SENSational Sunday

Now that we've done it twice, SENSational Sunday has become a family tradition — or at least that's what Sam would have you believe. He's a seasoned pro at the concourse games, he and Sparty Cat are tight, and he rubs shoulders with pro hockey players. He and Brian Elliott shared a personal convo after this photo was shot. They didn't get as far as discussing Elliott's shut-out of the Bruins last weeked (31 saves), mind you. It went sort of like this: "Good season!" "Thanks, Buddy!" Nice.. :)

We didn't bring skates this year, as the boys are a little rusty ... and Jeremy is in B.C. visiting Grandma Ashe, so the highlights were all on the concourse. The two played on many an inflatable game—Twin Peaks (rock climbing), The Equalizer (tug-o-war), ??? (giant slide). They also measured their slapshot speed (Carter: 45 mph, Sam: 22 mph), had a go at the strong man's High Striker, braved the Tippy Ladders, had their caricatures drawn, and got Sparty's autograph, all the while eating their weight in chocolate. Who doesn't love SENSational Sunday?

Last year, we lined up to meet Bobby and Dennis Hull (there was no Sens players line-ups, as the H1N1 virus scare was at its peak), but the boys were not to be coaxed into lining up to meet Phil Esposito this year (Who?). Sorry, Phil, but there's a tie-breaker to be played on The Equalizer... (Carter broke it, then Sam conquered the mountain. It's all good.)

Three and a half (noisy) hours later, we called it a day. The whole thing is put on free of charge by the United Way and the Senators as a thank you to the GoC's Leadership givers to the campaign. So long as we continue to support Sam's school, we'll get invited back for an afternoon of treating Scotiabank Place like our personal playground. The boys are already making plans for next year. Skates (and Jeremy!) included.