Well I have survived my 10 days keeping the family life going without my husband. Well, 9 ½ days, really. So glad he’s home – we have missed him so much! We had a pretty good week, but certainly had its overwhelming moments. Had help most days and nights, but the kids didn’t adhere to their regular bedtimes very well. Mom and Dad would've come to help, but I need them later this month more than these 2 weekends. It won't be long before they are living here, though, according to my mom's calculations!

Both weekends were full of ice hockey for me and Mark with practice on Friday night and a game on Saturday. Mark started skating when he was 3 ½ or 4 years old and then began taking hockey classes. Once he was a certain age we took a break because our local ice rink wanted a bigger commitment to hockey than we were able to make.

But now we found that Iceplex in Raleigh has  a league where you practice maybe once a week and have one game on Saturday at the same place (no traveling). It’s quite a bit farther to drive than our local rink, but it’s worth it for Mark to be able to play. Mark has been wanting to play goalie, and this past weekend Mark practiced in goal for the first time and played goalie during the game on Saturday!

The bag

The bag is organized and it has WHEELS so we don't have to lug it around anymore- Mark can carry "his own load!" We need a big garage to store Rob and Mark's hockey equipment! We also have to store all Mark's outgrown stuff cause I'm sure the twins aren't gonna be too far behind. I do NOT wanna buy all that junk again if we don't have to! Looks like we may get lucky because of the difference in Gantt and Brett's size - maybe get 3 uses out of everything - it's worked that way with clothing and shoes so far!

 Coach helping Mark suit up to play goaltender

 All ready to go

First time stepping on ice as goaltender - so awesome!

We lost by one point,  though! The final score was 10-9.  The coach likes to switch everyone around so they can all learn the different positions, but Mark is already a really good defenseman. The weekend before last, Mark scored his first goal!!

Pics from earlier in the season

It's very interesting to be in the locker room with these guys. In this league they are still young enough that moms go in the locker room with them. You should hear the giggling that comes out of these little boys! It's so adorable.  This is what they do before the games when the coaches aren't looking.

OUCH!

After this week's game, Mark and I were able to stay for public skate (thanks to the best sitter ever, Candace Basham). It was the first time I'd ice skated in 3 years - since before I was pregnant with the twins! I actually remember having the opportunity but not skating because of the pregnancy. Since they've been born, I've never really had the chance! I was proud that I didn't fall, even once!

Speaking of skating and hockey, we cheered on our Carolina Hurricanes this weekend - they needed to win their final game of the season in order to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost, so we are bummed about that. But looking forward to watching the Stanley Cup playoffs this year anyway, and looking forward to next season!

Watching the game - Gantt is saying "Go Canes!"