A Day at Greenwood Park

There's a great pond by our house (where the Roosevelt hockey team practices) and Jack and Bryan enjoyed many Saturdays on the ice. We finally convinced Griffin to put on some skates, and while he didn't have the immediate love for the ice that Jack did, he held his own.

Jack shows Griffin how it's done, with some help from Daddy of course. 

Griffin stands on his own!

"Hey, this ice is cold! Even with my double set of mittins."

The bench. 

"I can do it!"

"But I'm ready to go to the house and have hot chocolate with marshmallows."

A Successful Hockey Season

Jack missed the final hockey practice due to strep and a fever, but he still got to grab his trophy and tell his coach to watch for him next year. Thanks, Coach Scott, for a great first season!

Jack worked very hard and got quite good at all the drills and stick work they did each week. 

Yes, there is a smile underneath all that equipment. I'm happy to say it was usually there, too. 

"And now, skating for the navy team, number 16...Jack Boesen" (crowd screams!)

Toward the end, they even got to play a few three-on-three games. Jack enjoyed the action.

But the best thing about the end of the season was Jack got to be "in goal." Trust me, once he was allowed to be in goal, he didn't want to leave. Do any of you KNOW how expensive goalie equipment is? I'm hoping he stays out of that goal.

The Obsession Continues

Jack's obsession with hockey continues in 2011, and he's made wonderful improvements in his skating skills, thanks to Saturday skating "clinics" with Daddy on the pond by our house. He can even skate backward (video to come)! With practice twice a week, it's been fun to watch him improve with each session. If he works very hard, we usually get to finish with a special hot chocolate from Starbucks.

A Presentation, by Jack Boesen

It was Jack's turn to bring the teaching bag to preschool recently. The teaching bag is a more organized way to do show and tell, and it requires each "friend" to bring three things from a common theme to share. Shockingly, Jack wanted to teach his friends about hockey. This video is a practice run, and a clear illustration of why we thought it might be good to practice. It also has caused many sleepless nights because after the fits of laughter subside, I realize I have absolutely no clue what this kid is telling his teachers and friends at preschool. I can only imagine what will happen when he gets older.

Chicago Celebrates Jack's Birthday

Griffin really IS my child. My parents laugh about how I was obsessed with hotel bathrooms when we traveled. Griffin showed his true Phelps colors and hung out in our Chicago hotel bathroom most of the weekend.

Uncle John, Jack and Sofia took in a Chicago Blackhaws game. They played the Washington Capitols, and Jack got to see one of his favorites, Alex Ovechken, play before he got kicked out of the game.

Jack and Bryan check out the Jordan statue outside the United Center in Chicago.

Jack was thrilled that the entire city of Chicago wore green to celebrate his birthday. "Mommy, they even dyed the river green to celebrate me turning 4!"

Our first stop was the Blackhawks store where Jack got to try on goalie masks and pads.

Jack's Dream Team -- the Starting Lineup

Though it may look like an ordinary couch, this is really the bench at a Minnesota Wild hockey game, and the three bruisers seated here are Jack's hockey dream team: Bruin Bear, Griffin, and Avalanche. Cubbie bear is there for moral support since it's "almost baseball season but the Stanley Cup isn't over yet" according to Jack.




Jack received a hockey rink mat from uncle John for his birthday and loves to play on it. Here, Bryan and Griffin have been placed in their respective penalty boxes for fighting.

Christmas in March

OK, this is a little late, but still worth watching. Uncle Rick claimed the title of "Best Christmas Gift" in 2008 when Jack opened a hockey net and two sticks. He demanded it be put together immediately and then gave us all a show. Pay attention to his graceful skating as he glides on the "ice" after scoring a goal. Since it's snowing out today (yup, snow in late March), we might as well celebrate a little Christmas.

Video credit goes to Aunt Jenny, whose giggle can be heard along with Great-Grandma V saying "is that what they do?" We need to get the Otises access to the NHL channel.

Bedtime Stories

I tucked a very tired and very cranky Jack into bed last night after a long, napless day. We had checked out a stack of library books over the weekend and I reached for the worn copy of "Clifford" on top of the stack. "No, Mommy, I want to read the magazine," said Jack. "The magazine," in case you're wondering, is the latest issue of ESPN magazine featuring Montreal Canadiens goalie Casey Price on the cover. So I flipped through and found the cover story about Price and his team and started reading. Not only can my little hockey Rain Man identify jerseys for teams I've never heard of (Buffalo Sabers and the Flames?), he also informed me that Sydney Crosby plays with a green hockey stick. I guess "Clifford Goes to the Circus" will have to wait for another day.

Ice Skating

In case you hadn't noticed, Jack's kind of into hockey. Of course, he'd never been on the ice, but this weekend, we took care of that. We hit Brenton Skating Plaza on a 55 degree Sunday to test out his skate legs. One of us (who shall remain nameless) was secretly hoping he'd hate it and decide to be a tennis star or swimmer. But, Jack loved skating and after a rather nervous first lap around, begged to go around "one more time." Most impressive, perhaps, was that after 5 years of marriage, I learned Bryan can ice skate...really well. Since I'm clumsy on solid non-slippery ground, I thought it best my big belly and stay on the sidelines.

Let's Go Wild!

We took a Saturday recently and headed to Minneapolis for an action-packed day. We started with the Rainforest Cafe (too terrifying to photograph), squeezed in a few rides at Nick Universe and finished up with the grand finale -- a Minnesota Wild game at Xcel Center. Jack was a trooper through it all, and as shown above, ended with a crash landing into a comfy hotel bed. Oh yeah, the Wild won the game, and Jack added another friend to his bear family courtesy of Miss Amanda.

More Hockey

Jack playing hockey...again. Those of you keeping track (like Bryan) will notice that he is still hitting left handed. And he is still obsessed with the sport.

Call Bump, Go See the Hockey Game

These days, Jack eats and sleeps hockey. No day can start without the ceremonial hockey puck hit and items like crayons and water bottle caps serve as pucks when the actual one goes missing. Actually, he's a pretty good shot. At this game, friends of ours presented Jack with his very own stuffed "ThamBONEE machine" that now is close by at all times. With a fat lip (see entry below) and a new scratch on his cheek, we think it looks like Jack has already seen his fair share of hockey fights. Soon, we'll teach him how to defend himself against...himself.

Jack Shoots and Scores!

Thanks to an earlier visit to a Buccaneers Hockey game, Jack developed a new love of hockey just in time for Santa to deliver a foam hockey set. Here, Jack demonstrates his skill and his sportsmanship. We're fairly sure that if it were anyone else hitting the ball with such prowess, he'd be just as gracious. As it stands, he is a huge fan of himself. He also received hockey ice skates from Grandma Patty and Grandpa Tom. He LOVES to wear them on the hardwood floors and is anxious for the subzero temperatures to let up so we can go visit Uncle Ed's ice rink in the front yard.