10 Shopping Days left

Well the holiday season is in full swing down here. Parker did his Xmas piano performance and did an AWESOME job...he can tickle the ivories...Janet and I love to hear him play and his is so proud of his new songs.



Shopping was going well except for the ice-storm that is keeping power from some of our friends...we lost some trees and power for 24 hrs..but that was Thursday and Friday..others still do not have power. This tree just missed the house...



And this greeted me on my way to work Friday morning....



Owen split his two hockey games this week....but they continue to do well. Parker had a nice early practice but was having the most fun all year on the ice so it was worth the early wake up call.

OH and BIG news I am sure Parker would want to share....the first tooth has fallen out. He is officially on the tooth fairy payroll and could not be more proud.

Oh yeah...check out this Goalie...YEP it's Parker. He was tough to fill in when no one else wanted to play a couple of games ago...



Well tomorrow is a work day for Janet and I..but the kids get another day off from the ice-storm. Some roads are still not clear and the power is still an issue for many. Thankfully we were on the nice list I guess.

Talk soon.

A Parent's proud moments...

Boy there have been a few this past week...first...report card day was last Thursday and both boys did fine...which is nice to hear. The comments on both were very positive and only the mention of Owen's pink nails tainted the moment...

Oh yes...the pink nails....well Owen had a winning streak in hockey extend to 4 games this past week and he made a deal to get his nails painted by the 5 girls on the team. As you can see below...he lived up to his end of the deal....



Such a proud moment....hehehe...well at least he did perform well on the ice too...check out this shot...



As for Mr. P...well he went to the doctor with me yesterday and after his check-up Doc informed us both we were getting flu shots....Parker was like "uh-uh" but I talked him into it and he did not even flinch....then it was off to school as proud as punch with his bugs bunny band-aid.

Well only 3 hockey games this Saturday..one Practice on Sunday...LOL.

Yikes...it is fun.

Halloween and Hockey

Well the big day has come and gone...Halloween was a lot of fun...the entire neighborhood gets together and you can see our two monsters were front and center...cute kids huh!

The boys had a blast..and I think the entire cast of kids looked great....see for yourselves....



Funny how kids think though...the day after Halloween Parker was looking for movies and saw the Polar Express..he was sooo excited...I guess he has moved on to the next big holiday...(52 shopping days 'til Xmas). He has already begun his list...and it gets longer each and every day...will keep the elves busy for sure.

The weekend after that was all about Hockey...Parker played his first game this Saturday and scored two goals....way to go Parker Mac....he was soooo happy..and of course Owen was there cheering him on....

Owen then split his two games and scored a goal in the game they won. So all and all not a bad weekend at the rink.

Well tomorrow is the big election here in the US of A..should be interesting to see how things go.

Later all...gotta hit the sheets....

Candy day approaches

Well it was a wild and busy weekend..there we Minor Hockey night at the Monarchs (AHL) on Friday night...Hockey Sat. morning..cousins birthday party....golf and surprise party our neighbor...and oh yes hockey again Sunday....

But all that pales in comparison to the build up for Friday evening...Parker has his costume planned carefully..but you will have to wait to see it. Pics will be forthcoming. As for Owen...well he is still waffling a little.

The way we do Halloween is wonderful in this neighborhood..all the kids go together with the moms...dads get to hand out candy...and the best part I think is how the kids come back..dump their bags and trade / sort their candy so they all have what they like the most.

Janet and I continue the exercise routine...but felt a little guilty as neither of us made it on the weekend..but back on the horse tonight so to speak. We are determined to be in tip-top shape for many reasons.

Well if hockey, piano, school, and fun was not enough...the boys start swimming lessons this week....they are looking forward to it so it will be easy to get them there. They have a full schedule but both are good to get school work done around their activities. Parker is funny he actually does his entire homework packet for the week on Monday after school so he does not have to deal with it the rest of the week. Owen has a lot of homework but does balance it between his hockey well.

What it means is they both sleep well.

Speaking of which...midnight is late enough...off to bed..later folks

The Flintstones

When you sit down to dinner with a 7 and 9 year old you never quite know where the conversation is going to go but tonight it was a riot. Mix chicken, rice, carrots and Multi-Vitamins and you get a great dinner conversation.

Janet had vitamins on the table for all of us tonight as we continue our quest to be more healthy. The kids ate their Flintstone chewable vitamins but when we told them the name of the vitamins it led to quite a funny conversation about our different generations.

Parker asked who the Flintstones were and after hearing about feet as the engine for cars, and ribs the size of a car the boys might have thought Janet and I were nuts. But that got the two of them thinking about what it was like when we were kids ...

They asked what games we played...Risk, Life, RatRace (great on snow days) and such...they wanted to know what games we played outside...Krazy Carpets were a hit in this segment.

Hearing about a black and white television ... no showers ... and two TV channels certainly got them curious. They really classified us as dinosaurs when we told them that Disney was only on TV for 1 hour each week..not 24 x 7 on three channels like it is for them now.

It ended up being a very enjoyable dinner as we talked about many things different between then and now. Boy do I hate to say that...but such is the circle of life.

The weekend was hockey filled...Owen won a game 3-0 and lost 7-1....Parker had 2 practices...he starts games soon.

Owen finished his first school project and we have another to start this week...I LOVE SCHOOL...but I thought Janet and I were done in '93....nope we have regressed back to elementary school..maybe we will get it right this time around.

Talk to you soon.

Ahh the week is over...

Janet is watching TV..Parker is in bed sleeping and Owen just went up....the week is over...whew...and a lonnnnngggg week it was...work is tough for both right now. So a moment of calm in this storm we call life is good.

Parker had hockey tonight and Owen hung out at the rink as well. I do love that about hockey..Owen's teammate's little brother is on Parker's team so the four of them are getting to hang-out a lot. The requests for sleep over's have begun...but not this weekend as Owen has a late game tomorrow and early game Sunday.

Owen and Parker have been have a lot of fun together lately and it is very refreshing to see them bond. They were even talking sports in the van on the way home tonight and I believe that is the first of those chats.

So the Red Sox live to see another day...the guys went out to eat after my hockey last night and we got to see from 7-4 to the win. The whole place was going NUTS....well it gives us something to do tomorrow night as well.

Mr. P got another new Piano teacher last night but he apparently is nice and Parker continues on with his lessons...I might have to record a sample and post it here. It does allow you to post little videos on the blog so stay tuned.

Well off to bed as 5:45 AM comes early...Parker is on the ice at 7:30....

Hard work Homework and Bed

Well the week got going in fine style today...Janet and I both had to work..but I think Owen gets the nod as hardest working MacIntyre today.
He was up at 7:15 AM...off to school...picked up at the bus stop....had to read for school on the way to hockey...1 hour hockey practice...home...math homework for 45 mins...spelling homework for 20 mins....shower....watch 15 mins of Pens / Flyers...then off to bed...I am tired just writing about that day..sheesshhh youthful energy is great.

So tell me ... how many of you with kids involved in activities have to do the divide and conquer routine. Janet had to drop Owen at 1 rink today...I went there for his practice...then take Parker to another rink for his practice. That is a normal course of business these days. On Thursday Janet drops Owen at the rink and takes Parker to Piano lessons. I have a feeling we are not alone in this tactic.

It was also quite funny at Owen's practice to hear the kids making big plans for the overnight tournament we are heading to in Rhode Island in FEBRUARY. The kids are so excited it is amazing. For many it will be their first overnight hockey tournament so I can understand that. I used to love those trips and I still remember the many games of knee hockey played in the hotel hallways. I wonder if they still sell those little sticks at tourney's anymore. We will find out in February.

Nothing much else to report except that Janet is battling a nice cold right now..as are a lot of people around NH these days.

Until next time.