Hockey has quickly become our favorite sport that the boys participate in. OK, let's face it, it was always my favorite. I love hockey. I have always loved hockey. I hate that the closest pro team is in Tampa. I also hate that it would cost $300 to take the boys to a game. The other day when Brandon told me it was also his favorite I was pretty happy. I thought it would be soccer., what with him being Mr. Soccer. But he said Hockey! 
Hudson is trying his best. Now if he would just learn to bend his knees! Sometimes we get frustrated with him cause he is exactly "coachable". Connor takes what a coach says to him and almost instantly changes his game. Hudson takes what a coach says to him, instantly forgets it and does it his way. I have a feeling swimming will be Hudson's sport as that seems to be the one where he has the most "natural" ability. And if you refuse to listen to a coach, natural ability is a good thing to have. 
All practices start with races. Connor loves the races!
Uncle Justin, Aunt Erin & Barrett came along to watch! (so did Grammy & Pops) Barrett loved watching all of the kids on the ice.
Hudson is trying his best. Now if he would just learn to bend his knees! Sometimes we get frustrated with him cause he is exactly "coachable". Connor takes what a coach says to him and almost instantly changes his game. Hudson takes what a coach says to him, instantly forgets it and does it his way. I have a feeling swimming will be Hudson's sport as that seems to be the one where he has the most "natural" ability. And if you refuse to listen to a coach, natural ability is a good thing to have. All practices start with races. Connor loves the races!
Uncle Justin, Aunt Erin & Barrett came along to watch! (so did Grammy & Pops) Barrett loved watching all of the kids on the ice.
At 10am sharp I ran to the restaurant where you can eat with the sharks to make sure we got reservation for lunch. Brandon took the boys to kiddie land where as planned there were no lines. The boys rode the Shamu coaster 10 times in a row without even having to get off of the ride. We went through the rope/tube ride and then it happened....
Connor fell. He fell HARD! Poor kid fell down a ramp and used his face to slow himself down. Neither of us saw what happened so I have no description for you. Like you wanted one! All I know is we heard him scream and turned around and he was tumbling down the ramp and landed with his leg caught in a rope and I was terrified that he had hurt his neck due to the way he landed. I got his leg free and Brandon picked him up and got him to the bottom of the ramp. He stopped crying and made sure he could move everything. Then, since no one was around we washed his face in the splash pad (shhhh). I went & bought him a visor to keep the sun off of his face & then brought him to the medical staff. The guy there was great and this is what he looked like the rest of the day. He never even talked about it the rest of the day. What a tough boy!
The boys both loved the shows, but Shamu was their favorite!
We rode the rest of the rides & even ate lunch with the sharks. Best part is we can go back the rest of the year for free. One of the perks of living in the sunshine state!
I was enjoying sitting back and taking pictures of the boys when they decided it was time for Mom to get to splashing! I totally got them back by using them as shields! We got soaked about 1 second after this shot!
Hudson was brave
Connor needed a little more help at first, but after an alligator he decided he could touch a snake and a lizard with no problem.
They loved watching feeding time with the giant tortoise
Connor cruises to an easy win!
I wish I could dive with no fear like Hudson!
Both boys really impressed us with their butterfly stroke as they had only learned them less than a week before the meet. Here is Connor.
I know what you were thinking, Is Mom even going to write a birthday blog this year? I admit it, the older you boys get, the busier we get and the less time I have to sit and write. But I wouldn't miss this one. Happy 6th birthday champ! Champ is a great nickname for you. You are one of the hardest working kids I have ever seen. Once you try something you don't stop until you are great at it. This year you didn't really learn to do anything new, but you worked hard to do everything better. In Taekwondo you have gone from a yellow belt to a 2nd level blue belt. You can tie your shoes without any help. You went from just making it across the pool to swimming on the swim team and touching the bottom of the deep end of our pool. In soccer you had more goals than the rest of the team combined. You have gone from sounding out words to reading books. And during one hockey practice your coach came up to me and told me that he saw professional potential in you. Son, maybe better isn't strong enough a word. I can't even begin to tell you how proud Dad and I are of you. We always know you are trying your best. Sometimes I worry about how competitive you are, but really, there was no escaping that gene as you get it from both parents! As Daddy says, "were the Woods, we like to win".
You had a great final year at Preschool. You loved having Mrs. Jenkins as your teacher. And she loved having you as well. You are certainly ready for Kindergarten. You were so excited on the tour of your new school. 
Last year I wrote that the great food battle had been won. I was WRONG. But now I think we are close. You eat spinach, broccoli, cheese, eggs (and hardly ever throw up any more). You will try anything I put in front of you. You even eat pepperoni and sausage on your pizza! You still have my crazy sweet tooth, but you really do want to make good choices.
