Houston, Part 4

Lucas's lacrosse team got back to their winning ways this week with a 6-2 win. For the record, it appears they have a revolving team name. Last week, they were the white watermelons (they have white jerseys). This week, they were apparently the Oompah Loompahs. I'll be sure to update with new team names as they happen.

The next day, Jon served up a delicious brisket that he had smoked all night. He was a little critical of it, but from a layman's perspective, it was one of the tastiest meals I've had in a while.I think I had three servings for lunch, which wasn't a great idea since shortly thereafter, we went to the Kemah Boardwalk, a popular Houston tourist attraction.

Here's Lucas posing with the gorgeous piece of meat.

We didn't get too photo crazy at the boardwalk so there isn't too much to see. Lucas and Marilu rode the ferris wheel while I wandered around. Their wait in line was around 45 minutes.

Picture of us out front. Ugh, I need to lose about 50 pounds.

This last pair of photos is kind of nifty. The first is from our most recent visit. The second is from when Marilu and I visited Houston for the first time back in 2004 (or maybe 2005?). We tried to stand in the same general area.Time has not been kind to yours truly!

This is a look at downtown Houston as we headed to the airport the next day.

And finally, this was the sight that welcomes us back to the frozen tundra of Ottawa, after a week of shorts and flip-flops.

Luckily, as I write this, it appears the cold weather is gone for until fall. But man, that was a crappy way to come back from vacation.

And thus, the Houston trip is over. I really need to organize my photos since they are a complete mess now, strewn across several folders and phones. Just the headache of figuring out where everything is has been the biggest obstacle to posting new stuff so bear with me as I try to make order of the chaos.

I think the next pictures I put up will be from our Easter trip down to Massachusetts since I think they are still on my phone so keep an eye out for those in the coming week. Until then, see ya!

Lacrosse Update

I'm going to talk a little lacrosse, and then update with more Houston picture in the next post, which should be this weekend. It's a long weekend so I really have no excuse. :)

To refresh your memory, last year was Lucas's first season of lacrosse. Although he had a great time, his team lost every single game. EVERY. ONE. So from a parent's standpoint, it was painful to watch (sometimes quite literally as it's a rough game), but he liked it enough that he wanted to play again this year.

Game 1, which was two weeks ago, started the season with a bang as they beat the other team 8-0. It was just a total domination offensively and defensively. Then the next week, they won big again, 8-3. So it was a complete turnaround from last year.

Last night was their third game of the season, and they were playing the #2 team. Both teams were 2-0, but Lucas's had a +13 goal differential, and I think the other one was +6. It turned out to be a good game with Lucas's team having an edge in shots on goal, but in the end they lost 8-4. Something about 8s this year, huh?

Now here is where I will put on my tinfoil hat and explain my conspiracy theory. Unlike hockey, in lacrosse they can rebalance the teams a few games into the season in order to keep it even. His team last year got a new kid, for all the good it did them so we know it could happen this year. In fact, during one of the breaks between periods in the first game, the coach told the kids (jokingly?) that they should stop scoring so much or the team would get broken up.

We have two kids on our team who are former competitive lacrosse players, and they provided a LOT of offense in our first two games. Last night, one of the boys couldn't make it--he plays competitive hockey as well--and the coach had the other boy play goalie. So neither of our top scorers were playing.

My theory is that Lucas's coach did this on purpose to make us look vulnerable with a big loss. To be fair, the team did pretty well even without them, but the other goalie and another former competitive player on the other team won it for them. I suspect if our team is untouched after any rebalancing, the next meeting between these teams will be a much different outcome.

Mind you, I don't mind if this is all part of the coach's plan. After losing every game last year, I would be all for them being undefeated. If a little gamesmanship at the beginning of the season is what we need, then so be it.

I'll keep you updated.