Tall & MITE-y

It seems like forever ago that we first hit the road to play hockey - 'officially'...

We had 'clinics' for the first couple of months...

And then the kids got put onto 'teams' ~

Black, White...and Gold.

Derek got placed on the gold team, & he was beyond thrilled.
(I sort of thought black would be the coolest...but hey...what do I know?)

On picture night - they got to choose their jersey #'s...

Our boy chose #10.

Just three days before pictures, we said goodbye to our beloved family dog.
Bosco.

Bosco was 10.
He celebrated his Golden Birthday on November 10th.

And that giant B on the front of the jersey?

Well, sure, it officially stands for the city he plays for.

But in his heart?

In his heart, it stands for his dog.

This was done all on his own. He came up with the golden part. The ten part.
The 'B' part.

I love this kid, & I love his heart.

Seeing my little man posing for his hockey pictures?

ACK! Be still my heart!

The first day our boy took the ice in his little jersey - I thought I might cry.

(yes, again!)

It makes it sort of *official* now - no?

They had a little game (a scrimmage if you will) against the black team - 

and if that wasn't the cutest little thing I ever did see.

(yes, he towers over a lot of the other kids...he's always been tall - and I imagine that won't change for a very very long time.)

I don't know how far we'll make it past this first year of Mites.

The program has been really great & I cannot say enough about the fabulous coaches.

It is, however, somewhat crazy to me to commit to something every single Saturday and Sunday morning, for 5-6 months. The very same Saturday and Sundays mornings, that are the only shot at getting any rest and sleeping in a tish that our 5 year old has.

We know now, why the state of Minnesota produces such amazing hockey players.

In addition to those two mornings a week, every week...

They also have scheduled outdoor ice during the week.

Our boy LOVES the outdoor ice.

LOVES it. 

It's amazing to see the difference in his stride when he hits the outdoor ice, vs. the indoor ice.

Is the the time of day?

The atmosphere?

I will say, there is something magical about being at the outdoor arena, cold, rosy cheeks.

Snow lightly falling all around...

Time will tell what the future holds for us being a hockey family.

Ultimately, it's going to be up to him.

If he loves it, we keep going. 

If he hates it, we stop.

If he's on the fence? Well then, we talk about it.

For now...we'll do our best.

It sure would be fun to see him growing up and growing into a real one of these one day wouldn't it?