Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Lacrosse Weekend in Missoula

The last weekend in April, our team was invited to Missoula by the U of M lacrosse team to hang out on their field before their last home game. 
 They got to see how fast they shoot, and even shoot on the Griz goalie.
 This shot was my "happy accident". 
I love it, but I didn't plan it. 
Elliott was being so good, just watching the kids, and soaking up the sun.
 They got to throw around for a while.
 Elliott loves throwing around with Ethan.
 Everyone had fun, and being on the Griz field was just awesome.
 Here's most of our team (not sure why the 1/2 naked player decided to sit by the kids I was photoing, but it happened).
 This is just a small number of kids who play lacrosse in Montana. 
 
Then we got to go back for the UM vs MSU lacrosse game. UM won, and it was a lot more fun to watch now that we know more about what we are watching. 
 The stadium is pretty dang cool.
 Happy Campers.
 Ethan with his friends (not us of course).
 Game 1 vs Billings. Ethan in the first face-off.
A lot of Ethan's former hockey teammates are also playing lacrosse. I love that we get to stay in touch with these families.
 Ethan plays tough.
 I was score keeping, so Jason was the camera man. He's much better than me.
 I love watching Ethan beat every kid, big or small, to the middle. Let me tell you, Ethan can sprint.
 Another face-off. 
 He never gives up.
 2 of our smallest players vs their biggest. Awesome.
 That's Ethan, between the giant kids legs. Haha
 Just Ethan, beating another kid in for the ball.
 This was my view. 
 After the games. 
Our first weekend was tough. They got stomped on. It was a big learning weekend for them, but they loved every second on the field.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

30th Mustache Bash

I executed the most epic surprise party for Jason's 30th birthday. He had NO clue it was happening until he walked in the house to find decorations and a cake. 

The invite was one of the best parts. Of course it's not in jpg form, so I can only show you part of it. There were printed mustaches to cut out and use if needed, and a disclaimer of "Party hosts are not responsible if your mustache makes you look like a child molester." Yes, it was that awesome. Thanks to this Etsy shop for designing it.
I found these awesome cut outs for my Cricut, and Elliott and I had to try them out. Jason never questioned these pictures. Guess he thinks I'm just this awesome all the time.
I made a photo booth. I had to tell a little white lie about the tripod pickup, but again, he never questioned it.
 Elliott helped me test the photo booth.
 I'm thinking I could pull off a bank heist with this look.
 We had a "Name That Stache" game. I printed it from this blog
 And my friend Lori and I told a few more lies to get this incredible cake made. Didn't Lori do a great job? And it was HUGE! Like barely fit in the back end of my car HUGE.
I think he liked it.  
 There was also "Put the Stache on Jason". I blew up a big picture of him and we used little sticker mustaches to put on him.
 I may have pinned it a little high for Elliott. Ooops.
 And the finished product.
 Then we all got our 'stache on for some pics.
This is my favorite picture of these two, ever.










Pretty sure everyone had a great time, and I know Jason enjoyed it. I'm still surprised that no one, not even our kids, gave it away. I wish we had fun parties all the time! Thanks to everyone for coming and making it so much fun.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

April begins

The first day of April, the weather was amazing. Jason wasted no time getting Ethan and himself up the mountain for Ethan's first ride.
 When they got home, Jason made Ethan turn with his back to me and said "that's what I was looking at the whole time" haha. Ethan is in love.
 You can't fake that smile. That's a happy kid, and I'd guess on the other side of that camera, his dad had on the same smile.
Can you believe we get to live here? Unbelievable.
 
 We took one day of spring break to go to Exploration Works with our friends.
 I think the water station will always be a favorite.
 The wind tunnel was funny. Ethan did one in Fort Collins and opted out of this one.
 Something about watching Ethan practice makes me so happy. He works so hard. 
 One of the evenings was spent in the ER. Elliott got Ethan in the eye with a stick, and we thought he'd be ok, but after a few hours, his eye was still watering and swelling and he said it hurt. So I took him in. It was just a scratch, and he's fine. Weird thing is, when they checked his eyes, his good eye was a 20/15 and his hurt eye was a 20/20, even with it watering and sore. 
 Jason had a kid in a candy store moment. About a week before this photo, I was at coffee with a friend and got a call from Jason, I could tell he was excited when he said "Guess what." He won an online contest for a signed Blackhawks Leddy jersey. He's still excited. :) 
 Our lacrosse team also got in uniforms! It is so awesome to see a field of purple.
 And stickers for their helmets.
 Jason's birthday was pretty laid back, the kids wrote him some birthday cards.
 Then, dinner at Applebee's, complete with singing.
 And the kids ate the dessert.
 The day after, we headed to Billings (yes again) for Big Sky State Games. It's my favorite hockey tournament of the whole year. It's a 3 on 3 cross-ice tournament. It's fast paced, and so fun.
 This series of pictures will show you how lacrosse has helped Ethan with his hockey game.
 He now uses his body,
 and skating skills,
 and isn't afraid,
 of anyone.
You'll note that kid is all the way out of the playing area. I'm so freakin proud of him!
And I'm proud of Jason. He helped coach Ethan's team for the first time ever. He had a great time, and I know Ethan liked having him out there. 
 Grandpa, Tyler, Abby, Chris, Henrik, Jaymee, Raigan, Erica, Carson and Andrew all were able to make it to the games. Ethan has a pretty big fan club for only being 9. Haha
 I seriously LOVE watching this kid play. All season we told Ethan, if you get a hattrick, you can get a carbon fiber stick. Well, this was the weekend. One game he had 2 goals, and we really thought he had it, but the final game, he got 3 goals right in a row. It was awesome to watch him get excited on the ice. Everyone on his team knew it too, and there's no way we could act like it didn't happen. So proud of him.
 And they can never get enough. They were sizing up the competition.
 They took 3rd, only losing 2 of 6 games in 2 days. We were wiped out.
 And, Papa has been sending Ethan money when he wins games. He saved it up, and bought his own shoes. He wanted running shoes, and he picked the brightest pair they had. It always feels good to save up and buy what you really want.
That is the first half of April. It doesn't slow down from here either.