We've returned from the land of ice rinks and zambonis. And we are still recuperating.

Hockey tournament (häk'ē tŏŏr'nə mənt) n. Spending the weekend with fifty people, some being your closest friends others being those you can just barely tolerate. Long hours at the rink, longer hours at the hotel pool. Dinner reservations for sixty. Bonding over your hatred of the cowbell mom or the airhorn dad on the opposing team. Spending how much on an emergency replacement stick at the pro shop?? Little rink rat sisters discovering, after four months of shyness, that they totally like each other. Too little sleep. Seeing the other team's parents at the hotel and trying to be civil because, just an hour before, they were cheering when one of their boy's tripped or cross-checked your son. Kids collapsing in laughter and chasing each other through the halls, the pool, the rink, everywhere.

It was a good time. The kids were great, the team played so, SO well. We went 3-0 and were the team to beat before losing 1-0, with only two minutes left, in the semi-final game. A heartbreaker to be sure.

In other news, um, there is no other news. I've spent the past two nights watching the first season of Veronica Mars and I've probably got two more nights to go...the library has me on a deadline. I'm totally hooked on the show, if you get a chance...watch it.