WE LOVE HOCKEY.... if it's free

     Michael won tickets to a Hockey game at the Lanxess arena last week through work. He won by answering this difficult question ...Who is the mascot of the Koln Hockey team. Thankfully he knew it was sharky the shark. Apparently the Koln team names their mascots just like our children name their pets, simply take the kind of animal and add a Y, it works for every animal.
   We picked up our free tickets at the box office and found our seats right next to the glass... Now I have only been to one other hockey game in my life and it was the Mudbugs in Monroe Louisiana, I remember it being less than exciting. This game between the Koln Sharks and the Hamburg Freezers was better than expected with a score of 3-2 Koln. The boys enjoyed every minute but by far Oliver's favorite part was when Sharky the mascot came out and danced on the ice to Lady GaGa's Applause. I mean who doesn't enjoy the occasional break dancing shark!! You aren't human if you don't..
   On our way out the boys decided they wanted to take up Ice skating... all I can say is good luck with that in Texas...

Exploring an old Steel Mill

Right down the road from our home is a lovely park that just happens to be the remains of an old steel mill. We finally journeyed down to it last weekend to see just what it had to offer. The kids brought along their skateboards and scooters to zip around the rather large park. All I can say is if your looking for a place to take senior pictures (we are not but...) it's the perfect place to do just that. OK me and Michael took a few senior pictures to make up for the horrible ones we took in our youth.
   If only we were certified scuba divers we could have dove into a giant holding tank that has now been turned into a divers paradise. Or if we were excellent mountain climbers we could have climbed the sides of giant concrete structures  that once did something or another inside the plant. OR if it had been open we could have zip lined from one metal remnant to another. But we did not do any of those spectacular things and we still had a good time. There was a giant slide that would surely lead to a lawsuit in American that both the kids and Michael came shooting out of, along with numerous other terrified children. The kids played on several playgrounds and ran in and out of gardens and over walls  Then we topped it off with some currywurst and pomes to end the evening. Overall it was a lovely day at the old steel mill.

Hard Hat Chandelier

the slide ... this is only about 1/2

Our Senior Pictures ... I would have worn makeup if I knew it was picture day

Nailed it