Before and After

So, this past weekend we headed to Maryland for Jacob's last lacrosse tournament of the year.  I didn't get to go to this one last year because of a long-planned concert that my friend Mary was coming into town for.  This year I was determined to do more than spend 7+ hours in a van to only watch a handful of lacrosse games before spending 7+ hours in a van again to come home, so I hatched a plan. I decided to take the day off Thursday, pick up the kids early, and then we could drive part of the way that night, which would give us an entire day in Baltimore on Friday.  Once I got a super cheap but very nice room in Harrisburg on Hotwire for $60 total, we made a list of to-dos for the day.  And because Friday turned out so full, it's getting a post of its own...so today you'll get the "before Friday" and "after Friday" sections of our long weekend!

Because of the trip, most of last week was spent planning ahead and packing up as much as possible so I could maybe get some "me time" on Thursday.  In the end it was more like errand running with one quick stop for me, but I was packed and ready on time, which was a feat.  Wednesday night, Craig was in Canada for work, so it was me trying to do what I could while alone with two crazy boys.  While I was trying to make dinner, apparently our house turned into a tattoo parlor, because this the end result:

Yes, Jacob "tattooed" both of them with markers.  Normally I'd have freaked out a bit, but they were happy and getting along, so I let it go.  Those moments are rare enough, and if a washcloth and some soap could fix it, then why not?  Once the boys were in bed, I packed up as much as I could.

Everyone went off to their respective places on Thursday morning, and I got busy with some work from home and pre-trip errands.  I wasn't feeling great by that point--a little nauseated or just generally off--but I had a quick lunch, finished packing, and went to get the kids.  When we got home, ideally we would have hopped right in the car, but ever since Halloween the kids had been dying to do something that we just hadn't had the daylight or enough decent weather to do: destroy our pumpkins.  The pumpkins were starting to get a little funky and it was still light out, so we set the pumpkins up to be attacked with a lacrosse ball.

Both boys gave it a go, and after a few direct hits, we had this:

Note the little one in the background, completely away from the other two. 

Eventually we had pumpkin pieces all over our lawn and driveway, and then it was time to go.  We didn't get on the road until around 4pm, which meant we only had about an hour of daylight.  Trust me when I say that daylight car trips are far more enjoyable than night ones.  We did so much night driving on this trip, and I was so sad to miss all of the scenery.  Fall leaves are mostly done, but I bet there would have been some pretty areas...or at least something besides blackness.

I was still not feeling too great, but after a small dinner, some Pepto Bismol and some Dramamine, just to take the edge off whatever it was (I think it could have been the remnants of my Z-pak, or maybe a precursor to the cold that showed up by Sunday), I was feeling a little better.  We ended up needing to stop for dinner a lot earlier than I'd have liked, a little over an hour in. But Jacob really liked the comfy chairs in the Dansville Burger King...

The trip to Harrisburg was only about 4-1/2 hours, but because of the dark it seemed to take forever.  Both boys conked out sometime before we got there.  Of course, they woke up as we were getting into the hotel, and while Jacob went right back to sleep, Carter had a lot of trouble.  He was sleeping next to Craig that night and drove him absolutely nuts.  We had to be up early to go into Baltimore for the day, so the extra late night was not appreciated.  Fortunately, the hotel was nice and we were able to get a good breakfast before we took off the next morning.  It was actually a bit of a bummer that we had so little time there, because it was a really nice hotel!  We were back on the road by about 7:45....but what came after has to wait until my next post!

So...fast-forward to Saturday...

Jacob's schedule for this tournament had changed a number of times, and it appeared they were having trouble getting teams for Saturday.  In the end we only had two games, but the good news is that we didn't have to be at the field until around 10am.  That was good, because Carter spent the night flopping all over the bed and I barely slept.  When the alarm went off to get us up for our original start time, I cringed, but then I saw the message that the first game was moved later, so we got an extra hour or so of sleep!  The bad news is that our hotel was still about a half hour away, and it was supposed to be a really cold day, pretty firmly in the 30s to low 40s.  Fortunately, it was sunny, which took the edge off a bit, but we were all layered up.  Heavy coats, gloves, hats, boots, and blankets were all must-haves.

The first game was close but the boys played well and won 9-7. 

And yes, it does look like they're playing on hay, but the grass was just really brown.

The second game was...rough.  As we approached the field for the game, we saw that the FCA team a year older than Jacob was losing badly to a team from Annapolis, apparently the same organization of the team we'd be playing.  The FCA 2025s had done well otherwise that day but lost to this Annapolis team 18-2.  In the meantime, we noticed about four players with similar uniforms that looked to be about Jacob's age warming up off to the side.  We found it odd that the rest of the younger team was otherwise nowhere to be found.  And basically we ended up figuring out that the team we were going to play may have been cobbled together just to give us someone else to play that day.  Most of it was the same 2025 team that decimated our 2025 team, and those four kids were probably the only 2026s that could make it.  There was even a rumor of a 2024 player somewhere in the mix.  We have a very good team, but clearly they're not as good as 2025-level kids, and as a result we lost 9-2.  It was better than the 2025s did, clearly, but it was ugly.  They had us totally off our game.  It was definitely a character builder for a team that doesn't lose very often.

After the game, Carter--who spent most of the weekend holding a phone or my iPod (you do what you have to do)--finally got to go play!

Craig captured this shot of them while I was packing up.

After the game we had a late lunch at Chick-Fil-A, which wasn't particularly close (nothing was!) but was our best option (and others', as well, as we ran into some other FCA people there).  It was actually our second Chick-Fil-A day in a row, but it was fine because most of us had something different and it's all so good.  We can't wait to get our location in the next few months!  We headed back to the hotel without any plans, which was good because we were tired but bad because two boys in a hotel room is usually bad news.  Craig and Jacob ended up going out to play with one of Jacob's teammates and his dad, and Carter and I just laid low for a bit.  Eventually Jacob was running around the hotel with two teammates playing hide-and-seek between the rooms.  Carter really wanted to join in, and did for a little bit, but eventually the game came to an end and we all settled in.  Jacob ate leftover pizza we brought with us, and Craig ran out to get us Arby's (the only nearby place that wasn't burgers or pizza).  We watched Lego Batman on HBO and just relaxed, but we were all in bed by 9:30 or so because we had to be up very early for an 8am game.

We were supposed to be at the field by 7am, but a few technical difficulties got us there a bit later.  It was still below 30 degrees, and everything was covered in thick frost. 

 



Team huddle early on Sunday, courtesy of another parent...one of the reasons FCA is awesome.



We were once again bundled up, even though we knew the colder morning was supposed to get slightly warmer than the previous day ever did (mid-40s...woohoo!).  We were just willing the sun to come out and feel warmish!  This is how Carter spent part of the weekend, trying to keep warm and have his hands glove-free to play on the phone!

Yes, he's under there.

During the first game on Sunday, Jacob got a goal, and it was a beauty!  His team won that game 9-0.  The next game was against the same team from Annapolis, though this time it was clearer it was the correct age group of players.  Even still, we had a hard time against them and lost 9-4.  Apparently they beat everyone around there, so it wasn't really a reflection on us.  Most other teams only scored one goal or none, so we actually almost gave them some competition.  After a bit of a break, the next two games were both wins, 7-2 and 6-2, and after a very long day in the cold, we were done.  

The colors were pretty muted down there, but it was still pretty.

At the end of the last game

Team photo, courtesy of one of the other parents; Jacob is second from the right in the top row

We got in the car somewhere around 3:30 or 3:45, with a very long drive ahead of us.  We snacked, we ate cold pizza, we stopped a few times to go to the bathroom, we changed drivers twice, and after many long hours in the dark through Philadelphia, Allentown, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Binghamton, and Syracuse, we finally made it home just before midnight.  Carter fell asleep around 9:30 despite having napped for a while earlier in the trip, and Jacob was asleep shortly after 10.  Both went right to bed when we got home.  We did minimal unpacking and tried to get ourselves to bed ASAP, too.  It's been a sleepy couple days since, but hopefully we can catch up soon.  However, I realized this morning that Christmas season is just over a week away and I never get enough sleep then, so I probably should start now...and I'm failing again tonight.  Sigh.  The cold that showed up Sunday (probably from Carter) is still hanging in there, but it's been manageable.  Still, it's a busy enough week even if I was healthy, and it's hard to believe things are going to get even crazier in a week! 

But first...Baltimore!