Hockey Hangout - Week of Feb. 19th

"It is not our differences that divide us.  It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences." ~Audre Lorde

This week, we introduced Cam to an old-fashioned slide projector.  He had never seen one and it had been stored in the cottage attic for many years.  We were unsure if it would even work.  Cameron's dad has the ability to innately figure out anything.  Cam was intrigued by the setup and it was fun to see the old pictures.

We were anticipating our Saturday plans.  Jane and her son were a bit concerned when Chris caught a flu bug and ended up staying home a couple of days.  By the weekend, though, he was on the upswing.  

For the third year, our local hockey team, the Grand Rapids Griffins (a feeder team for the Detroit Red Wings) has hosted a sensory friendly hockey game.  It is named "Hockey without Barriers/Sensory Friendly Game." This game includes lower music levels, no goal horn, no flashing lights, and dimmer lighting throughout the arena.  For Christmas, this continues to be one of our favorite family gifts.

Our evening began at the Consumers Credit Union restaurant, located right inside the arena.  The food is tasty and it makes for a very easy commute to the hockey game.  Cam highly recommends the pretzel bites and chicken pesto flatbread.  

We arrived at our seating area before the first puck hit the ice.  It's always fun to see the zambonis resurface the hockey rink.  When Chris and Jane stood for the national anthem, their son went into standing mode on his powerchair.  At the end of the first period, the Texas Stars had scored the only goal.  Our family scored some delicious treats including popcorn from a local vendor and one of Cam's favorites, peanut m&ms.  The Grand Rapids Griffins scored two goals back to back and the game was now 2-1.  Our local team ended up winning the game with a final score of 4-1!  It was a fun, memorable evening for us all.

We were all ready for a day of rest on Sunday and welcomed the opportunity to hang out together and relax.

Camology Quotes:

With Chris not feeling well, we tried to keep our distance for a couple of days.  Cam's nightly routine typically includes a hug from each parent.  He relayed the following to his mom in lieu of seeing Chris.

"Mom, I'm going to give you a double hug, fist bumps and high fives. I'm pulling out all of the stops for Dad!