The Kazel Imagination: Hockey party planner

If Sydney were to write this blog post, I think it would start something like this:

We had so much fun in Silver Bay with everybody from my hockey team and their families. We stayed at a hotel and got to do a lot of swimming while all the moms and dads sat around talking. Too bad the fun had to be interrupted by so many hockey games.

I remember the first time we went to Silver Bay for one of AJ's hockey tournaments. We were still dealing with diapers and pack-n-plays for Sydney. But now it was her turn on the ice.

And before my Dad or anyone else makes a comment about Sydney only using one hand to hang on to her hockey stick, I want to note that we already had that conversation with her, and it turns out she had a very good reason (in her opinion) for skating that way.

When we got back to the locker room, she removed her glove and proudly showed us the penny she had found and kept safe in her glove so she wouldn't lose it. Throughout the entire game.

But enough about hockey, because the real fun started back at the motel.

We and a few other families went up Friday night. And it was while swimming with a couple boys on her team that Sydney hatched a plan. She wanted to have a party. In our room. She started by asking Nolan's mom, and then Max's Dad. We told her she could invite them over to play, but it would have to wait until the next night.

(No, these photos have nothing to do with the party. I didn't get any pictures of that.) By Saturday, the rest of the team arrived and Sydney's invitation list expanded significantly. I'm pretty sure everyone at the Silver Bay arena, referees included, heard about the party that Sydney was throwing in room 120.

What Sydney didn't know is that the moms, like we do every year, had already organized a potluck meal for Saturday night in the hotel's hospitality room. I told Sydney we'd have to have her party there since she'd invited too many people to fit in our room.

She was okay with that. But continued to take her party hostess responsibilities very seriously. She made sure everyone knew of the new location, and was delighted to see how much food magically appeared. Everyone must have really wanted to come to her party! She asked Jeff and me and just about every other adult if she could borrow our iPhones to play music. Because how could you have a party without music? And she even suggested to Coach Bob - who was more than happy to announce it in a loud voice to all in the room - that Sydney wanted to lead a toast to Esko Hockey. Cheers!

By Sunday, it was back to hockey for one more game. Back at the arena, parents continued to stop us and thank Sydney for her wonderful party. Sydney beamed. She also must have been energized because after being shut out the first two games, she managed to score three... count 'em... three* goals in Sunday's game. "I got a hat trick!" She proudly announced when she came off the ice.

*Note the asterisk. Two of Sydney's goals shouldn't have counted, except they don't count goals anyway, so what's the harm? Sydney figured out if someone from her team scores, it's really easy to score again if you plant yourself in front of the net. The other team would take the puck out of the net, and she'd push it right back in. But one of her goals was legit. And she seems to be putting in more effort each game, so I'm fine with that.