Hockeytown Tournament

This Thanksgiving weekend, Dad and Andrew parted ways with Mom and Abby (went to Chicago for Oireachtas) so they could travel to Detroit for the Hockeytown Red Wings Experience hockey tournament. Andrew and his Strongsville Mustangs competed in a division of all Canadian teams (except for us). They lost their first game 1-7 at Joe Louis Arena, bounced back to win their second game 2-4 in Plymouth, lost their third game 0-8 in Farmington Hills, then won their final game 5-2 in Dearborn Heights. They finished in 3rd place overall and just missed out on the championship game. It was still fun. The kids got to swim and go to a Red Wings hockey game Saturday night. We didn't get too many photos or video clips (hoping others did), but here are the highlights of what we did get.

Oireachtas 2011

This Thanksgiving weekend Mom and Abby parted ways with Dad and Andrew (went to Detroit for hockey tournament) and headed to Chicago for the 2011 Mid America Oireachtas regional Irish dance competition. Unfortunately, Abby did not place in her category, but I think her and Mom still had fun. Here are some photographed highlights.

Hockey Highlights

Andrew (#97) and the Strongsville Mustangs PW1 team had two games this weekend. The first game was Friday night and the Mustangs let one get away by losing to first place Shaker Heights 2-1 after leading 1-0 late into the third period. Today the Mustangs redeemed themselves by defeating Tri-County 3-1. The Mustangs have now played 4 regular season games and have a record of 1-2-1. Hopefully today's win will get them back on track again. This weekend the team will be playing a Hockeytime Red Wings Experience Tournament in Detroit. They are guaranteed to play at least 3-4 games, one of which will be at Joe Louis Arena. The whole team will also get to watch a Red Wings game Saturday night. Should be lots of fun.

Oireachtas Pep Rally

Yesterday Abby had a practice and pep rally for her upcoming Mid America Region Oireachtas competition that is in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. Every year the O'Hare Irish Dance booster club has a pep rally to wish good luck to the girls that will be competing in Oireachtas. It's usually good fun and a nice way to get everyone excited for the competition. Good luck Abby!

Happy Anniversary!

Today, the first "Hollywood Two" (Scott and Karen) celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary. Last year I put together a short video as a walk back through time across our 20 year history. You can watch it again by clicking here.

Mustangs Hockey

The Strongsville Mustangs PW1 regular hockey season is under way! The Mustangs had their first game this past Saturday against Rocky River. It was a nail biter that finished in a 1-1 tie (sorry, no video footage). Our next game is this coming Sunday against Cleveland Heights. The kids got their team pictures back this week so here is Andrew and the rest of his team. Looking forward to a good, competitive and fun hockey season.

Abby Takes First at the Prairie State Feis

Abby participated in two feiseanna this weekend in Chicago at the preliminary championship level. The first competition, the Chicago Autumn Feis, was on Saturday and we won't talk too much about that one since Abby finished 10th overall and 2nd in her set dance. However, she bounced back Sunday with a 1st place finish in the Prairie State Feis that was sponsored by the Mayer School of Irish Dance which was her former dance studio in Chicago. In fact, her first Irish dance instructor, Paul Mayer, had the honor of presenting her with her first place sash and award. Nice job Abby!