Liam's Goalie Game and Finn's first time on the Ice

It is hard to tell, but that is Liam dressed up in the goalie gear.  I think the gear might weigh more than Liam, but he didn't complain!

Liam as Goalie on the ice.  He was o.k. unless he fell over and it was a bit tricky getting back up!

3 on 3 action

Liam in the goal

Finn at hockey practice watching goalie

Getting ready to skate with Daddy

Finn's first time on the ice and he did NOT want to get off.

No worries, he did not fall or anything.  He is just sitting out there.

Aiden showed considerable improvement on his first trip out on the ice.  He enjoyed it this year which is quite different from how he felt in previous years.

The boys and I took a hike in the woods on Thanksgiving Day while Finn was asleep and John was making dinner for all of us.

Really!?  I get to wear skates!

Mom and Finn on the ice.  There is absolutely no way I could ice skate safely and hold Finn.  We roller skated in Arkansas when I was young so my ice skating skills are minimal.

Although it was the coldest Thanksgiving here in over 30 years, we had a nice day and enjoyed a very nice dinner complete with all the things that John and I enjoy at this time of year.  The boys actually ate a lot of it this year which is a big improvement from previous years.  Our extended time off from school and work was fun and mixed with some hockey, ice skating, sledding, and relaxing.

Liam had the opportunity to be a goalie for his hockey team this weekend. They have a rotation on their team so that each child gets a chance to wear all the goalie gear for a game. They had a 3 on 3 game over the weekend and Liam got his turn as goalie. The amount of gear that a goalie has to wear is crazy and it is heavy! Considering Liam only weighs about 45 pounds, I would guess this gear was nearly as heavy as he is. He managed to do pretty good from my non expert opinion. He was able to stop some pucks and get up when he fell down so that seems like an accomplishment to me.  Luke is next up on the list so stay tuned!  Luke's has always wanted to be a goalie for some reason so we will see what he thinks.

I recall a time about 3-4 years ago when John and I went to a total hole in the wall resale hockey store to find some used skates so that Luke and Liam could learn how to ice skate. We had been told by many local Minnesotans that learning to skate at an early age was a necessity in Minnesota. When we pulled up to this store, we debated whether or not to even go in, but it was recommended as a good place to find decent skates at a reasonable price. During this trip to buy skates, I remember this guy asking us if we needed a pair of skates for our youngest son. We both died laughing and said, are you kidding? He barely walks. At the time, Aiden was probably about Finn's age. We both commented about "how crazy people must be to put their barely walking children in ice skates!"  What a joke, we thought....Well, as crazy as it sounds, we bought those teeny tiny used skates the guy offered us although I don't recall taking Aiden out on the ice very much because we couldn't even manage taking Luke and Liam out on the ice together! Fast forward to this weekend and we ARE those crazy parents.  Finn is now 16 months and he went out on the ice in those same teeny skates for the first time! Thankfully, John's skating skills have improved a bit over the years and Luke and Liam can do circles around us on their skates so taking everyone skating is slightly less challenging albeit still crazy in my opinion.