Tan and Park playing hockey on the pond

Last week before Christmas (I know, Christmas will eventually get posted) it was really cold for quite some time. That means... POND HOCKEY!!! The boys love when it's cold enough they can take their skates and go skate on the pond. They had a great time and all their friends who were just trying to run on the ice were jealous that the boys had skates and were skating. It was cause for some serious brother-on-brother brawling, but they had a good time. Tanner didn't want to take his nice sticks so he just took one Chris' extra ones.

Parker chasing the puck.
Tanner is in gray and Parker is in the 33 jacket.

Nice little brotherly contest.

Parker on a mission...

At the end of the day, they can still stand side by side (the next picture I didn't post was Tanner pushing Parker out of the way... so much love :) Until next time....

Thanksgiving Weekend...a little late

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas will be here in 25 days?!! Where does the time go?!!! We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. As unusual as this might sound... I did not take ONE PICTURE :(. So I will just quickly recap the weekend in a summary.

The kids were out of school on Tuesday which allowed for a yep you guessed it.... sleepover. Tanner and Parker each had a friend spend the night (Josh and Nick) and then woke up to a pancake breakfast. Wednesday was just a lot of playing outside and enjoying the day "off".

Thursday was Thanksgiving and allowed us a moment to become grounded and really think of things we are grateful for and all the bounteous blessings we have. Our family was able to enjoy a meal that was warm, fresh, in a warm home, in clean clothes (mostly :) ) and with friends. What more could you ask for? (Don't answer that...those that know me are answering family, but I told you not to answer!)

We had some friends, Les and Kenny Wamsley come over for dinner. Their 2 oldest kids were in Michigan with family and so they brought their other 2 daughters, Nikki and Britney. Dinner was FABULOUS and then while the kids were all being good and entertained we were able to play Boxers and Briefs and just hangout and talk. We had some good laughs, were very full, and ate some yummy desserts!

Friday posed as Beck's annual "I don't know why I do this, but I love it!" day. Chris always makes fun of me staying up until 2am online shopping and then getting up at 4a.m. to hit the stores. His comment is "it's worth my extra $10 to sleep and I'll get it later". Well not this year! I tried to tell Tanner I would pay him to come be "cart boy". He was all over that, but Chris reminded me that then the surprises would be ruined. Although I could have gone with Lauri, or Brooke, or Holt, or anyone, HE volunteered to come! He said "I can get up early to duck hunt, what's the difference?" Well he learned the difference :) It was major chaos.... and I LOVED IT! I love bobbing and weaving in and out of people and most importantly I love to people watch. I like watching to see who's just really not going to have this be a positive experience no matter what. So Chris hit Walmart and Target with me and then he came back home for a quick nap and up with kids. I continued on.... Kohl's, Home Depot, Toys R us and made the mistake of hooking up with a friend to go to the mall..... WOW can this girl shop!!! It was the longest Black Friday in history, but only comes once a year and I loved it!

Even though I was gone, Chris took ALL the boys (even Mason) up to the ice rink to go ice skating. He had promised them and I was suppose to be back, but because I drove with a friend to the mall, I wasn't. Friday night was of course hockey and of course... another sleepover. However, this one ended in a ride back home around 11pm as Kyle took a hockey puck from Parker to the face. :( They were playing shinny's and using a real puck and Parker did a slap shot and nailed Kyle in the lip. Busted lip, loose tooth, sad kid. So he went home, but was fine and hooked back up with us on Saturday.

Saturday was sleeping in and the big boys going to a Blues hockey game. It was Chris, Tan, Park, Ev, and Tan and Park's hockey friend, Kyle Holt. They had a great time and got some souvenirs. Came home played some more and then Chris took all of them that night to the ice rink for a couple of hours to skate.

Sunday was just another Sunday.... church :). The best part was we did wake up to our first snowfall of the year. The grass was covered, but it wasn't cold enough to stick to the streets. My kids asked if church would be canceled (they have canceled church before because of snow) and yes, we had church. That was about it for our Thanksgiving weekend end. Thanks Chris, for all your time taking care of the boys and spending time with them. It was truly something to be thankful for!

Hockey Champs Fall 2008

Tanner Condiff #3 (after his mom's favorite number haha)

Parker Condiff #1 (because he really thinks this! haha)

Back row: Coach Kevin, Coach Derek, Braden, Tanner, Parker, Brad, Marlon

Middle row: Kevin, Kyle, Drake

Laying down: Riley and our goalie, Noah

They did it again! I can't believe I didn't post this, but the boys and their hockey team won their division again this past month. They did a really good job and both boys got goals. Chris had ordered their jerseys for the from Nike and they love them! They are in a middle of a session right now, but they have BOTH been asked to play up this next session in December and play on the 12 and under advance team. That's really good news especially for Parker since he just turned 9 and should be on a 10 and under team. The boys have really improved over the past few months and really are putting their everything into it which makes it easier for us as parents. So this won't be the end of pictures and more info to come as we get it. We're really proud of them and can't wait to see what this advanced level can do for them!!!

Fall Weather that is CRAZY!!!

We have started quite a few trends in the neighborhood. First, it was everyone came over for the tramp, then the basketball hoop or the Foosball table, but now we have most boys aged 5-12 playing hockey! We have one of those outdoor hockey nets where the guy stands in front of it. They love it!

Kids L-R Parker, Austin, Tyler, Tanner, Ryan, Nick, Evan, and Miles.

The boys on a "Beck Break". Snow cones for everyone...Yeah! It was so nice, I pulled the snow cone maker out we had snow cones.



K, I had to share this pic (and cut as much of me out as possible), but Mason looks like he has hair and it looks like it's curly. But, 1. He doesn't and 2. It's not curly, but I thought it was adorable that it looked like he has hair :)

My snow cone helper. Luckily everyone had one. He loved feeling the shaved ice and had a few brain freezes!

SLAM DUNK! He's getting ready for some basketball with the brothers!

Mason as the goalie for the boys....NOT! He kept walking in front of it and standing right here just like this every time. I hope he's not trying to tell me he wants to be a goalie!

The weather has gone from BEAUTIFUL in low-mid 70's to highs of mid 40's. It's definitely fall and is no longer shorts and t-shirt weather. Just wanted to share some fun outdoor shots!

Happy 9th Birthday, Parker!

Happy Birthday, Park! I can't believe he's 9!!! Where does the time go??? Parker had a great birthday this year. The best for him was going to the Blues hockey game and seeing the Dallas Stars. And as great as that was... He also loved getting presents, eating at HIS favorite restaurant, Chili's (he always gets the ribs), mom's homemade chocolate cake, and the never ending sleepover with his friends and his trademark..."midnight snack"!

These pictures are out of order, but you'll get the idea.
Grandma and Grandpa Thompson got Parker 4 new additions to his Webkinz collection.

Nanny got Parker the Iron Man DVD with bonus Ironman cartoon.

Of course a birthday would not be complete without SOMETHING new for hockey! He's been wanting this 195 Hockey stick that brother got for his birthday and has had to wait so long that he gave it a big hug and a kiss...literally! He was very happy!

The real mini hockey set or "shinny hockey" as the boys call it. Now they each have a real goal rather than mom's laundry baskets to use as goals. (Chris' fingers were in front of the flash that's why a few pics are shadowed.)

And his first present... the official NHL mini stick for the St. Louis Blues. He's wanting to collect all the NHL teams and hang them on his wall in his room. I guess we'll see. (Oh and as a side note to these pictures.... the scrape above Parker's right eye is where the puck hit him earlier in the day. They were playing outside without their helmets on and took one in the face. Needless to say...He loves it and thinks it's so cool!)

All in all, he had a great birthday! Tons of hockey stuff (stick, mini hockey, trading cards, mini stick), a few DVD's and PS2 and DS games, and as always, Parker's favorite....cold hard cash! Happy Birthday post (a little late), Parker! His birthday was on Saturday, October 25th.

Seeing Stars???

For Parker's birthday, he wanted to go to a hockey game and see his favorite team, the Dallas Stars play. The Stars are only playing at the Blues game twice this season, so we had to go the week before his birthday. As we all walk in and are sporting our St. Louis Blues apparel (NHL Hockey for those of you already lost) or just our blue and gold...Parker has on his Dallas Stars jersey and some green mardi gras beads and is already for this game. My poor soon to be 9 years old is getting booed by random drunk guys and thinks it's great as he's yelling "Let's go Stars!" in the middle of a Blues game. (I'm not kidding...he's my wayward child, i swear!) We had such a great time though! We made sure to get some nose bleed seats so he could "see the whole game and not miss anything" and he got to bring his best bud Nick and I got a babysitter for Mason, so it really was a great evening. Of course we spent just about as much money on concessions as we did the tickets, but he was so happy....they all were really lovin' it! The sad news was that the Blues WON 6-1 and his Dallas Stars lost. He was sad, but when the Blues score 5 goals or more, you get a free blizzard at DQ and he forgot all about his Dallas Stars! Thanks for an awesome birthday party, Park!
Parker at his soon to be 9 Birthday party! He was SOOOOO happy!

Parker and his best friend, Nick at the game.

Mom and Parker enjoying some rivalry time! "GO BLUES! GO STARS!"

I wasn't kidding we were in the nose bleeds! This was the last minute of the game and where they were so far ahead, the place had cleared out, but was really full.

The 4 boys enjoying the game. Evan really got into and asked before we even left "When are we going to a Blues game again?" He's so cute!

Parker playing GOALIE?!?!

We've ventured on a new path...hopefully only for one day! Our goalie's grandma had passed away and we needed a sub. Couldn't find one and so the coach asked if anyone would want to do it. WELL.... my good, sweet, adventurous little Parker says, "I'LL DO IT!!!" with a big smile on his face. So they had a 10 minute practice where they all took shots on him so he could "practice". (Our original goalie has done this 3 or 4 sessions now, so Park had a lot riding on his shoulders). The game comes Friday night and I've now gone from the cheerleader in the stands for the whole team to Parker's main cheerleader about ready to pee my pants because I'm so nervous for him. Every little save and block the first half was me pounding the glass and screaming. If it was safe for him to look over, he'd look over and with a big cheese wave his blocker or stick or something. He of course was fine, but when you put the youngest player at 8 on a 12 and under team where he's in 3rd grade and the next oldest is in 5th grade, that's a lot of pressure for my boy (or come to find out...just mom!)

He did AWESOME!!! I was so proud of him! He did his best and really truly did do a great job. After the game all his teammates were giving him "high 5's" and "bumps" (knuckles) and he had a grin from ear to ear. We did win so that was nice to not have to worry how a lose would affect him. He came home and said "I could do that again!" I said, "It's OK, Park. Noah will be back next week." He then informed me to tell the coach he wants to be the sub in case they need him again. He's such a good kid and I'm glad he was able to have this opportunity.

PS Not the best picture, but when you're taking it through the glass with a baby, it's just for the memory :)

Hockey

Hockey is something that we just can't get away from in this house. Between the boys playing at home with friends, at the rink, watching it, trading cards about, reading about it, their dad also sells it, so it's literally EVERYWHERE! We haven't taken the camera forever and the rinks are dark and hard to get a picture of, but here's one of Tanner getting ready to intercept and actually take down to pass off for a goal. It was a great assist (of many) for Tanner. His best position is defense, but he handles the puck so well and skates so good, it's fun when he does get to play forward.
Again, not the best picture, but Parker is in the black in the middle of the skaters passing it up. He holds his own very well for only being 8 on a 12 and under league and being the youngest. He's in 3rd grade and there is one in 4th, but the rest of the team is mainly 5th with 3 in 6th. My kids just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hockey!!!

Inline Hockey CHAMPS!

CHAMPIONS!!!
In photo: Drake, Tanner, Parker, Kevin, Brad, Jacob and goalie Noah. (not pictured were Alec and Braden)

Both of my older boys play on what has been a 10 and under inline team. They played with this team for 3 sessions. The first sesion they went to the championship game undefeated and lost taking second. The second session they lost one game going into the championship game and again took second. They weren't about ready to let that happen to them again. So this session they played AWESOME and ended up WINNING!!! They were so excited to get bragging rights and do what the other teams had done when they got jerseys that said champions on it. Well the rink decided to give trophies this session. As a parent I felt bad for them that they got these cheap trophies instead of bragging right shirts, but the kids were okay with it because they really did do good and were just glad to win. Because they've been in the championships at least 3/4 sessions, rink rules are that they move up to the 12 and under league. So we'll see how they do. (This is now age appropriate for Tanner, but Parker's only 8, so he might decide playing 10 and under is just fine seeing that he could/should be playing 8 and under :)