Gwinnett Gladiators vs. Brampton Beast

It was a really full day today, one packed with activity and fun!  Starting with the last thing we did first, there was the ice hockey game, the Gwinnett Gladiators vs. the Brampton Beast.  In case you were as clueless as we were, the city of Brampton is located in Ontario.  So yes, we were battling some Canucks from up north!

But as you can see here, they were no match for our mighty Gladiators.  Here Madison is with the Gladiators mascot, a guy we could have used last year at Summer Xtreme.  Madison was with the Gladiator tribe in second grade, and this guy would have really upped the energy level something fierce!

Speaking of which, we were talking about how low the scores are in these games, and how infrequent a goal is.  So... tonight there was one eight seconds into the game.  Seriously, the Gladiators scored the first point just eight seconds into the game.

It took them until the third period to score again, breaking the tie and pulling ahead for good.  It was actually a really exciting game - Madison was enjoying the action, as well as all the stuff that takes in between the actual game parts.  There are contests and folks all over the place hosting trivia and 'toss the puck on the ice' games.  The night's hero was Clark Howard, a local radio personality who hosts a show that helps people save money.  He is famous in our household for advertising this deal that used to happen each February, where you could fly to Hawaii really cheap.  No exaggeration:  one time, Daddy flew to Maui for around $200 on United Airlines.  No joke.

Anyway, this was Clark Howard night, a night where all of us in the club level got tickets for just $10.00.  Additionally, the jersey you see Madison wearing in the top picture was just $5.00.  So it was an evening that was quite light on the wallet!

The Gladiators wound up winning 4-2, and we stayed until the very end.  We waited out the traffic some before leaving, and got home safe and sound, although a little late.  It was quite a day.

Oh, you're wondering what else we did today?  Well, there was this as well:

It was Daddy-Daughter Date Night at Chick-fil-A.  As you can see above, we had a 'double date' with Mr. Chris and his daughter Violet as well.  The Moms dropped us off for about an hour, and in this new location (last year we did this in Dawsonville), we had the usual nice setting, flowers, guided questions for dads and daughters, ice cream, and yes, there's another stuffed beanie cow for Madison.  This will get added to the herd later, but Madison was quite proud of the name she gave this cow.  On her own, she came up with the name:  "Delightful Beef."  So for the rest of the day, we had Delightful Beef with us, in the car, and at the hockey game.  He'll be with us for a while, I suspect.

This was the dinner that fills up so quickly.  It's just a nice opportunity for the daughters to dress up, and be treated like royalty for a tiny bit.  There was a guitarist playing music live, and fancier menus to look at.  The guided questions are ones dads ask daughters, and visa versa.  It was a nice evening together, one we look forward to each year.

But that's not the only thing we did today.  Here's something else:

We had an appointment with Home Depot at 9:00 am this morning.  the goal was to make a Valentine's Day themed mailbox.  Madison is getting so good, she basically made this thing all by herself, and didn't really need any help from Daddy anymore.  Sniff, sniff!  But seriously, she is doing a great job, lining things up, and nailing bits together.  Afterwards, she was painting her creation.  It's something she'll be sharing with Mommy on Valentine's Day next week.  Yes, it's just a week away!

In between all of that, we finished our piano for the week, and did some housework as well, changing lightbulbs, putting stuff back up where it belongs, and just a general cleaning up of the house.  We have a long way to go in that regards, but we did make some good progress today there.  So by day's end, we felt a sense of accomplishment there - but also, we did quite a lot with Madison too, as you can see above.  Plus, we made a new friend along the way.  His name is Delightful Beef!