Dinner for hockey

 The twins are in conditioning camp for the next couple of weeks.  They skate for 1.5 hours every weekday evening.  And, boy oh boy, do they skate hard!  I'm definitely going to have to carb-load these kids before each session.

Normally, I tend to focus on more low/lower-carb food as I don't really eat too much carbs.  So, it's going to be a challenge for me to think of meals for these two energy-burning machines, and yet still have something that I can eat.  I might have to make myself the odd frozen low-carb dinner, me thinks.

Well, tonight, I made a creamy pesto with shrimp, peppers, and mushrooms on some rigatoni.  I started with this (I forgot to include the garlic in the picture, though, and the green cubes are frozen beet green/hazelnut pesto):

And, I ended with this:

It worked out well for me, too, as I ate the mushrooms, peppers, and shrimp, and didn't eat the pasta.

The coaches really worked them hard tonight.  At one point, I overheard a coach saying to them, "I know this is going to hurt and that sucks right now but . . ." I didn't hear the rest, though. They did a lot of battling drills today, which both of the twins really like.

During the scrimmage part, I was able to get a rare photo of both them on the ice, on the same team, on the same shift. Joshua is on the left and Katerina is on the right (both in red in the foreground).

Now, I have to think up a meal for tomorrow.  LOL

Party Day!

Today was bittersweet. Joshua started throwing up in the middle of the night and continued into the morning. So, the decision was made that he would stay home from his party.

The party was originally going to be a shared party at Boston Pizza for pizza, cake, and presents. Then, we would walk across the street to West Edmonton Mall to Galaxyland. Once there, I would take the girls on the rides, and Joel would take the boys. We would then meet up at a set time. However, since Joel stayed at home with Joshua, I went solo.

At Boston Pizza, there were a total of 16 kids. On the walk to Galaxyland, a parent of one of the boys decided to stay and help me. I love her.

We had 14 boys and girls going on the rides, and we stayed together as a group.

To make sure Joshua was still a part of his birthday, we took along "Flat Josh". Here are the pictures of the day, including "Flat Josh".

At Boston Pizza:








































After Boston Pizza, we went to Galaxyland:



















Once Joshua is feeling better, I'm going to arrange to take the boys out to a movie. Plus, as a family, we'll go to Galaxyland again so the 3D version of Joshua can go on the rides, too.

Happy Birthday, Katerina & Josh!

Here they are on their birthday. We went to Montana's for dinner. Since their birthday fell during the week, we had the party on the weekend. Here are the pictures from Montana's:











Katerina got her ears pierced this summer at a tattoo & piercing place. She's been keen on maintaining her ears and they healed perfectly. For her birthday, she picked out her first pair of real earrings. The stone is opal, her birthstone, and the shape is a heart.

Hockey Teams

The twins are on different teams this year. If you want to follow their progress, I've posted the links to the teams' websites on the left side of the blog. Katerina's team is called the EMHA G-Force and Joshua's team is called the Confederation Ice Breakers.

Mother's Day Tea

Today, I was invited to the school, twice, for Mother's Day Tea. We were treated to some iced tea and cake, and then a song (or two). The first sitting was from the Grade 2's. They sang 2 songs. The first one was "Over the Rainbow" and the second one was "Mom, You're the Best." The sound is very quiet so you will probably need to turn up your volume.







Here is a picture of Isabella and me:




The second sitting was from the Grade 4's. They sang one song and it was "Mom, You're the Best." They were a bit more confident so the sound is a little better.




Here is a picture of me and the twins:

O Canada!

The kids, with their theatre group, sang the national anthem at a hockey game tonight. The game was a junior (WHL) game between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Oil Kings won in a shootout!

Their group is in the middle dressed in white. The minor hockey teams on the ice with them are there as "honour guards". The hockey teams didn't sing. I couldn't get any close-ups pictures.

Birthday party

The twins had their birthday party last weekend. They turned 9 years old. We had the party at a bowling alley. Here is a picture of the boys:




Here is a picture of the girls (plus one boy):




And, the group shot:

First Day of School

New school year. A brand new school. The same pose as last year. lol

This year:




Last year:

Hockey School - Day 2

Joshua and Katerina are in the Edmonton Oilers Hockey School this week. On Monday, they got to meet Colin Fraser. He was just traded to the Oilers from the Chicago Blackhawks. The kids were excited because he talked about winning the Stanley Cup. Here are a couple of pictures from Monday. Katerina is doing a drill on ice in the first picture. Joshua (in the blue helmet) and Katerina (far left) are listening to the coach in the second picture.

Back to school

Today is the day! Joshua and Katerina start Grade 3 and Isabella is starting Grade 1. She's a big kid now!

A day of rugby

We had a wonderful day today. It started out this morning with the kids playing their regular game. However, the World Cup made an appearance and all the teams had their pictures taken with it. I managed to get a picture of it, too.



After the kids' games in the morning, we went home for a quick lunch before heading off to the "big game." This was the Canada vs. USA World Cup qualifier, game 2. Game one was held last weekend in North Carolina and Canada lost 12-6. Canada needed to win this game with a minimum of 7 points over USA today to qualify for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. They not only won today, they were great! The final score today was 41-18!

The whole family had a fantastic time. The weather was perfect and the crowds were really good.

During half-time, the kids' teams entertained the crowds with a little bit of their kind of rugby. The older kids were at the ends of the field but our crew were right in the middle. The footage is a bit shaky as I was in a really awkward position during filming and I was zoomed in as far as I could.

The first video is of Isabella's group of 4 & 5 year olds. The 2nd and 3rd videos are of the 6 & 7 year olds. In the second video, Joshua is kicking in the ball. In the third video, Katerina is kicking the ball.








Here are some pictures from the day:













James Pritchard


Justin Mensah-Coker


Chauncey O'Toole