Christmas 2016

And so 2016 comes to an end. While it hasn't been a bad year for us, it's definitely been my worst at updating the blog. According to the post count on the right side of the page, I've had 54 updates this year (55 after this one). The lowest count prior to this year was 2013 when I managed 64. Quite a ways from the lofty 201 new entries in 2008. Suffice to say, one of my resolutions for 2017 is to update more. God knows I've got a backlog of pictures!

Anyway, before the year comes to a close, I wanted to post the highlights of our Christmas season. First off, Lucas shows off our tree.

We went with a real tree again this year, buying it for $40 from the church up the street. It was a nice tree, and all the money went to charity so everyone wins, I suppose. We may go back to artificial next year though since it just tends to be more convenient, other than finding a place for the box during the year.

On Christmas morning, before we started opening presents, everyone showed off their stockings.

Then the unwrapping began in earnest.

The presents weren't just for kids!

Here was my big gift from Marilu and Lucas. Every year, I always end up putting together Lucas's Lego gifts so this year, they got me my own!

We always get Marilu a puzzle for Christmas, and this year, I decided to get one from Cabela's. It should be interesting since it's in the shape of a wolf head.

Marilu's big present was this, an opal bracelet. I haven't bought her jewelry since the early days of our relationship since she is not a big jewelry person, but I wanted to go with something different. She liked it a lot so I consider that a win. (FYI, opal is her birthstone)

Finally, a picture from later in the day when we were playing some of the games we got for Christmas. This was a particularly funny game called Speak Out, where you had to stick a plastic thing in your mouth and then try to say words without being able to move your lips. I'm not sure what was better: the game itself or how crazy we looked.

So my resolution for 2017 is to update at least twice a week, which should get me back up to the 100 post a year level. This week, I should have this year's update of Christmas Eve where all the boys grow up together on the couch. In addition, I have 2 more California updates coming. I actually uploaded the pictures several weeks ago, but I still need to add some text. So watch for all of those in the coming days.

Happy New Year!

Camo Santa!

This year, we went with a new option for Lucas's visit to Santa. Instead of going to the overcrowded and somewhat expensive ($20) mall photo, we decided to bring him to see Camo Santa at Cabela's. Yes, only at Cabela's would Santa be in full camouflage. Not only was the wait much shorter, the photos were free!

I even jumped in the second picture for the hell of it. Too bad Lucas was distracted.

Unfortunately, Marilu didn't want to participate (boo! hiss!) so you'll have to settle for just the two of us.

California 2016: Day 6 (Universal Studios)

The highlight of Day 6 of our trip to California was visiting Universal Studios. Probably the lowlight was getting there as traffic was CRAZY. As much as I liked growing up in California, I think the traffic alone would prevent me from ever living there again.

I'm not sure if it was because Marilu bought our tickets online, but we were able to enter the park an hour early to visit the newest area, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We've been reading the HP books with Lucas over the last couple of years--currently on #5--so it was fun for him to experience the magic firsthand.

After Harry Potter, we made sure to head straight to all the "big" rides. As a result, we didn't have to deal with much in the way of lines, and we'd gone on 90% of the rides (some twice) before it was even noon. The lineups were pretty long in the afternoon, but by that point, we'd been on just about everything we wanted to see.

In sticking with my theme of visiting breweries while in California, I had to get this picture in front of the fictional Duff Brewery from The Simpsons.

A nice picture of Lucas and Marilu with a Southern California backdrop (complete with smog in the distance!).

At approximately 45 minutes, the lineup for the Despicable Me ride was the only long wait we had. The rest of the rides were ones we either walked right on or waited, at most, 5 minutes. Definitely one of the best theme park visits I've had--from an efficiency standpoint.

Being a long-time fan of The Walking Dead comic, I had to visit the new TWD attraction at Universal. Worry not, Lucas and Marilu went on something else while I did this.

Probably the best picture of the day.

The end is in sight: only 2 more days of California pictures!

Dad Turns 70

A short time after our visit to Massachusetts, my dad flew up to Ottawa for HIS 70th birthday. He'd never seen Lucas or the Ottawa Senators so we figured flying him up here in November would kill two birds with one stone.

My dad loves fruit pies so we got him one of those instead of a cake for his birthday.

He brought this hockey jersey for Lucas. It may be a few years before we can let him wear it in public. :)

Lucas and my dad making faces at the hockey game. I think Lucas looks possessed. It was a good game though the Sens lost in overtime to the Wild.

Posing with Karlsson and Toews after the game.

I didn't get any pictures from Lucas's game, but my dad enjoyed finally seeing Lucas on the ice. His team lost, but he had a great game so it turned out okay.

Mom Turns 70

Recently, both of my parents turned 70. To celebrate, we wanted to do something special for both of them. Since my mom lives within driving distance, we planned a surprise visit with the help of Kevin. We met up with them in Springfield, MA, at one of their favorite restaurants, a German place named The Student Prince. Even though we arrived a half hour early to find a good hiding spot in the back, we almost got caught as we turned the corner of the street the restaurant was on since my mom and Kevin were just opening the door. I yanked Lucas back around the corner and then we waited a few minutes for them to settle in. Luckily, they were at the bar so we snuck around behind the bar, and with my mom's back to me, I walked up and asked them for their drink order. My mom turned around to answer, and when she saw me, she just about screamed. So mission accomplished! The surprise worked!

We got the waitress to take a picture of our whole motley crew. Family friends Nancy and Bobby joined us shortly after we arrived, in case you're wondering about the extras. As you can see from the background, the restaurant has quite a bit of character,

A nice one of Lucas and Grammy.

And an abnormal one, as only Lucas can do it.

Back at the house, the king rests on his throne.

Birthday cake time! (that's their neighbor Kyle in the background)

During our visit to Webster earlier in the summer, I bought a foosball table that was on clearance at a great price ($30). I didn't have time to put it together then so Lucas begged me on our first night this visit to build it. I got about halfway through the first night and then completed it the next day. We decided to have a foosball tournament, and I think everybody had a good time. I may be a little biased since I was undefeated, and my closest score was 10-2. :)  Seriously though, a fun time was had by all. I think Kevin was just happy it wasn't a board game.

And that was our whirlwind trip to Massachusetts. In the next post, I'll cover my dad's trip to Ottawa.

Halloween 2016

I have to be at work soon so this is going to be a quick post of last night's Halloween activities.

Prior to trick or treating, we got a couple of shots of Lucas in his costume. This year, he decided to go with the villain from Scream. As an added bonus, the mask had a pump that allowed it to look like blood was dripping down the face. Pretty cool, actually.

Here's Lucas, before the mask goes on.

I guess this pose is called a dab or something like that. Kids these days.

And here's the mask in all its glory.

I decided to forego intricate pumpkin carvings this year with something a little more action-oriented. The vomiting one, in particular, got a lot of comments from trick or treaters.

Lucas's trick or treat partner was his best friend Zach. Unlike last year, when we completely forgot to take photos of them in costume, we got this one before they dove into their candy stashes.

And speaking of stashes, here's the dragon and his hoard.

Emojis

In case you were wondering what a practice jersey for a team called the Emojis looks like.

Game 3

Quick hockey update! After two very close losses, Lucas's team had a big 5-1 win tonight. Lucas had a fantastic game on defense too. It's a shame they can't play all their games at 7:30 PM!

California 2016: Day 5 (Dodgers Stadium)

Week 2 of hockey is over, and it was better than last week. Although Lucas's team lost 4-3 in a very similar fashion as the previous week--a breakaway goal with a couple of minutes left in the game--Lucas played well. He also had his first penalty of the season. I don't consider this a negative since it wasn't a "bad" penalty. Instead, he was working hard to get the puck and accidentally knocked down the opposing player when he tripped into him. It was kind of a questionable call, but the refs were young and looked like it might have been their first game so they were likely erring on the side of caution when calling penalties. 

Once again, Lucas's team played well overall and once they have some to time to gel and figure out which positions suit them best, they should get some wins. Last year, his team had 2-3 exhibition games before the game started whereas this year, they pretty much jumped right into it so I'm not too concerned about the 0-2 start, especially considering how close both games were.

The highlight of our 5th day in California was a trip to Dodgers Stadium to see the Dodgers play the Padres. There was a strong nostalgic vibe associated with this since my very first professional sports experience was my dad taking me to see the Dodgers when I was even younger than Lucas is now. The fact that I was going with both Lucas and my dad made it even more special.

Before we went to our seats, we went inside the stadium where they had a Dodgers museum. Note Lucas practicing his catching pose in the second photo.

After that, we went to our seats in right field. We picked there since everyone in the right field gets all you can eat hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, and nachos, as well as all you can drink soda and water. All for just $15 more per ticket! If you eat 2 food items and a drink, you've already saved money since they are normally $6 each. It was a great deal though by the end of the game, I think I was eating some stuff just to feel like I was getting even more of a bargain.

Here's an attempt at a panoramic shot of the stadium from our seats.

And finally, some selfies because why not?

The Dodgers went on to win so it was a very fun afternoon. Afterwards, we went to yet another brewpub/restaurant where I had my favorite beer of the trip, a ginger IPA. Unfortunately, it was only available at the restaurant so I couldn't stuff my suitcase with it. 

See you soon for Day 6!