Provincials

This past weekend was our provincial hockey game. At first, I was admittedly thinking..."oh no....not more hockey", but in all honesty, I'm glad we went. The teams we played were quite well matched, and the games were played well. Jake had a bit of a rough first game, was much better the second game, and was really good the third game. I don't think the coach and I saw it the same, as he sat Jake for most of the second period due to 4 penalties. But when the games are emotional, Jake plays with grit and determination. Unfortunately, the ref and him aren't didn't become besties, but boy was he playing his heart out, and not going to take no for an answer!! In my opinion (and the majority of parents watching), the ref didn't like the elbow Jake (# 12) gave here,



or the hit that became a roughing penalty. So he thought he would also give him a tripping penalty and a high stick penalty. The last two were just plain old bad calls, but when you have a target on your back, and the reffing officails are there grading the refs, sometimes it happens.

The very coolest part of the entire hockey year was the last 20 seconds of the 3rd game of provincials. We had to tie or win that third game to have a chance of making it to the semi-finals. We were down 5-4, and Jake goes down on a break-a-way and a kid from Fort McMurray hauls him down, and the ref calls a penalty shot! With 20 seconds left in the 3rd period! OH MY GOSH!!! Now if you've ever been to a game where a penalty shot is called, you will know how exciting this is....if you haven't...trust me, it's very exciting!!

I can't even begin to imagine the pressure on him, and after, (I asked him and he said at first his legs were shaking, but he managed to get ahold of himself before the ref blew the whistle...) I grabbed the camera and ran to the other end of the rink so I could video....

here it is (I had to video through the netting, it's not very clear, if you hit the little arrows in the bottom right corner, it will at least go full screen for you)


How. Cool. Was. That?? Seriously Cool.

I cried.

Then I tried to stop crying.

And I cried more...

As it turned out, we needed Okotoks to lose their game, and us tie or win ours to make semi's. Okotoks won. We were done. But I don't care :) That was awesome!

From here on in. Jake plays hit hockey. Looking forward to it!!

Love,
Jodi

Elnora Brahma Rama

Somehow, this wasn't ever posted...not sure why. We were invited by team mates off Jakes spring hockey team to the Elnora Brahma Rama in August 2010. They also do wild pony races and sheep riding at the Brahma Rama. A bunch of us camped at the Ward's and had a volleyball tournament and campfires. The whole thing is actually really fun. In town in the afternoon they do a bathtub race, there is a saskatoon pie competition, and then everyone goes over to watch the brahma rama.

Our rednecks used a feed trough for the bath tub race...

We brought it in the stock trailer...

Got ready for the race...

And pushed like crazy!! Well, not Marty, he must have been steering???

It was all up hill. Our cowboys were pretty tired after. Our tub wasn't exactly road worthy, so it was a pretty tough push :)

This was Drew's debut in sheep riding. Here is she is pre ride. All dolled up and ready to go.. So cute...... and those chinks! Sure hope she still fits in them this summer!!

If you watch closely at the end, her helmet is plugged full of dirt and when Mr. Rodeo Announcer goes over to undo it, it all falls out and she can see again.

The adrenaline was a little much I think. So here she is with a few tears after. But she said she would do it again. She sure did good!!! What a trooper :)

Kolt went in the wild pony race. Here is a pre run meeting of the team.

Kolt was the one chosen to get on the horse...

But instead he went over the horse :)

And here is Jakes run. There is always so much more action wherever Jake goes. I started watching the run and forgot to follow with the camera...sorry for the lapse in the middle!! If only they had a little more time, maybe they would've got her rode :)

We had a great weekend!! The weather could've cooperated a little more, as it kept raining. But it didn't do much to damped the festivities!

Love,

Jodi

Our Deepest Fear is Not That we Are Inadequate. Our Deepest Fear is That we Are Powerful Beyond Measure.

We found this video this spring when someone posted it on Facebook. It came at the perfect time for all of us. I think this video speaks to anyone and everyone. It is so powerful. Jake has memorized pieces of it, and says it to himself during tough games. I am posting it on my blog so that we don't lose it. Enjoy, its amazing...

Love

Jodi

As time goes by....

As time goes by, it's very interesting to look back to see how things unfold...

I had my children while I was still quite young - before anyone even really used a digital camera (if I had a scanner, I would scan some pics...). As I sit here, reading my friends & sisters blog about their babies, I smile to remember the times.

My girlfriend Trish has a blog and one of her posts is about how there is 4 new babies right on her block, that her new baby gets to grow up with. I didn't know anyone who had a baby when I had my first...but it sure looks like fun.

My sister, talks on her blog about first teeth, and first foods. This will be Sloan's first hallowe'en (and she has the most adorable baby costume for him). I'm thinking my Jake is soon going to be too old to go out trick or treating.

I flipped from Denise's blog, and Justice playing in the mud, to Trish's blog, to Julie's blog - then back to mine. My kids are big now. 10 years ago, I would've told you I would keep having babies because I enjoy "little" kids so much more than "big" kids. Funny how time changes everything. I wouldn't go back, I've had those years, and smile at the memories, but I am very proud of who my children are becoming (most of the time).

Every age is a challenge and a reward. Every new step is as special as the last. Now, as my kids don't require so much constant supervision, my new challenge is figuring out how to cut the strings... how much to give... how much to hover... Now I have to grow, and find small ways to let go, without letting go...

Thank goodness I still have time, and they are not all grown up yet. And thank goodness I spread them out enough. Many times when Drew gets to the stage that Jake was at 6 years ago, I'm thankful it will be the last time we'll have to do it (diapers, potty training, messy eating etc). Guess that's natures way of helping you let go...

They are so big, and yet still so little. As the time has gone by, its been very interesting...

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was a good time this year. We opted out of spring hockey to go back to box lacrosse. In the end Jake still played some spring hockey with the '99s as they were short kids (which was way fun because the 99's started hit hockey this year).

Jake was a novice this year and Kolt was a tyke. The tyke put through a bunch of rule changes, like no hitting, no real game play, no score keeping etc. Bummer for Kolt.

Luckily, Jake's novice team was always short players as well, so Kolt got to play up with Jake's team quite a bit. That was awesome! It's great to have your kids on the same team! And to watch them play together and look for each other - that's really cool! And Kolt fit right in there. He scored some goals, and made some really big hits. And could out run many of the older kids...

Anyway, the whirlwind lacrosse season came and went without me taking 1 picture! Bad mom! But we did at the very last minute put Jake in the Canada Day tournament. We had never been before, but man it was awesome! The teams were really competitive (one from California!), and the tournament was by far the best run tournament I have ever been to. Activites running ALL day long...awesome. They had professional photographers there, and these were the shots I bought of Jake.

He was MVP the first game. And played awesome in the next 2 as well. He really hit it off with the coach, who said he's watched Jake play lots, and it was an honor to finally get to coach him. Then the coach got ahold of me later, and told me he loves the way Jake plays the game. That kid makes his mom soo proud! What a great kid! Somehow he just knows how to make people fall in love with him. What a great quality.

Love,

Jodi

Calaway Park

Finally we snuck off to Calaway park for a few hours. Thanks to Denise forcing me out of the house. This summer has been so hard. We have been so busy, and the weather has been so crappy, it's been easy to put off doing the fun things, and just keep on keeping on waiting for the sun to shine...



Here is a pic of Justice on the Merry go Round. That kid smiles pretty much all the time :)

And here is Drew on her horse

Drew is a thrill seeker! I'll tell ya, she wants to do "no hands" on every ride. This one wasn't that scary, but we did one that had me holding her the whole time, while she screamed with her hands in the air - that kid is funny!! And a whole lot braver than I am...

Brian showed up briefly while we were there, and he got the boys on this next ride. Then he laughed like crazy knowing Jake would be so scared. It tipped over backwards while spinning around in a circle. Jake did better than we thought. The trip to Disney Land did him good. There is nothing at Calaway Park too daunting for him now!

Here they are coming off the log ride. This is the pic Denise snapped, but the next one I bought from Calaway. You just can't leave a pic with those faces to be thrown away. It's priceless!

This pic emulated Kolt perfectly. He's totally an adrenaline junkie! And the other two have the best faces as well.

We got rained out, and they shut down the rides due to a lightening storm. We were absolutely soaked by the time we left. But all was well, we were doing 2nds of the rides that were favorites by then anyways :)

Love,
Jodi

Mothers Day

At preschool there is always a nice mothers day tea. They make us mommy's feel so special and loved. They have the kids make us gifts, and then do a little concert and present their gifts. After that they serve us tea and snacks. It is very sweet, and have enjoyed it everytime :)



Here is a picture of Drew in the line up waiting to bring me my gift... Isn't she beautiful?

This is a pic Jake took of the both of us after we got home. I'm holding the card she made me...

For my mom this year, Julie organized a photo shoot. Julie and I took our kids for some pictures. They turned out sooo nice. It was such a great idea. Here are the shots...

Love,

Jodi

Welcome to the Family Sloan

He's here! He's here! Reg and Julie had their baby! Sloan Ronald Hanson. Born April 26, 2010 weighing in at 9lbs 2 oz. He's a chunker! But he is sooo precious!

I was going to post just one picture, but when you look at them both, it looks like he's smiling a bit in the 2nd one, so I thought I would post 2!


Isn't he awesome? I was there for it all! I would post the video of the birth too if I thought Julie would let me get away with it. Being present for the birth of new life, is the most amazing experience ever!

Love,
Jodi

Welcome Wade Barry Tebb!

Wade Barry Tebb came into the world by cesarean section on March 18, 2010. We met him shortly after, but I forgot my camera :( He is 2 weeks old in these pictures. He is so sweet, and we love him dearly.



Typical Tebb thing to do :)
Love,

Jodi

Jake turned 10...

Jake turned 10 this year... wow! Every year I think, how am I possibly old enough to have a kid that age, and this year I am saying it again...
10 seems really old. Now his age is double digits for the next 90 years. And just look at him in this picture, he looks big. There is no more little boy there...

It's a great age, and yet it's kind of an awkward age. He doesn't want to go everywhere I go anymore, and yet really he isn't quite old enough to just stay home.
To be honest, I don't want him to just stay home. How is that better than coming with me anyway??

We also moved on from the big birthday party with all of the kids this year. He's just a little too old to have a group of kids bring him a bunch of presents and make a circle around him while he opens them... So he was allowed to invite a few good buddies, and we woul take them to do whatever he wanted. So he invited Jaxon, Dedo, and Rhino and of course Kolt. Dedo was out of town, so I had only the 4 boys. We went go carting and played laser tag. Had some Tom's pizza, and then the boys all stayed over for a couple of nights.

Julie was taking a cake decorating class, so she offered to make Jake a cake. This is it below, it was AWESOME! She picked number 12 for the jersey, because that is typically Jake's number when he plays hockey and those are Pittsburgh Penguin colors, his favorite team.

Sure glad Auntie wants to do those things for my kids. Let's face it, trying to tackle that with 3 kids is a recipe for disaster!!

Love,

Jodi

Kolt at Tournament of Champions 2010

Kolt has had a great year playing hockey! He made the Blue side his first year of Novice. But not only did he make the blue side, he evaluated 3rd overall. Which means out of the 180 or so kids that went through evaluations, he had the 3rd highest score, and he did it as a 1st year. Man that kid is talented - he's so lucky...

Anyway, he tries so hard to be perfect all the time, that his brilliance doesn't show up in every game. But by the end of the year, he really was coming on strong. I took 2 clips from the Tournament of Champions in Sylvan Lake this year. The first one he scores a goal. The second one he drives past a kid on the other team, and scores. It's awesome. He's red and wears number 3.

West Edmonton Mall Tournament

Over the family day long weekend, Jake's Atom Tier 1 team played at West Ed in a tournament. It is very neat to play there, although it is a little bit dreadful at the same time. First, if you have ever been to West Ed on a long weekend, you would understand that there is no parking available at all. So if your game happens to be during mall business hours, you can pretty much count on a parking nightmare.
I did finally follow a lady carrying bags out of the mall, in hopes that she had drove a car and was leaving her parking spot... and then rejoiced as she did indeed walk to a car. However, I then had to wait with my signal light on until she packed all of those bags into her car, had a snack, did her lipstick, talked to her girlfriend about what she bought, phoned her husband and or children and possibly had a nap. I then took her spot after she left only to find myself in the mall where there are hordes of people, while dragging 3 kids and a hockey bag. Slightly challenging to say the least.
However, beyond that, it is kinda neat. The crowd watches, and they cheer for goals, and oh & ah over hits, or missed opportunities...
The photographer they had there was the real hi lite for me. He got some outstanding pictures. Here is a sequence he took of Jake after he scored that was just awesome!

At the time, I said I would never want to go back to that tournament. But now that it's over, I'm actually glad we went. It was something different, and the rink wasn't freezing cold at all. Next time, I might have mom keep my other 2 kids though :)

Love,

Jodi

We missed the torch?!?

So with the 2010 Olympics being in Vancouver, there was much hype and excitement in the area. Airdrie had a huge ceremony to celebrate as the torch passed through. We, unfortunately, missed the celebration due to hockey practice etc. :(




However, the next day the torch was going through Cochrane, so cousin Denise googled the torch map, gave me a call and we met in Cochrane.




The kids and I watched as the torch was passed from one runner to another. Jake was especially dissapointed with the lack of celebration in Cochrane...




So we headed off to McDonald's to meet up with Careen and her kids for lunch. Much to our surprise, in walked a Torch!!!!




I don't know how or why, but we did manage to catch some photo's of all of us with the guy who had the torch (I'm sure he was someone significant, but I have no idea who???). It was neat that the kids got to hold it... it seemed to help with the disappointment :)




This is cousin Careen, with her kids Austin and Kyla

And Denise and Justice

I love how sometimes the most ordinary thing can be turned into something really special.

Love,

Jodi

Kolt turns 8...

Kolt wanted a swimming party this year, so we rented the Holiday Inn and had a party. His friend Austin wanted the same, so we decided to have their birthday together since they have so many of the same friends. I think it turned out really good!

Here is the birthday boy with the cake
Here are the two boys together...

Present time!!

Party boy Cash Dedominicis fell asleep. So cute :)

Love,

Jodi

Drew turns 4!

Drew's birthday party was Princess themed this year. We invited some girls from pre school, had them dress up in princess dresses, and Jake and Kolt played games with them. It was fun!
Here's the cake...
Drew and Luka, watching some of the games...

Cake Time!! Jake decided to dress up as a princess too! What a kid...

Love,

Jodi

Surprise trip to DisneyLand

We decided to take the kids to Disneyland just before Christmas Break. We didn't tell them we were doing it. We did tell them we were going to Nana and Papa's in Phoenix. So when we borded the plane that's where they thought we were going. Little did they know there was a pit stop...

Jake did ask why we were bording the plane that said Los Angelos instead of the Phoenix plane. Brian told him that they sold out the plane to Phoenix, so we would have to go to Los Angeles and then drive

On the plane we were split up. The boys were sitting with a young man. He was nice and tried to make conversation with the boys. So he asked them if they were going to DisneyLand? Jake said "No. We are going to Phoenix, but that plane was full" Brian overheard, and said the look on the guys face was priceless. Needless to say, he didn't try to make much more conversation after that :)

Reg & Julie met us there. They actually had a day under their belt by the time we got there. They also surprised their kids with a trip. That was the Christmas present. So we had 7 kids in all - which made it a lot of fun!!

They decorate sooo much for Christmas. I can't imagine how many man hours it takes! Its beautiful, and really incredible. Here is a pic of one of the streets...

This was our first ride, the Buzz Lightyear ride...

Here's my beautiful Drew...

Waiting outside the Haunted House

I think Toon Town is so neat...

The very first character we ran into. Getting the kids to pose with Jesse was like pulling teeth, but they caught on after a few.

Dakota, Tate, Zane and Morgan with Jesse

We found Mickey!

These are clearly just a few hilites. Our days were jam packed with activity.... Good fun - not very restful - but good fun just the same

Love,
Jodi