Where's Sammy?

Last night at bedtime I discovered that the cover to Sammy the Hamster's cage was open and he was not inside. After a brief panic we figured out that the last person to open his cage was Emily when she fed him a peach pit that morning. That meant that he was out and about all day long and we were all fearing the worst. After a thorough interrogation, the cat provided no evidence of foul play, and I found no signs of struggle anywhere in the house. Faced with the pressure of reassuring the kids so they could go to sleep knowing Sammy was in peril, and actually finding the rodent before his nocturnal wanderings could take him anywhere, I called upon my years of experience trapping small mammals during college summers. I took 2 live traps, baited them with peanut butter, and placed them strategically in Emily's room, on the hunch that he had not strayed far from where he fell out of the cage (though try as I might I could not find him or any signs). After about 15 minutes of settling the kids in their beds and searching for the little guy, I heard the telltale clang of the trap door snapping shut. I called the kids in and we transferred Sammy back into his cage, with the doors firmly closed. We were quite relieved, and all slept soundly that night knowing he was safe.

Middle School Regular Season Comes to an End

In the last regular season Middle School game last night, Michael has 2 goals and 3 assists in a 6-0 defeat of Portland. That's the most points he's had in 1 game. Nothing like having only 2 subs to pad the stats. He was on the ice for most of the game.

MEAHA season over

Michael's travel team lost today 4-2 to Capital District Skaters in Augusta. That ends their MEAHA (Maine Amateur Hockey Association) season, as a win in this game would have qualified them for next weekend's state tournament. They started terribly, falling behind 3-0 in the first period. They scored a goal apiece in the second, and with running time throughout the third period, they got to within 4-2, but despite a frantic empty-net last couple of minutes, they couldn't put it in the net.

It's bittersweet; next weekend will be the first weekend without hockey in months, but we'll miss it. Still more hockey though. Middle school game tomorrow, and playoffs for the Seacoast (NH) league in a couple weeks.

Weekend Update

I forgot to post this Sunday night, but Michael scored 2 goals in a 4-3 loss at Phillips Exeter Academy on Sunday. His line provided their only offense and were double-shifted in the 3rd period. This weekend they have a play-in game to qualify for the state tournament.

Emily has joined the chorus for the school musical. She was going to try out for a part, but chickened out at the last minute. I'm wondering if she's regretting that decision, since she spent the night in her room playing the musical CD and singing every part on the script. Next year she'll know what she's in for.

Hockey update

Today was a long day. Michael had a hockey game in Biddeford, which is 1/2 hour away, at 8:10AM. He has to be there one hour before, so do the math and the alarm clock started with a 5 when we got up. They played pretty well, but couldn't manage to pull ahead and ended up with a 1-1 tie. Michael had some sweet passes, including a nice drop pass to a streaking forward. After that game, we had another one in Manchester, NH, about 1 hour away, that started at 1:55. So we killed some time in Kittery, ate lunch in Manchester, and headed over to the St. Anselm College's hockey rink. Nice rink. The boys started poorly, and we were fearing a rout. They managed to get through the first period without letting in a goal, and didn't generate much offense of their own. But in the 2nd period, they came alive, started moving the puck and hitting, and scored 3 goals, without letting any in. In the 3rd period, things got a little chippy and we spent some time in the penalty box, which hurt us. They scored twice and we scored once more 4-2. The last couple of minutes were harrowing, but they managed to pull off the win. After an hour-and-a-half drive home we are all tired, and are resting up for 2 more games tomorrow.

High Honors

Congratulations to Michael for making the high honor roll this period. His lowest grade was 93 (in Gorham, 92 is a B). He was really excited about this, so I'm glad he sees this as reward for hard work. He's learning a valuable lesson: reasonable goals can be achieved through hard work.