Le Hockey

I may be kicking myself in the future, but two years after Marie started saying she wanted to play hockey, and after a few weeks of Peter hardcore selling this great new program for kids that the Colorado Avalanche was piloting, I finally caved. I said my little girl could play.

Don't worry - Peter wore me down a bit more and convinced me to sign up the boys (who weren't all that excited about it) too.

And so it quickly came to pass that we were standing betwixt three behemoth bags (far bigger than their owners), chock full of hockey gear.

I'll at least concede that Peter was right in that it was a great deal; all of this brand new equipment was included in the six-week program - we got a full set of CCM gear for each kid, from helmet to skates and everything in between, all for keeps. Also 6 free tickets per kid to an Avalanche game of choice (although we're happy to share, because sitting through three separate Avs games sounds exhausting right now!)

With two weeks to go before the first practice, we spent the weekends at open skate letting the kids try out their new gear and get their skating legs under them. They were delighted that their pads protected them from all of their spills and made the whole experience a whole lot more enjoyable. They improved quickly (Marie especially, thanks to her rollerblading experience) and Marie had fun trying to race me around the rink. No one was willing to race Dad, of course.

Despite being hesitant at first, the boys came around quickly to playing hockey with big sis after their first time skating in their gear. The real clincher was when Dad allowed them to watch The Mighty Ducks that evening. Talk about inspiration station. [Quack with me. You know you want to.] Naturally it immediately led to what I was dreading: hockey in the house.

We had drill the same day as their first practice, so Peter's parents were incredibly helpful as always and carted the kids off to the rink and started getting them all suited up until Peter could arrive to help. Having already raised one little hockey hound, they got to re-live their glory days of hockey mom/hockey dad expertise - but this time, times three!  Never have I see Peter so in his element, either. It's really almost as fun to watch him as it is the kids.

And I also got out of work early enough for once to catch the last fifteen minutes of their practice; it was the most adorable thing ever. Seeing them ice skating was cute enough, but add hockey sticks and a bunch of tots all on the ice playing bumper pads...seriously. Adorable.

Erik saw me first and skated over the boards to say hi :)

Marie passing like a champ. She quickly appeared to get bored with this and
skated over to the goal to practice shooting. 

...and Erik followed suit. (That's him shooting in the background.
I also love the pileups in the far back on both pics).

Meanwhile, Ethan stayed glued o the mini goal so he could score over and over.

Suffice it to say, we have some happy little Avs and Avs fans on our hands...and I think it will be a very fun fall for all.

Gooooo Ducks! I mean Avs!

In the penalty box! 
(It was Peter's idea - and my new favorite picture of them!)