Wow. We just had the BEST night last night.
Donna got the boys into a program called Get Out and Learn (G.O.A.L.) here in Nashville.
Get this. They provide hockey equipment and four weeks of lessons…for FREE.
The kids got helmets, skates, pads, pants, socks, mouth guards…the works. All given to them for free by the Nashville Predators.
Now…at the end of the 4 weeks….they give most of it back. But they got to keep the sticks (brand new and cut to their size Ovechkin CCM sticks) and jerseys.
This was great. They had a blast. Getting out each week and learning to skate, shoot, pass, and just have fun.
But the last day (last night) was just too much.
We found out that the Nashville Predators were having practice on the ice an hour before the kids went out.
We all got to hang out…and watch a professional hockey team play. In our own rink.
It was amazing.
One of the players, Jerred Smithson saw the boys (faces squished on the glass) and picked up one of the practice pucks with his stick and lifted it over the glass for Brendan.
He was floored. An official Predators Practice Puck. WOW.
Then…the boys suited up and went out.
Only to find out that some of the Predators actually SKATED with them. For the entire HOUR.
Jordin Tootoo and Cody Fransen let them take shots on them. Showed them how to hold their sticks. And just made it so fun.
Jordin is one of Logan’s favorite (if not THE favorite) hockey player. And he made sure and told him so.
Gnash (the Preds’ mascot) also came out and played with the kids.
At the end…
They took a group picture.
And then SIGNED stuff for all the kids.
Yes. They sat for another HOUR while 60 kids lined up and got sticks, pucks, jerseys and whatnot signed.
Brendan got his practice puck signed. Logan got his stick and a Jordin Tootoo hockey card (I brought every Predator card we had) signed as well.
Afterwards…we had dinner at Burgers and Cream.
And it was a good…and VERY memorable day.
More and more…we find that moving here to Franklin, TN has been such a blessing. Everyone is so great and so much is done for the kids.
We feel we did good as parents to leave Los Angeles and put the kids first.
But even so…Donna and I felt like kids tonight. We had fun with them.
It was a great night.
