Start 'em Young

Dallas Stars "Water Boys"

We had a surprise opportunity on Thursday to go to a Dallas Stars game. So, I am pleased to say we took the boys to their first ice hockey game (my favorite sport). After racing home, getting the boys to chow down on a pizza Ed picked up (note that Austin refuses to eat cheese so Ed had to remove cheese from some slices), we were off to battle traffic to get to the American Airlines Center. On the way, while in slow traffic, our lane was moving a bit faster than others and we passed a police car that was also in traffic. Aidan spotted it right away and asked if I was glad I was following the rules when I drove passed the police car - and of course, I was glad.

We paid $15 to park at the arena, right next to the train station. As we got out of the car and pointed out the trains to the boys, Ed wondered outloud - Why didn't we think of taking the train?!

Getting to our seats on the 3rd level of the arena meant riding two very large escalators - this was probably the highlight of the trip for Ausin. Once we located our section and seats, the boys were facinated with the game. Aidan asked question after question, as did Austin. Sample questions from the night:

"Do all hockey games have ice?"

"Do they test the ice with a hammer to see if it cracks?"

"Is #88 in time out again?" (the penalty box)

"Where did the peppa go?" (that would be the Chili Pepper mini blimp floating around the arena)

When I asked the boys who they were rooting for, here's what I heard:

Aidan said, "I hoot for the Dallas."

Austin said, "I hoot for both teams."

(I love how they say "hoot" instead of "root").

Austin was amused by his theater style seat. He announced several times that his chair was eating him and at one point clarified it really was - his feet had gone through the folding part of the seat and when he leaned the seat back into it's normal sitting position, he was stuck!

Bikers

Grapevine Bikers

Last weekend we took the boys out for a bike ride around Lake Grapevine. Aidan rides on two wheels (no more training wheels) and Austin was on our tag-a-long bike attached to the back of mine. Austin enjoyed the outing, but Aidan got frustrated with the occassional hill and not always getting to be first in the line. Also, the off-roading we tried was too much and we had to walk our bikes back to the paved area. The boys did find one particularly fun stop. On an off-shoot of the path, there was a pile of old asphalt. They had fun running up and down the pile and finally decided it was a buried alligator. Of course, while that was an exciting prospect, Austin was a bit scared, so that was the end of climbing on the imaginary alligator!

Valentines Suitors

Aidan was to dress up for a tea party at school. Well, he usually wears khakis and a polo to school so we needed something a little "spiffier". We had some suits from Ed's youth, so I asked Aidan if he'd like to try one on. He loved the idea, and especially wanted to wear the clip-on tie.

Now, everything new Aidan gets to do, Austin has to do as well. We only had one button down shirt and it was 8:30 pm, so we made quick work of trying everything on. Here are the boys in suits circa 1976-8.

All Grown Up

Getting back on the horse, so to speak...

January was busy, and I fell behind reporting on our activities in part because I have misplaced the cable to download photos from the camera to the computer. Well, I bought a new cable and so I am ready to get back to blogging.

We went to the Ft. Worth Stockshow parade opening weekend. It was chilly and the boys wanted to be lifted up to see. Briefly (very briefly) I had Aidan on my shoulders and Austin in my arms. They could see the horses, wagons, stagecoaches, cowboys and cowgirls, but I couldn't see a thing.

RIDE 'EM COWBOYS

Ed took the boys to the Stockshow with some of their friends (James and Rachel). Aidan's favorite animals were the baby ducklings sliding down a tiny waterslide. Austin liked the 10 baby piglets that were fighting to get a spot at one of Mommy pig's 8 nipples. But both boys' favorite time was on the rides and eating in the carnival area.

We moved the boys into a bedroom together (into Ed's old office). We repainted the ceiling, but couldn't agree on painting the walls, so we just moved the boys stuff in. Now Aidan has his "Fat Head" on the wall - the #8 race car. I didn't realize that I would be hanging an 8 foot King of Beers ad on the wall. Alas, if Aidan was 13 I might not have done it, but for now - it's just a red race car.

CAR NUT