Ethel! Run and get some milk and bread!!!

Bonus day for Zach...With the threat of bad weather, Zach's school took the day off...There was no bad weather.  It did rain tonight, but nothing during the day.  So Zach spent the day watching "Rocky" movies...He got through "Rocky 3" before he had to go to wrestling practice.

I got 4 tickets for the hockey game, so Zach, Dave the Australian who lives with us, Isaac, the pastor's son and a guy with a mohawk named Aaron... came to the game tonight.  Predators won 4-2...plus there was a great fight.  So Zach had a great day.

It was my last home show for about a month and it went well.  I brought all the guys down to the tv truck for a quick tour after the game.  

Tomorrow is a day off and Sandy and the twins come home tomorrow afternoon.  Yea!  

By the way, the guy is named Aaron, not his mohawk...I don't know what his mohawk's name is...sorry.

"Meet the Spartans"

Or "Meet the Crappiest Movie Ever Made"!  I wanted to take Zach to a movie tonight and he picked the aforementioned.  What a piece of cinematic Dukakis....in fact, it sullies the good name of Dukakis.  I would recommend "300", though...just cover your eyes during the naughty scenes.

We went to Borders before the movie and Zach bought the "Rocky" Anthology...that's right, all 6 "Rocky" movies in a bundle.  

Is that Sly Stallone poster still on the back of Jackie and Jenny's door?  It may be rolled up with the Randy Mantooth, Andy Gibb, and Jackson 5 posters somewhere.

I remember I had classics on my walls...Farrah in the red swimsuit...(it must have been cold in our room)..."Charlie's Angels"...Olivia Newton-John...ahhhh.   I think Shane had a picture of Bobby Fischer, may he rest in peace.  I do recall that to this day I have never beaten Shane in the great sport of chess.  But I could kick his butt in "roll the ball across the floor and knock down the other guy's army guys"!  I rule.

And we played with action figures...not dolls, Dad.

The Captain has turned on the "Fasten your seatbelt" sign

Nearly 2am here in Nash-Vegas...just got home from Boston.  The show went great, but the team got beat 3-1.  Little Zachary, or maybe I should say big Zachary, since he can look me straight in the eyes now, is asleep in my bed...with 3 dogs!  

It is fun flying on the team charter.  We can have our tray  tables down whenever we want.  We can have headphones on during takeoff and landing.  We can use our cellphones until we get so high so they don't get signals anymore.  Makes it hard to listen to whiny flight attendants on commercial flights telling you that if your seatback isn't in its upright and locked position, the plane will turn into a fireball killing hundreds of people and a few goats.  Sounds like the guvmunt in my binus agin.  I begin flying commercial again on Tuesday...don't pity me...I am strong...I am invincible...I like woman...and I love lamp.  (Thanks, Jess)  LMAO@2AM.

Myrtle the Turtle

Well, we all made it to our appointed locations... I dropped Sandy, Hannah and the twins at the airport at 7am.  Then I went to my airport.  Sandy called me right before the boat took off and said everything is great...Great day in Boston...we arrived here around noon.  I got directions to the New England Aquarium and walked there...about 1.5 miles.  The aquarium was great!  I took some pictures on my phone, but I need a volunteer geek to help me get them on the blog.  If you want to see them, I can send them to you.  I went to the top of the big tank and watched some trainers work with a sea turtle named Myrtle...training her to go to certain areas of the tank to eat.  They would make a sound and then the turtle would head to a marker at get a fish.  Who knew you could train a sea turtle...well, Shane probably knew.  

Roughing it here at a Ritz Carlton...we do the game tomorrow and then fly home...my last road trip with the Predators this season.  Daytona is 7 days away....yippee?

Sunday, Sunday...

Quick one tonight....gotta get to bed...I'm taking Sandy, the twins, and Hannah to the airport at 7am and then I take off at 8am.  I plan to hit the New England Aquarium tomorrow in Boston. 

 I have done the typical Boston tourist things, but didn't go the aquarium last time I was there.  Should be fun...the pictures remind me of going to Shedd's aquarium in Chicago when we were little kids.  Thanks, Mom and Dad.  I drove by Shedd's a few weeks back...it's still there.  Those of you with the DirectTV or Dish NHL package, tune into our game, Nashville vs. Boston, on Tuesday night.  It's going to be a whole night of teaching the ins and outs of hockey, rules, "why'd he just do that"...should be fun.  Those of you with 4 channels and an antenna on your roof, sorry.  At least your road is paved.  ;)

What a Wonderful World

Well, I thought I had an off day...but at 7:30am I got a call that a tape guy didn't show up to a game in Cookeville, about 90 minutes away.  It was an ESPNU game, and I told them that I could cover, but I couldn't be there until an hour before the game and I would have to leave right after the game since it was Sandy's birthday and the twins had a wrestling meet.  They said great.  I drove, worked the game and left. The producer told me to charge a double rate since I was a last minute call...that would be great!  I may do that. 

I got to the meet in plenty of time...Zach and I helped coach.  It was fun...Andy got 2nd in his weight class and Alex got 1st in his!  

Sandy had fun celebrating her birthday cheering on the boys...about 20 of us went out to eat after the meet at Cracker Barrel.  I got her and IPod Touch...she was thrilled!

Hannah is here and went with us...it is fun having her around! 

We're not gonna do the drama tomorrow...the pastor called and said he was going a different direction with the sermon, but he wanted us to do it on a later date.  

Don't forget to watch the NHL All-Star game tomorrow...if you do, that will double the viewership!  

Man, I like Louis Armstrong...he was really great..."What a Wonderful World"!

Alas, I am home...I made it back to my bed in Franklin, TN at 4am...we lost the game in overtime last night, but overall it was a good trip for the team.  In a couple of hours Hannah will be landing!

Sandy and I finished up the script for the drama this weekend.  It is pretty good and will lead right into Pastor Danny's sermon.   

The twins have a birthday party tonight and I am off to get Sandy's birthday present...I can't remember is she said she did or did not want a new toaster for her birthday.  It's the thought that counts right...as long as the receipt is included.

Zach has a tournament this weekend and so do the twins.  We've got church on Sunday, then all the cruisers take off.  I fly to Boston on Monday morning for a game Tuesday night.  I may see some sights while in Boston...may stop by and kick Tom Brady's a** just for the fun of it.  

And go "Where everybody knows your name...ba, da da dum...and they're always glad you came...ba da da..."   That'll be in your heads for the rest of the day!!!!   Joel

Headin' Home

Still in Phoenix today...the team is playing tonight.  The hockey arena, Jobbing.com Arena, is right next door to the University of Phoenix Football Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL and also home to Super Bowl XLII in a little over one week.  They have been very busy building up around this area...and the parking lots and businesses are bustling even now.  This whole area has changed so much since the first time I came here in '03...the hockey arena was a lone standing building surrounded by fields and one goat farm.  Apparently the goat farmer is now a rich man somewhere because his farm is gone.

I will fly home after the game and get to Nash-Vegas around 3 am.  

Our sweet niece, Hannah, is coming to town tomorrow night!  She will be with us for the weekend, then take off with Sandy and the twins on the cruise to Mexico.

Zach had his last meet of the season last night.  He has been wrestling exhibition, which means his matches don't count for or against the team score.  He has to do that since he wrestled varsity last year at BGA as an 8th grader.  He used up one year of his high school eligibility. Anyway, he pinned his guy in the first period.  The team is really looking forward to Zach being there next year, and his pins counting! 

Sandy has stepped away from working with Nicole's clothing line for awhile.  It had turned into a factory job with her going in everyday and sewing on jeans.  It was affecting her friendship with Nicole in a negative way, so we'll how that shakes out.  They didn't get to talk and have fun like they used to, so they decided that Sandy would get out of the office and just work creative. 

Sandy is working on her second drama that I will be acting in this Sunday at church.  She dances, she acts, she is incredible.

I'll let you know how it goes!  Signing off from the Valley of the Sun! 

PHX fix

I like Phoenix...is really pretty here.  We got to Phoenix around 2am...the Preds have won 3 in a row!  I had a conference call with SPEED today getting ready for Daytona.  Then we had a meeting with the Predators TV crew...planning a big show on January 29th in Boston.  We are doing it as "Hockey 101" to teach all the folks in Nashville the ins and outs of hockey.  Yes, it is the 10th season of the Predators, but apparently the viewing audience, or the lack thereof, is still in the learning process.  It will be a pretty fun show.

This afternoon I went to see "National Treasure 2".  It was really good.   

Tomorrow the team plays here in Phoenix then we fly home...we should get to Nashville by 4am.

I have the weekend off which should be great!  

This is potentially the most boring blog one could ever read...but you did.  

Mile High

No, not the club....just the city.  I am getting ready for tonight's game vs. the Avalanche.  Looking for a three game win streak.  After the game we fly to Phoenix for an off day, then a game on Thursday.  

It was a solid 3 degrees this morning...hoping for warmer temps in Phoenix...

The countdown is on for NASCAR...I fly to Daytona on February 5th for two weeks to start the NASCAR racing season.  

The twins are at a photo shoot today for Team NCM, Nicole's dance team...Zach is at school getting A's...and he has two wrestling meets tonight....did I mention he got 3rd in his tournament over the weekend...Alex got third in his tournament and Andy pinned 3 guys to take gold.  Is that scholarships I smell?  Could just be sweaty young boys...yikes...don't call NBC's Chris Hanson!!!  

Enjoying the ride!!!!!

Along for the ride

Hey, Everybody...

I plan on this being the last season that I travel the road so much, so I thought I'd start a blog to let you go along and keep you updated on my life and the lives of my family.

Today is Monday, Jan. 21st...the twins danced at an MLK march...it's ok...they were invited. They didn't just crash the party and start doing the hula.  

Zach was out of school today for the aforementioned MLK day...he did, however, have wrestling practice.  With great reluctance on his part, I drug him there.

Tonight I am flying with the Predators, our hockey team, to Colorado...we have a game there tomorrow then fly to Phoenix.  Off day Wednesday in Phoenix, then play in Phoenix on Thursday, then a red-eye home.  

Sandy danced at church on Sunday and is still working in Nicole C. Mullen's office.  I think there is about to be some changes on that front, but we'll see.  Sandy's birthday is Saturday...she will be 29 again.

Sandy, the twins, and Hannah Kroening, our niece, are all going on a cruise next week with Nicole and some other Christian artists.  I think it is to Mexico.  The hard life, huh....

Sandy and I are still going to adopt a baby from China...or Taiwan...I know we've been saying that for a long time, but the season is quickly approaching.  Of course, I'll keep you updated.

Thanks for looking in...and ridin' shotgun...Joel