Dinner, With a "Hockey Game" On The Side...

So last night we ventured out for the second night in a row for dinner. We don’t eat out much anymore, mostly to save money, but also because it really is hard with Ryan. He is not happy sitting in a high chair and not having his food immediately (like he does at home). But the kids were all in great moods, and we didn’t feel like making dinner or cleaning up, so we headed to Olive Garden because Kylie and Josh love that place.

They gave us a huge table in the corner, which was awesome because Ryan had his own little “area.” And Ryan did great! We were constantly trying to entertain him – John played with him while I took turns playing tic-tac-toe with Kylie and Josh. Joshie is getting really good at playing that now!

Our food was really good and I was so happy when we left…a little exhausted from entertaining Ryan, but happy. After that we went and picked up my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding that has been in for a while, and then we headed home.

Once home, the kids got ready for bed, played a little, and Kylie and Ryan went to sleep. John and I were supposed to plan out our Friday house church, but after he was done reading his chapter, he suggested we watch “our show” (The Mentalist), and do our house church thing another time. So we left Joshie down playing his hockey game, and we watched our show. About half-way through the show Joshie came up with a sad look on his face and said “I thought you were going to come to my hockey game.” I told him that mommy and daddy were watching TV. He then said “well here’s a ticket in case you want to come.” He handed me one of his homemade tickets that said “CBJ vs. Nashville Predators 8:00.” I told him that we would come down as soon as our show was over.

When the show ended, John and I went downstairs to watch the last 6 minutes of his hockey game. There were a couple of minutes that we watched nothing because he put himself in the penalty box for a 2:00 penalty. After that was over, he went back to playing the game, and CBJ beat Nashville 10 to 4 with a last second goal by Klessler. I am always amazed at how his games are so real. He shoots goals and then quickly runs and blocks them, he has fights and puts himself in the penalty box and he shoots penalty shots against chicken Elmo (the goalie during his penalty shots).

After his game was over, John pulled out one of the programs and asked him player numbers. My amazing son knew just about all of the CBJ players’ numbers. How does he know that? He’s just such an amazing kid! And I love having these times where we can spend some time with just him, because I know it’s easy for the middle child to “get lost in the shuffle of life.”