes...

He REALLY liked Nurse Jessica!

Oops...kinda over did it...time for the mask again.  Slow down son...take a deep breath.  Plenty of time for pretty girls LATER!

He got to come home the next day, rather than the original 4 days that they were talking.  So that was great.  He is doing MUCH better now, and we are hoping this will be it for a long time!  As Ryan said, "It is not so much pun (fun) having Monia (pneumonia) when you are just a little boy!"

HAWKEY...

We took the kids to a hockey game recently...and they had a great time. Ryan loved meeting "HAWKEY", and insists that Hawkey is his friend. Ok, well the mascot was great, but I, personally, do not like hockey...too much fighting for this moms taste. But, it was a great game, and I actually enjoyed myself a bit. I do have to say, there were 7 or 8 fights...and I had a real winner of a guy sitting next to me, screaming each time, "Kill him! Pound him till he bleeds!! Beat the *#!* out of him!!" Well, the party pooper in me came out, as I had my 4 year old in my lap, and I told the guy in my best MOM VOICE I could muster up, "This is the family section you know." He laughed. He probably thought, "This is a hockey game MOMMY!!" Oh well, I gave it my best shot.

Needless to say, the kids had a FANTASTIC time! HAWKEY was very nice to them, too...

Look at those smiles! How can I deny Joe his greatest love?! I can't. It was a packed game. His smile was huge. His heart was full. I just won't tell him that I will never allow him to play hockey...sigh...I know...
We will just let him think he will play in the NHL just a little longer.

Party Pooper.
This is HOCKEY, MOMMY!!

Please Vote!!

I am not sure who is really reading this silly blog...but...I have a favor to ask whoever is still reading...:)

I have entered my niece in a baby photo contest...it is through our local paper, Would you vote for her?  The contest runs from today until, I believe the 28th...

She is just the cutest thing! Plus, you will thoroughly enjoy her hair! I have never seen anything like it.   It would be great if she won, as she would win a gift certificate to the best little baby store around!!  I will also put a link on the sidebar to my page here, so that when you want to vote, you can just come here and click on the link.

Unfortunately, you have to register to vote, but it is quick and not much to it, and as I said, it is for our local paper and a little baby shop in town, so they won't be sending you a bunch of spam from it.

Her title is: KATE THE GREAT and she is wearing a little green sleeper. There are about 100 entries, so you if you can't see it from the link below, there is a spot where you can click on KATE THE GREAT.  Why...here is her picture you will be looking for!! :)

You can find the entry here:

http://bellinghamherald.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?contestid=12927&pagetype=VOTING&SubmissionID=2579251

**If this link isn't working, you will see Kate on the right side of my blog here...click on KATE THE GREAT, and it will take you to her page**

(Not sure how to add it and make it highlight, so if you have trouble with this, please let me know!!)
**Just so you know, you can vote once a day!! And feel free to tell your friends!!**
***Just a side note...when you pull up Kate The Great to vote, her picture will come up, at that time, you will click on SAVE VOTE. That will confirm your vote.***

Thanks so much! You are the best!!

My Boy Loves Hockey...

On Sunday I heard that our local hockey team would be at our local grocery store signing some autographs...when I told this to my Joey...you should have seen his eyes light up!  He let out a 9 year old yelp, and begged me to take him.  Well, he didn't have to beg, as I was already going to take him.  But I tell ya...he was the GOLDEN CHILD for the next 3 hours!!  We went to the store, and there they were!  I think Joe was 3rd in line...smiling from ear to ear.  He got them to sign a small hockey stick and they also signed a team logo paper that they had.  My normally loud and never at a loss of words child -  was tongue tied!  Until they asked him where he goes skiing...He still had his ski tags on from his last trip to the mountains. 
You honestly could see my son radiating light!  I could have made money off of the electric vibe coming off of his 9 year old little body.  We had to let the others in for their autographs, so I told him we should go get our groceries.  Inside, we were talking about the drawing that he entered to win a signed jersey...and he wanted to know when they were doing the draw...I told him to go back out and ask.  He comes back with a huge smile, and I asked him "What did they say?"  He said, "They remembered my name!"  I asked him how he knew that and he said, "Because Carson said, 'S'up, Joey?'  "  Oh ya...totally happy kid now!  And I was on the Greatest Mom list for at least the next 2 hours!  Woot!!  Joey then told me that this was the best day of his life! :) 
Well, that was Sunday and Monday he was off to a Canucks game!

I then became the best mom ever AGAIN because when he asked me to paint his face, I said YES!!  And...when we found his shirt that he wanted to wear stuffed under his bed with dirty white smears on it...I didn't get mad AND I let him wear it!

Oh ya!  Hey Joey, S'up NOW?!  Who's duh best Mama??!!
Ya, well, that only lasted until his dad came in and became the best dad on the planet for simply taking him to the game...but hey...a mom can soak in the glory, right?
Needless to say, the Canucks lost, but he still wanted to wear his painted face to school the next day, and I did have to draw the line at letting him wear the stinky, smelly, dirty shirt to school...

Tonight we are on our way to watch our local team play.  Supposed to be a sold out game.
By the way, did I tell you that I DON'T LIKE HOCKEY!!??
Anything for my boy!! :) 

Start A Band...

Well, the other day, I found Ryan in the living room, jammin' it up with Brad Paisley and Keith Urban...looks like they convinced him to join their band in their "Start A Band" video...