Presidents Day Polar Bear Arizona Tournament

My sister Janay and my baby girl Claire.

My mom and Natalie, Claire, and Zane.

My brother Ryan with Melissa and Natalie.

My Grandpa and his wife June with the girls.

All of us at my parents house.

Jared playing on the Tri-Valley Blue Devils out of the S. F bay area

Jake posing for a picture.

The cousins at Red Lobster after the winning game.. notice Zane under the table.

Showing their medals in front of my parents house.

After the win..so emotional!

This past weekend we went down to the Valley to see my sister and her family. Her boys were in a tournament and played other teams from all over the U.S. and Canada. It was so exciting to watch them play the sport they have been doing since birth. They are both very good players and I was amazed at how rough the sport is..especially with Jake's team. They are 13 and 14 years old but some of them are as big as grown men! When I say it was exciting to watch that is an understatement. Both teams were undefeated the entire tournament and then it came down to the championship where Jake's team was playing a team from a town near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I took one look at the goalie(about 200 lbs.) and thought that's it.. they are not gonna beat these guys. After all Hockey is in those Canadians DNA right? Well, it was a pretty stressful game and they were up 1 to 0 then 2 to 0 and I was thinking,"this might happen" My nephew Jake scored the 3rd goal and during the last few minutes of the game, the other team scored 2 right in a row..so if it wasn't for Jakes goal..it would've been tied and gone into a "shoot out" So, he made the winning goal and won the Championship. I was so so so excited. Tears came to my eyes as I saw those boys throw off their helmets and run and hug each other lifting Jake into the air. It brings tears to my eyes just typing this recollection. Although Jared's team didn't win the final game ( the Canadians from Vancouver won), I was extremely proud of them both and felt honored to see them play. I love my sister and her family so much and am so thankful for them in my life. There is nothing like the bond that sisters share. I hope that we will be able to share more moments like we did this weekend. Congratulations Jake!