Crud

Well, I was right. I am in a bad mood today.

At least the Hawks were not embarrassed. Huet played an excellent game and the Hawks went to overtime with a chance to win. They didn't, though.

To make matters worse, my brother-in-law stopped by from Wisconsin last night. For some unknown reason, my sister married a Red Wings fan. Other than that little fact he is a good guy, and he was at least compassionate to keep the trash-talk down, but none-the-less, it was worse having to process the loss while he was sitting there with a big grin on his face.

Go Penguins.

2day

Today is Tyler's last day of 1st grade. Yesterday, he was real excited because I told him I would go to the 2nd grade picnic with him. Because his GT class is 1st and 2nd grade, his whole class got to go to a picnic for the 2nd grade of his school. But around 10:30, I got an email from his teacher letting me know that because of rain, the picnic was canceled, so I did not go.

I feel bad. Mondy night, Tyler told Mommy how excited it was that Daddy was coming. I feel sort of like I let him down. Shouldn't a Dad be able to control the weather? Not sure why I can't. I can fight wolves and saber tooth tigers and dinosaurs and dragons. My boys can fly when they are around me. I help them travel through time and space. I have untold super Dad powers. We fight evil together, but I cannot stop a little rain?

Weak.

Speaking of weak, the Blackhawks play tonight. After last game, my expectations are not real high. Huet apparently forgot how to stop pucks, and the kid that the Hawks picked up off the Chicago streets really cannot be expected to do much. The Bulin Wall has been out and even if he is back, he was pretty shaky last time he played.

Plus, the Redwings are just too good. Oops... Did I say that out loud? At home with questionable goal tending for the opposition, in an elimination game, the Evil Redwings are just too solid to not be favored.

Don't tell any Redwing fans that I said that.

I guess considering he recent past (and not so recent) of the Blackhawks playoffs (or lack thereof), I should be happy no matter what happens tonight. And if you look at the young talent on the team, the Hawks really should be good for a long time. Playing in the same division as they evil wings is a bummer, but those jerks cannot be great forever (I hope). Yes, I should be happy for a great season and a bright future, but if the Hawks lose 2nite, I will be unhappy. I will be in a bad mood after the game. I will yell at the poor announcers during the Nuggets game. I will probably be short with the wife and kids. I'll probably kick the dog. Ok I do not have a dog. But the point is: a Hawks defeat will put me in a bad mood. It will be even worse than my usual mood when the Redwings win. It will probably ruin my week. Do not cross me the next few days if the Hawks are defeated.

Anyway, the game is starting any second. I hope I remembered to set the DVR.

Bike Ride

We didn't have the best Memorial Day Weekend weather. It is always nice to get rain, but it really would have been nice to get more sun on the long weekend.

We did go for a bike ride up Waterton Canyon on Saturday. Waterton is about a 20 minute drive for us. It is basically the start of the Colorado Trail, so I guess we really could have biked 500 miles, but Tyler is not really ready for single tracks, so we stay on the first part of the trail.

Tracy really likes biking here because it is a really wide bike trail for about the first 7 miles (after which comes the single track up into the mountains), and although it is definitely a slight elevation gain, for the most part it feels pretty flat until you start to head back and realize it is a much easier ride heading back out.

Tyler really likes the trail, because it is the only place he has riden that has clearly visible mile markers to let him know how far he has gone. I think he also appreciates the wide trail and the mostly-flat ride. And, I think he really likes the way he can go faster back out of the Canyon.


Connor doesn't much care about any of that. He just rides in the trailer talking to his stuffed Gorilla, and enjoying himself when we stop.

Tyler's previous bike - riding record was to mile-marker 3, which means he did 6 miles. Saturday, he made it 5 miles in and 5 miles out to give him (are you ready for this?) 10 total miles. 10 miles is pretty good for a boy of 7.



That first picture was a shelter we stopped at for lunch. Tyler and Connor thought is was cool that its name was "Rattlesnake", but we did not see any snakes close by. The second picture is me and the boys on a little side trail we walked up after lunch.

And, here we all are on a bridge about 4 and a half miles from the start of the trail. The kids liked dropping rocks through a little drainage hole in the bridge and watching them drop to the water.

So, this was the only out-doorsy type thing we did this weekend. Usually we are camping Memorial Day weekend, but Daddy kept putting off making a reservation until nothing was left. Considering all the rain, I am glad we did not end up going camping. It should be nicer this coming weekend.

Here is a little picture of Mommy and Daddy snowshoeing up in Estes park a couple of weeks ago. It doesn't really go with this blog, but I meant to post it back around the time we went on our kidless weekend getaway, and just never got around to it.

Playoffs

It has been a long time since I've had a such an interest this far into both the basketball and hockey playoffs. Quite frankly, it is exhausting. I have to rearrange my schedule around both the Blackhawks and the Nuggets. When I was watching to see the Red Wings or LA lose, I did not have to watch every single game or even all of any of the games. If it was not a good game, or I had something else I had to do, the TV could just stay off. When the Blackhawks are on, I HAVE to watch every minute of the game. The Nuggets are not quite as important to me, but close, and ironically, my wife has suddenly become a Nuggets fan. Welcome to the bandwagon, dear.

If not for my two-tuner DVR, I would be in real trouble since the NBA and NHL have conspired together to show "my" teams at overlapping times more often than not.

Last year, I made fun of Dot Soup's playoff beard. I am pleased to note that apparently, he reads my blog, because this year he did not even bother with the facial hair. I am happy to provide such a service. Dot, next time leave a comment, OK?

I believe my buddy Patrick Kane also read my blog as he did not even try. Since he looks 15, I am pretty sure his beard would look even worse than Mr. Soup's did last year.

Unfortunately, my other buddy Jonny Toews either did not read the blog or does not realize that his playoff beard is almost as bad as Dot Soup's was last year. But, as long as he keeps playing well, I will not complain too much. Maybe if they lose tonight I'll get on him. Actually, I am not really sure what Toews is trying to do with his face. The mutton chops look like they are comming in fine, but his chin looks exactly like Dot Soup's from last year. It is like Jonny is shaving the chin every other day or something. Maybe he is saving the real beard for the Stanley Cup finals?