My Brother is All Grown Up!

It is the eve of my little brother is officially growing up! Tomorrow Matt will marry his beautiful girlfriend Erin on what is surely going to be the hottest day in May.  I can't believe it, my brother is getting MARRIED!  While I knew this day would come someday, I just can't full grasp that it is here.  I still see my brother as the skinny, blonde-haired kid who would drag me out to the garage in the late fall to be the stand in goalie for his one-on-one road hockey games or the kid that would call me up and invite me down to visit him just so that his hockey-buddy-filled apartment could be cleaned/sanitized. This can't be happening already!

Life is passing us all so fast, but I am not sure that it needed to go so fast that my LITTLE BROTHER is getting MARRIED!!  I can remember the first time I met Erin it was after one of Matt's games that he was coaching in Brockville.  We were in his (dungeon) apartment and at this he wasn't admitting to us that they were dating. Strangely enough, Erin knew what cupboard Matt kept the tea bags (which is strange in itself because Matt doesn't drink tea!) and there were two tooth brushes in the bathroom (which I discovered after doing my cleaning inspection!).  That night Erin was quiet as Matt & Marc rehashed the game and conversed like no one else was there. I didn't know anything about her so I was hard for me to strike up a conversation...I can't remember if I even did strike one up...

Fast forward about 6 months or so and I get a message from said brother asking me what I think of the house he & Erin bought...but wait a second I thought she wasn't your girlfriend but just a friend?!  And since when were you looking to buy a house, and when did you go to the bank and why didn't you ask me what I thought of the house BEFORE the sold sign went up?! This IS my brother though!

Matt & Erin have grown to be such a complete couple.  They brought Neumann into their lives (and coincidently ours) and they just make each other tick.  They find a way to be independent yet come together to spend quality time together (which makes me jealous!) and they are supportive of each other's passions.  I can totally sympathize with Erin what it's like to be all but officially single during hockey season, yet she seems so patient with Matt. (I on the other hand am not as patient with a never ending hockey schedule.)  They are both very hard working and determined to reach their goals.  This will lead them to amazing heights.

So as I go to bed tonight, I still can't believe that my brother is growing up and that I will have a new sister!

Erin, welcome to the family and we are so excited for you an Matt.  We are excited to see your relationship with Matt continue to blossom.  Thank you for making Matt so happy.  He has become so grounded and focused since meeting you.  Remember, take a deep breath and take it all in; tomorrow will pass by so fast that before you know it you'll be dying to get your dress off and into something lazy.  We love you and can't wait to see what's next for the both of you.

Sunshine & happiness today & forever.

Stephanie, Marc, #TeamAmelie & #TeamOlivier :)

Yikes, Time Flys when your Having Fun...or are just too busy to notice!

It’s been well over a month and a half since I last logged on to share the events and happenings. I last left off saying that we were heading down to Lake Placid for the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championships for my brother’s team. Well...we did make it to LP and had an unforgettable time. The boys pulled out a 2-0 win in the semi finals over Hobart College on the Friday night and then continued to over achieve the expectations but posting a 4-0 will over GA. Marc and I had a great time. We were able to enjoy some time with the other families and friends of the players at a reception before and after each game hosted by the school. There are some real characters that surround the team!! When you get a chance check out the Neumann Knight’s Men’s Ice Hockey Mom’s and their karaoke night at the local watering hole “Wise Guys” after the semi final win. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9fT5ouMd8w) I could divulge all the stories of the night after the championship game, but I’ll keep those for another 25 years when we’re all reflecting back on the time that was.

Hockey ended there for me as I had to focus again on my school work and finish up two group assignments. Marc continued to follow Kevin’s season until the end leaving me to look after everything at home. Now if that isn’t a lucky guy, I’m not sure who is....Marc hasn’t been home on a weekend in well over 3 months!

I made it through all the group assignments and the final exams that had to be written. I have to say that I made out pretty good in the end...it’s finally nice to see some grades rewarding the hard work and time that I’ve been putting in. I learnt again what I thought I already knew about group work...I hate it and I will never trust people again. A group project of 5 people turned into working in partners all so that all the members could get the same grade. I must have it written on my forehead that I will look after everyone’s work because that’s what I ended up doing...I attract the lazy SOB’s!!

I’ve been enjoying a week off from school this past week and boy did I need it. We’ve been running AAA summer tournaments for the past 3 weekends with another one this weekend and the last next weekend. It has been consuming all of our time, energy and the space in our house. We’ve got stuff everywhere...there’s no guest room, dining room, garage or even laundry room. They all belong to the Casselmen Pirates!! Soon enough it will be all over and we’ll (I mean I will) be able to pack everything away for another year. For my week off, I’ve been able to catch up on laundry, housework and the now attention demanding yard work. The weather has been nice for the most part all week, so I’ve also managed to catch a little vitamin D (sunshine colour!) to touch up my fading colour from Cuba. I now feel like I’m not the only one with our Christmas lights still up on our house (in APRIL!), we have grass seed laid in the front and my stargazer lilies are starting to poke up in the front flower beds.

For now I’m going to leave you, I have to get back to the timekeeper’s bench for a peewee hockey game....oh what we do for kids these days!!

Enjoy the sunshine!

It's Been a While

It's been a little while since I've had the time to sit down and log back in. We've been VERY busy to say the least around where with traveling, school and just every day life. The last I left you was with a brief introduction and the NCAA Div III hockey playoffs were just starting. Well...we've been on the road every weekend since then traveling between Syracuse, Geneva and Plattsburgh. I've become quite comfortable at the border crossings as well as driving down to Syracuse. I have a travel mate that has a bad habit of napping in the car, so I am getting to know my reliable travel companion 'Tom-Tom' to direct me. The highlights of the past couple of weeks has to certainly be the on-ice results of our newly adopted Syracuse Crunch and Kevin Lalande as well as the forever loved Neumann Knights and Matt. Both teams are on fire as of late, Neumann running through each team they face in 1 game showdowns. We've been fortunate enough to see the weekend games in person and watch the week night games online. I don't know how the players play because I can hardly stand to watch. We visited Plattsburgh State University this past weekend and what a fantastic campus arena. The fans were a little mellower than I expected and the locker rooms were *&^%, but what matters most of all is the OT win the Knights got. Kevin has been on fire too in Syracuse. We have been able to watch him on Friday nights as of late (to not conflict with the Neumann schedule), and were there for his second consecutive start at home last week. He played great and just came a few minutes short of a shut-out. I fulfilled my promise from the previous week of my famous chicken stir fry and smuggled 6 meals worth down to Syracuse. Living in a hotel is only good for so long, but a little home style cooking goes a little further. I experienced my first poster board assignment of my young university career last week. It's been almost 13 years since I last produced anything close to a poster board assignment and set it up like an elementary school science fair. I went into the assignment a little unclear of the expectations or what others were doing, but in the end I wasn't too far off first base! It went considerably well for the low expectations and the fact that the teacher had to visit over 60 students throughout the class time. I was satisfied with my display and traditional display; time will tell with the teacher posting the grades in the next day or so. School is starting to wind down in the coming weeks. I don't have too much on the go before it all comes to an end, except for a few group presentations. I am a little worried about one, but I'm confident I will be able to pull everything together just in time. We're off to Lake Placid this weekend for the NCAA Div III Frozen Four. I'm getting nervous already, but it could be because I still have 12 dozen peanut butter cookies to bake!! If everything goes as planned, we won't make it to Syracuse, and we'll come home with self inflicted head aches! Maybe 'Tom-Tom' can drive home on Sunday! Let me know what's been keeping you busy?

My First Blog

Well...I've been putting this on the side burner for a while now, and I made a commitment to myself that as soon as my crush of midterms were finished I would get started on a blog. I've been truly inspired by all the other blogs that I have been reading that I thought that it's something that I could do and keep people up-to-date on my trials, tribulations and triumphs. These past two weeks have been a real test for me at school. It was the first time ever that I have had such a heavy work load between assignments, classes and midterm exams. It really made me think if school was something that I wanted to do while trying to balance a house and wife duties to the fullest. The brighter side of me prevailed (with only 1 melt down I might add) and I pulled through. I'm not sure how the exams turned out result wise, but I did the best that I could. Add to the mix a surprise trip to the US to watch my brother Matt play in his one game showdown. Marc called me mid-afternoon on Friday afternoon to tell me to skip lunch and to pack a little bag because we were going to Philly! I had everything packed and in the truck by 2:45 and we were on our way. Marc promised to drive all weekend so that I could study for my 3 midterms in 2 days once we returned. We made it to the border where we hit a real hard *&^ agent who grilled us about everything. He wanted to know what was in my makeup case for crying out loud! It was just as we were passing the border that I should check who Matt was playing...I said Utica, but it was Elmira. It then donned on me that I should make sure it was a home game before driving all the way to Philly to only find them on the road. Well...I was wrong again (I know 2 wrongs in 1 case!), they were playing on the road in Elmira. But where is Elmira? My ever so knowledgeable brother informed me that it was in Upper New York state somewhere...thanks but do you know how big Upper New York state is??!!! We had to let the cat out of the bag and spoil the surprise. In the end we had a great weekend of visiting past players in Syracuse, New York, watching the Neumann Knights beat the number 1 ranked Elmira Soaring Eagles and a shopping stop at the outlets. We're heading back to Syracuse this weekend to watch Marc's great friend Kevin who was traded today from the Calgary Flames organization to the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. Hopefully we'll be able to see Kevin in action or at least for a few drinks afterwards. Let me know your thoughts, comments or questions you may have!