Recorders and Basketball

4th grade recorder concert

Luke and Liam at their recent 4th grade recorder concert

Luke and Liam on far left in white shirts

Finn painting a dove at church

Field trip to see "A Wrinkle in Time" with their 4th grade class

Liam with his buddies at the movie theater

Aiden with some of the Timberwolves cheerleaders

Opening Tipoff

Aiden and Daddy

Aiden shooting a free-throw at the end of the game

We had a fun week and weekend without any hockey games or practices.  The temps were actually relatively warm here and it felt like spring must be coming pretty soon even if its supposed to snow this week.  

Luke and Liam had their fourth grade recorder concert.  They began learning to play the recorder at the beginning of the school year and earned all of their "recorder belts" by learning to play various songs.  The songs became gradually more difficult to play as they moved up to higher belts (similar to belts in karate).  They were selected to play the tenor recorder for their concert because they had achieved all of their ten belts.  Their music teacher did an amazing job with the concert and put a lot of time and effort into teaching many of the fourth graders their first instrument.  

Aiden had a fun trip to see the MN Timberwolves play the Rockets with John.  He received a free ticket for reading a certain number of minutes.  He has been interested in going to a professional basketball game for awhile now, so this was really a fun event for Aiden to do with John.  At the end of the game, they were able to go down on the court and shoot a free-throw.  Unfortunately, both Aiden and Dad missed their shots, but what a fun night!  

And that's a Wrap.....

Aiden (middle) getting ready for his final game.

Aiden's team getting ready to go!

Waiting for his turn to head out on the ice

B1 Gold Squirt Moms in the stands at our final game

Post game knee hockey 

Finn as a goalie

Aiden and Finn with their buddy, Frankie.

Season highlights for Luke and Liam's team

Luke and Liam's B1 Squirt team won the district #3 championship

Getting ready for Aiden's jamboree

Aiden is on the far left hand side

Aiden is in the back and John is on the bench

And that's a wrap.....It seems like just yesterday that we were going through hockey tryouts for Luke and Liam and preparing for Aiden's hockey season. Over the weekend, we finished our 2017-18 season of local association hockey. The boys will still do a AAA hockey team over the spring/summer, but the regular association hockey is by far the most involved and time-consuming with the season lasting from November to March where they play with friends from their school and other nearby schools within our district.

Luke and Liam completed their first season of travel hockey as B1 Squirts, Luke completed his first season as a full-time goalie, Aiden finished his first year of SuperMite hockey (a slight step up from Mite hockey), and Finn learned how to skate unassisted in the backyard.

We worked hard during the season and it kept us very busy on most weeknights and weekends. I feel like we made some sacrifices to keep up with the busy schedule, but we gained so much more. We met some tremendous friends a long the way, we experienced winning and losing, and we had successes and failures in tournaments. Overall, however, it was a growing experience that I know we wouldn't trade.

As all three older boys were going to bed after their last games over the weekend, they all agreed that they wished the season would never end. They were nearly in tears over having to say goodbye to the group of teammates and families that we spent the bulk of our winter with. We only knew 5 of the 13 families on Luke and Liam's team when the season began, but the team became a lot like family to us. It was truly a fun experience for all of us. Even Finn was sad that he won't be hanging out with all of his sibling buddies at the rink.

As crazy as it sounds right now, we are all excited to see what next year brings. We are so thankful for the amazing teams we were a part of and the positive experience we had this season. And what will we do with all of our extra time??? Baseball tryouts are in just a few weeks, of course! And AAA hockey begins soon....so the fun never ends.

The final week....

Aiden had a fun hockey competition last weekend

Celebrating with the "Stanley Cup"

Aiden and Finn are in the right side of the picture with two of their buddies watching a figure skating competition of some sort at the rink before Luke and Liam's game.  They were the only ones in the stands and clapped after every performance.

Army themed Birthday party for one of Finn's buddies (Finn is on far left)

Birthday parties and hockey games can be quite exhausting...

We are in the final week of our regular association hockey season.  We began November 1 and will finish on March 11.  Of course, the AAA hockey and spring hockey will start in a few weeks.  But, for now, we are excited about the last few games and ready for a brief respite.

Luke and Liam's Squirt B1 team, which is comprised of 9-11 year old boys in 4th and 5th grades, finished first in their district.  They lost three close games in the middle of the season to teams we honestly should have beaten, but we learned some lessons in the process.  We managed to finish strong and we are now gearing up for our final games in the district tournament.  We advanced to the semi finals and have our final games later this week and/or weekend, depending on results from other teams.

Aiden will complete his regular season on the North Stars SuperMite team this weekend as well.  He has a jamboree and a team bowling party to celebrate.  He has had a great season and has really enjoyed his team with several of his friends, including our neighbor across the street (very convenient for carpooling!).

Finn celebrated a 5th birthday for his good friend, Landon.  He has made lots of friends at the hockey rink and manages to ask for money to buy things nearly every time the score is tied and mom and dad are too focused to refuse!