Yep, I'm still alive.

I'm sorry.  The last week or so has been crazy busy.  When I finally get 5 minutes at home, blogging was at the bottom of the priority list.  I will hopefully be better about it now.  Here is a recap of what I've been doing.  Can you guess?  I'll give you a hint.  It starts with HOCK and ends with EY.

Andy's team did not advance to regions this year.  They gave it an AWESOME effort, but unfortunately they only took the top 3 teams in the district, and sadly, we came in 4th.  Those boys played their hearts out and improved so much this season!  I'm very, very proud of each of them.

We were very honored that our PeeWee A team invited us along with them to their region tournament as a backup goalie, since they had advanced and only have one goalie on their team.  So last weekend, we traveled to Grand Rapids with the team.  They won all three of their games, and advance to state, which is next weekend!  We are so excited to be a part of this experience.  Just to have Andy suit up and be on the bench is such a cool thing for him.  We will travel next weekend and cheer loudly for the PeeWee A's!  Here are a few pictures of the win securing the teams spot in the state tournament:

The cellie around the net!

I love this picture.  The girl on the team has more important things to worry about than getting in the middle of that stench.

Andy congratulates his fellow goalie!

Yes, the team went blonde for their trip to regions.  Derek's mom has nicknamed him Marilyn.  You should see his sick flow when his hair isn't all sweaty.

Champions!

Way to go team!

Two days later, we were off to our next adventure.  Our High School team advanced to the state tournament with an undefeated record, so we traveled to St. Paul to cheer them on.  Four days of hockey, friends, and a little too much fun.

Mini donut sugar lips.

I guess I have a thing for taking pictures of goalies.

A pretty view from our hotel room.

Have I mentioned how I love Instagram on my phone?

Yes, I believe I have.  Sooo cool.

We cheered, painted faces, shook our pom poms, but ended up losing in our championship game.  With a record of 30-1-0, our HS boys had an AWESOME season!

So, now we are back home, with one day to calm down before another short work/school week before heading off to state with the PeeWee A's.  I'm so excited for the upcoming weekend!  Please keep us in your thoughts that we come out on top of it all!  Since this team has adopted Andy as their backup goalie, they have urged us to become part of the team.  I couldn't say no.

It's just hair, right?

Must get glasses straightened.  Ugh.

It's a little orange, but that's ok, we'll see how long it lasts before I make him get the buzz cut.  It's almost summer, right?

So again, here I am apologizing for yet another post about hockey, but you can be assured there will be another about next weekend too.  We have a dance show coming up in a few weeks, so hopefully the blog posts will be changing gear for those of you who couldn't give a rat's behind about hockey!  I happen to like it quite a bit.  :)

 XOXOX

NH

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Yep, it took until February 29th for us to get some significant snow.  I believe it started snowing here somewhere around 3 AM.  It is now 5:35 PM and it's still coming down.  I love it.  It's been a GREAT day.

Starting to pile up by the patio door...

Hmm, probably should have brought in that patio furniture...

We were literally snowed in!  There were wind speeds recorded in Duluth today of 67 mph.  Lots of snow and wind makes for some big snow drifts.  We couldn't get out the front door.  Good thing the garage is attached, and it didn't drift too bad in front of the garage door.

We spent most of the day snuggling on the couch.  This is what you do here when there is a snow day and school is cancelled.

Sometimes you get up off the couch to take pictures of the neighbor's house out the front window.

And then you take pictures of daddy grill and baby grill.  See the baby grill there?  Next to daddy grill?

Sorry, baby grill.  I knew I shoulda brought you back into the garage.

The kids finally wanted to go play outside.  Andy helped dig out the front door.

Successfully!

Then it was time to play.

Some people use beach toys to build sand castles.  Not us.  Snow forts are way better than sand castles.  Plus? No sunburn or sand in your shorts.

I'm so glad we got some snow finally for the kids to play in.  Also cool?  It's supposed to be 40 by Saturday, so it won't be sticking around for long.  Plus, my Christmas decorations are all put away already and we don't have 5 months of winter ahead of us.  Yay!

The kids are about to come in, so it's time to go make the hot chocolate...

Tonight we get to do a little more snuggling and keeping each other warm.

XOXOX

NH

Amadeus

Saturday evening my mom and I went to another play at our local playhouse. We got to see the local production of Amadeus.

Luke Moravec played the part of Wolfie.  I loved his performance.  He had the manurisms, silly high-pitched laugh, and crazy voice down to a T!!!

Cheryl Skafte played Wolfie's wife, Constanze.  She is adorable and so very talented.

Rob Larson played the part of Antonio Salieri.  It has been two full days since I saw this play and I am still thinking about how in God's green earth he memorized all those lines.  I do believe he was on stage 95% of the time, and spoke 90% of the time he was there.  Holy moly can the man act.  It truly was awesome.  There is no other word for it.

Salieri made a deal with God as a young boy to live a life serving God and mankind in exchange for becoming a famed musical composer.  All goes according to plan until Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrives in Vienna and ruins everything Salieri has worked so hard for. 

Mozart's eclectic behavior, his love of wine, lack of money, and crazy thoughts running through his own mind eventually led to his death, and left Stanzie a widow.

Salieri eventually tries killing himself (unsuccessfully) and upon thinking he is dying confesses to poisoning Mozart years earlier, causing his death.  Who knows the real truth?  Only Mozart and Salieri.

My dear friend and former co-worker, Julie Ahasay, brilliantly directed this show.  An unbelievable job, Julie!  I absolutely loved it!  I'm so sorry I didn't run into you after the show.  It was a bit past my mom's bedtime.  I still have a hug for you, that I intend to deliver very soon.  Julie says Salieri poisoned her in this photo!

And here is a photo of the cast and some of the crew.  My girl Jules is right there in the middle in her fancy sparkly dress.  Isn't she a hottie???

I've loved this movie for a long time, so I was very excited to hear there would be a local production of it.  Even better when you know the director.  I could see little pieces of Julie all through the show.  I was imagining rehearsals in the theater, and I could hear her giving "direction" always followed with that laughter that I love of hers.

Again, I am reminded how fortunate we are to have this local playhouse right in town that consistantly puts on these wonderful shows.  Thank you to everyone involved for working so hard to deliver a brilliant performance!  I can't wait for the next one!

XOXOX

NH

P.S.  All photos are courtesy of Julie's husband, Lane Ellis.  You can check out approximately 200 additional photos on Lane's Facebook Page.  Thank you so much for sharing them, Lane!

Outdoorsy Photos

Here are a few outdoorsy photos to share with you.  This didn't turn out quite how I had planned, but I just didn't get time to head outside and take pictures like I had hoped.  I wanted to get some good pics with the good camera, but apparently it was not to be this time.  Enjoy anyway.

This is Tricia's entry.  I'm in love with this picture.  You told me that the snowflakes were huge, and you were right!  They look like the fake stuff they use in movies and on soap operas.

This one was mine.  There are SO many cool old buildings in downtown Duluth.  I'd love to tour 1/10 of them someday, and learn a little about the different things that the buildings were used for.  I love when the bricks don't match from several years of repairs.

Just a snapshot I took today on my walk to my car from work.  The skywalk takes you right over the freeway.  There isn't much traffic at 4:00, which is why I LOVE getting off work at that time.

I call this one "Power To The People!" 

And this one is the intersection of Lake Ave and Superior Street, showing you the pathetic amount of snow we've gotten this year.

All four of mine were taken with my iPhone and filtered using the free Instagram app.  I love this app.  I'm not sure if Tricia used Instagram or not, but editing your photos is sooo much fun.  It just makes them so much more interesting. 

Keep taking pictures people!  :)

I do have one more photo to share with you:

This is the progress I've made on the blue sweater.  The top isn't quite that puckered, it's just bigger than the length of the needles right now and I didn't want to drop any stitches.  I will hopefully get it done this weekend.  I'd love to wear it to work on Monday!  I'm still soo happy with how it's turning out, and the angora is heavenly!  Morgan has told me that I don't need to worry one bit about the fit, because if it's too small, she will gladly love it and give it a home.  In her closet.  And on her body.

Hope you are enjoying your Friday!  I'm currently watching the Bulldogs on TV, in my jammie pants, with a glass of wine on the side table.  As soon as I hit "publish post" and close the laptop, I'll work some more on the blue sweater.  All that = happiness for me.

Go find your happiness tonight, k?

XOXOX

NH