New Digs

This is the view from my new digs. 

Conference champions

Goth rugby club are conference champions.  On to the state championship playoffs.  So excited for these boys.

Ps....yes Max has blonde hair...long story!!!

Photo credit: Bruce Murrin Photography

Rugby

Rugby. It makes boys into men. Or so I have been told! And since it's officially spring that means it's rugby season...and in the Pacific NW that can mean some challenging conditions.  Max's team ( in the black  jerseys) have to travel far and wide to play against other teams.  Here are some pictures from some recent matches. 

 

Between games they all keep warm in the team tent!

I think Max had about 4 sweatshirts on in this picture.

Winners are grinners...the smallest trophy ever made!

Don't you love the snow in the background?

We don't go on too many of the rugby trips with him.  It's just the coaches and a small group of diehards.  What brave people to take these bunch of high schoolers all over the Pacific NW.

BC

A weekend trip to Vancouver was on the cards when we discovered that Canada was hosting its first ever World Rugby Sevens competition.  Can you imagine???? We get to see rugby...live.  Oh my! I can't tell you how excited we were.  Ciara was going on spring break from college that same weekend so the stars seemed to be aligning for a family weekend getaway.  Plus some friends decided to join us despite the fact they had no idea what rugby is.....so it was shaping up for a doozie of a good weekend.

Matt, the boys and I drove to Seattle on Thursday afternoon and stayed at an airport hotel so we could grab Ciara first thing in the morning.  When she texted us at 6:45 am on Friday to tell us that she had landed we were all still in bed but we managed to scramble out of bed and go pick her up.  And then we were off....

We made it to the border...Peace Arch State Park...

And those lovely Canadians let us in.....

We stayed in a great hotel right on the water in Vancouver with a killer view, walking distance to BC Place, the fantastic indoor stadium where the games were played. 

Oh and look who we bumped into just out walking around Vancouver...the entire English Rugby Sevens team...oh yeah baby!!!!

So onto the rugby. If you know anything about sevens you will know the tournament is like a huge dress up party.  We decided to go as these guys.

Max added a cape to his ensemble.

And this is our good looking group waiting to get in.

The venue was great and we watched loads of games.

Of course I saw my new BFFs play against our U.S team.

 

And we watched Australia play the host team...wow...65,000 Canadians can really make a lot of noise. And good news for them,( and bad news for us) the locals won.

Apart from the rugby there was loads of eating, walking, getting wet in Vancouver's liquid sunshine, coffee drinking, laughing, swimming in the heated outdoor pool in the rain followed by time warming up in the sauna.  All round a fantastic time.  Thanks Canada for a great weekend.