I'm here just been doing other stuff, I guess. I was looking for some of these

yesterday in the yard. Sadly, I didn't see any peeking their way out. The days are finally getting a little nicer and we can actually breath when we go outside without our lungs freezing.
Steve, I agree with Gail, if you light up one of those cigars, I'm sure the girl will figure out what the magazine is all about. If not, she's just showing her ignorance again.
Gail, have fun car shopping.
Tonight we're going out to get Deanna new under armor for the cold temps and a few more pair of socks so I don't have to wash any this weekend at the hotel and a new goalie jersery. Soccer is a money pit! I'm sure before the spring outdoor season starts she will need new shoes and shin guards and goalie gloves.
Try hockey...it's just as expensive I would imagine. When we went to have Walker fitted for skates, there was a girl in there looking at goalie shin pads to the tune of $1400.
Here's a little heartwarming story. Walker started playing hockey back in early January. The coach put together a package of equipment, the basic stuff, that was running each family $188. With Gary not working since October, money is tight around here. But, I had some Christmas money stashed away and I said to Walker we'll go get the equipment over the weekend. We go in to get it and the owner says, oh, Walker's not the size of this equipment, his feet are bigger, his head is bigger, in fact, we don't even have that helmet anymore.

I asked him right out if this was a bait and switch type thing because what we were hearing now was not what we had heard at hockey. He said no, it was just that what was on the sheet was "last years model" and now they carry this years model. Walker is looking at me, am I going to get the equipment? It's breaking my heart, and I tell him I only have $200 to spend. With that, we bought him a pair of skates and a helmet.
Tuesday comes and Gary takes Walker to practice. I meet them up there and we mention to his coach that for our $200 we got Walker's skates and a helmet. We go into how Gary isn't working and things are tight, but we were willing to invest in the original package, but that's not what we ended up getting. The coach flipps out, is really angry

and tells us to return the equipment to the store because that is not the arrangement he made with the owner. Gary & I are looking at each other like, now what do we do.
On Wednesday, Gary takes the skates and helmet back to the store and gets our money back. The owner was out of town, so the assistant manager helped him. Gary comes home and the phone rings. It's Walker's hockey coach and he tells Gary.......GO back and get the skates from the store and have them bill us at the park district. We're really scratching our heads now but the coach said that they have grant money available and will fund the cost of the skates through that. So, Gary goes back to the store to get the skates again.
Saturday comes and it's time for practice again. We're a little early and I'm sitting in the bleachers when Walker comes running over to me and says - look, the coach gave me a pair of shin guards. I'm telling Walker, he meant only for today, and Walker is insistant that he gets to take them home.

I go over by Walker & Gary and Gary says, the coach told Walker to take home those shin guards and then the coach comes over and says, after practice today, Walker you take home all the equipment that you have been using, write your name on it and bring it every time to practice.
I have to say, it felt funny to walk out of there and we still feel like a charity case. But, Walker's coach said that's not the case at all, that they do have money to go towards kids who want to play and are having some financial issues. And, that seldomly do they see a kid who takes to the ice as easily and naturally as Walker has and that they wanted to promote his abiliy. With Walker, I know that having the equipment is a big deal and I wonder if his coach knew that as well. Gary & I both said, things like this don't happen to us.
When Gary gets on his feet, I see a donation heading to the park district to help other kids and pay it forward.
