Hockey!

Do you realize it's been over a year since my last hockey blog? That's because the place where we used to play closed down. A bunch of people started playing with the YMCA down in San Luis Obispo, but we decided that was just too far to go. Then this past summer we signed Spencer up down there. We didn't have a whole lot going on, and he loved being back in hockey.

It's a really nice outdoor rink. He played with the high school league, so they were much better players than he was used to. For example, instead of making three goals a game, he got three goals the whole season. It was really good for him.

Things were much more laid back during the summer. There were two games a week and no practices. They had a little warm-up before each game, but that's it. Now he and Tyler are both playing for the fall season, and there's one night a week for practice and one for games. Luckily they have their practices and games on the same nights.  

 

The rink is right next to Santa Rosa Park, so the little kids play there when we all go down. At first it brought back sad memories of my daily walks around the park when Chloe was in the hospital. I remember seeing the hockey games and missing my boys.

We were leaning towards not playing this fall. Our schedules are way busier, and it seemed like it would just be too much. But when I prayed about it, I got a strong impression that they should play. So we took a leap of faith and signed them up. Tuesday was their first back-to-back practice, and it went great. Dave took them down after a quick dinner and prepared his seminary lesson in the car. The boys worked on homework uninterrupted while the other played hockey. I had a quiet evening at home with the younger kids. Maybe it won't be too busy for us after all.

 

They kept the teams big, since people were often gone on vacation. But there were nights when everyone showed up, and they didn't get much playing time. Now there are three teams in his league (four in Tyler's), so the teams are smaller. They'll be able to play a lot more this season.

Spencer is so good at face-offs. He wins almost every time.
 

He's also good at stealing pucks.

It gets super chilly down there by the end, which is great for the players but not for the spectators. We always have to bundle up! That's the downside to being outside. The upside is better lighting for pictures. Plus I like how we can walk all the way around the rink instead of just watching from one side.

His good friend Ryan was on his team. We told ourselves we'd carpool with them, but we never did. We just really enjoy watching him play.