The Hammer 🔨

Before I say anything let me just say that nobody was ready for the photo above to be taken 😕 and it’s the only photo I have of Cam and his lovely family ... so I’m sorry if it’s not the most flattering but it’s all I got . That being said after waking up at Cams in the hammer here in Hamilton , New Zealand ! After a night in the hospital and going to bed really late in the morning we crashed and woke up relatively at the same time around 1 or 2 and had just enough time for Cam to go pick up his two girls who are both shy when they first met me looking at me with this who the heck is this guy face , I don’t blame them since I’m the foreigner here . We grabbed some Chinese take away and got back to Cams where I finally got to meet his lovely and very understanding wife Kristina who is also quite the athlete ! She played baseball for McMaster university back home and still is active here playing softball (I could be wrong and it could be slo-pitch ) regardless she is on the level and Cam is just as lucky as I am with the women we have to support us. . All you ladies should loosen the leash and let your husbands enjoy life playing hockey in these tourneys 🤭 did I say something wrong ? Anyways hahaha this picture above was us enjoying that lovely Chinese take away . 

After dinner we bust out the pétanque set and play a few rounds to practise for the New Zealand Masters championships we had entered . Cams daughters soon became enamoured with joining the adults while we had a bevvie which I almost took my thumb nail off opening .... don’t ask ! Stupid shit happens to me like it’s meant to be .... just roll with it lol 😝 we had a lot of fun tossing theses silver balls around the yard nearly breaking everything in their paths and then the girls had to go to bed but were too excited and wanted to hang with their daddy , he’s a softie with his girls . I don’t blame them for loving him so dearly as he is a top notch dad ! Not that I know since I’ve kept myself clear of any children in my life , just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle to be honest but I don’t mind hanging with and trying to help spoil my friends kids once in a while . When the girls crashed so did Kristina since she has to work nights at the hospital as an RN which is not an easy job by any means . I know since Kathleen has been there and done that also . When Kristina woke up and left for work Cam I myself were still up watching hockey videos and we actually watched the documentary about the Laval Chiefs who play in the rink I always visit and play on when I’m in Montreal and as I’ve mentioned before is the very rink my hero Mario Lemieux played at during his junior days . La Colisee Laval ! I love this barn and watching this documentary put me right back in this rink .... the doc is good and you should give it a gander if you haven’t before . I still can’t believe there is apartments at the rink for players to live in lol 😝 

We have to get up early tomorrow to feed the girls then drive to Auckland to pick up our gear to fly to Dunedin . Around 1 am i called it a night and crashed HARD ! Cam had to stay up and update all things Hockey House .... if you didn’t know , organizing this stuff is all very very time consuming and if you haven’t thanked your team or league organizer then take a minute to appreciate what these fine men and women do to keep us all playing hockey 🏒 if it wasn’t for them nothing would be organized and it takes a heck of an effort to start and maintain clubs , leagues and even shinny ice times . Another travel day tomorrow 😕