Fall has officially, uh, fallen, meaning Fourteen’s fall-ish hockey season is nearing its conclusion.  This team is called Team North Dakota and includes players from all across the state who, as you can guess, play against teams made up of teenagers from all across their own states.  It’s been great to meet so many awesome hockey families, and it’s been interesting to see the types of teams put together by the various states, and it’s been “Get the bubble wrap, Maw, another one’s goin’ down” because this team has been suckily RIFE with injuries.  RIFE.  The most recent one, a broken ankle, happened at the very end of the last game on a Sunday and the arena had to use an office chair to wheel the player out of the rink, which would have been hilarious if the teenager being wheeled wasn’t in a huge amount of pain with a season-ending injury.

You can take a hockey player out of the game but you can’t take the game out of his heart, and so the injured players have continued to come along on tournaments to assist their teammates by helping out on the bench.  It’s typical for a parent to send an injured player with an uninjured teammate to save on hotel rooms (and so parents don’t have to drive a million hours to watch their kid stand on the bench).  Of the three Grand Forks players two are on the IR list, and we brought those two with us to their most recent tournament.

While the idea of sharing a hotel room with three pubescent teenage boys, one ten-year-old boy who sometimes forgets to flush, and my husband – who is past puberty and remembers to flush but is also still a boy – sounded wholly enticing, I decided that it would be best if Ten and I stayed with my parents and left the dudes to bro it up together.

“Are you sure?”  Kyle asked as we packed the car.

“Yes,” I said.

“But we won’t get to see each other,” he said.

“We’ll see each other at the games,” I said, “and we’ll be together for meals.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to eat together,” he said.  “They play all over the place and your parents’ house and the hotel are nowhere near one another.”

“Hmm, okay,” I said.  “Well, just make sure the boys are making good food choices.”

“Deal,” he said.

On the drive to the tournament, we stopped for dinner.  We let the boys pick the spot.  They chose Noodles & Company.

“Noodles is gas,” one of Fourteen said.

“Fine,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes a bit because Fourteen has a habit of requesting Noodles at every opportunity.  For example, the week prior, he had finished a home cooked dinner, cleared his plate from the table, and sat back down and asked for Noodles for dessert.

We ate Noodles.  It took longer than expected because the boys filled out a survey for a free dessert and they felt it important to spend the time discussing the service and which grade to give.  We drove to my parents’ house.  Ten and I unpacked our stuff.  We went to bed.

Team ND’s first game the next day was in the early evening.

“What did you boys do for lunch?”  I asked Kyle as my parents and I settled into the bleachers.

“Well,” Kyle said with a sigh, “we got Noodles & Company.  They were very compelling.  ‘Noodles is gas,’ they kept telling me.  I figured it would be okay this one time.”

“Oh, boy,” I said.  “Well, we can get them something healthier for dinner.”

“It was cute because they filled out another survey for free dessert and needed to discuss which grade to give,” he said.

“Cute,” I said, with finger air quotes.

After the game, we went to a local restaurant with great reviews.  My mom had walleye; my dad had short ribs; and Fourteen had macaroni and cheese which, coincidentally, is also what he and his friends had ordered at Noodles & Company during both of their subsequent visits.

“Variety is the spice of life,” I said.  “Also, vegetables are your friends.”

“This has bacon and chicken in it,” Fourteen said.  “The Noodles one doesn’t have meat.”

“And this one had peas and spinach,” his buddy said.

“I’ll get them some oranges back at the hotel,” Kyle said.  The other buddy gave him the “We’ve got this, bro” nod.

The next day’s game was in the morning.  My parents, Ten, and I couldn’t stay for lunch because we had tickets to a stage play – Ten’s reward for being dragged to 900,000 rinks across the world – and so we needed to eat near the theater.

“What’s your plan for lunch?”  I asked Kyle as we waited in the lobby for the boys to come out of the locker room.

“I think we’ll grab something quickly and come back and watch some of the other games,” Kyle said.  “So maybe sandwiches or something like that?”

Later, after the theater and before the second game of the day, Kyle held up his hands.

“Before you ask, they had Noodles,” he said.

“What?!”  I said.  “Noodles AGAIN?”

“I didn’t have Noodles,” he said.  “I got a sandwich as planned.  But there was a Noodles next door and that’s where they wanted to go.”

“Noodles is gas,” one of Fourteen’s buddies said, walking up to us.

“My gosh, has anyone pooped in two days?”  I lamented, doing a prayer for everyone’s colons.

“I’d say the theme of our hotel room is ‘Farts,’” Kyle said.

“We got a free dessert, too, so we basically saved money,” the buddy told me.

“By filling out a survey?”  I asked him.

“Yes, have you done that before?”  He asked.

“Not I,” I said.

The next day, after a team dinner and a breakfast, neither of which came from Noodles & Company, the boys played their final game of the tournament.  We loaded up Fourteen’s equipment, said goodbye to my parents, and pulled out of the rink.

“We’re starving,” Fourteen said.

“Okay,” I said.  “We’ll get something for the road.  NOT NOODLES.  But something.”

We drove to a strip mall nearby with five fast food options – or, rather, six options…because the final one was Noodles & Company.

“Can we please get Noodles?”  One of the buddies said.

“Noodles is gas,” the other buddy said.

“How about anything else?”  I said.

“The Noodles are making my arm feel better,” the first buddy told me, pointing to his injury.  “I can feel myself healing.”

“Oh, fine,” I said.  “Promise me you’ll eat nothing but garden vegetables and non-processed meat when you get home.”

“We promise,” Fourteen said, as they ran off towards Noodles & Company.

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Kyle actually sent me a photo of the boys at Noodles (I mean, he had four chances to get it), but one of the moms on Fourteen’s team takes amazing action shots during their games and it felt more right to use one of her photos than one of three kids filling out a survey at Noodles & Company.

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This week on North Dakota Today we talked about everyone behind Annie’s House, my Nice People of the Week, as well as two coworkers throwing a 20-person baby shower with the help of many donors. (Valley News Live)

Well, this is the cutest story in the world. (KFYR TV)

Lefse for everybody!  Joe and Cindy Junglas got married at Norsk Hosfest. (KFYR TV)

Neche’s Henry Gurke has been honored with a stretch of highway in gratitude for giving his life to save his fellow marine in World War II. (Grand Forks Herald)

Linton’s Ava Backhaus, an 8th grader, has authored a 103-line poem about our great state – and her teacher brought coffee to her class in order to celebrate. (KFYR TV)

Berthold’s Peggy Person is living my dream, having visited all 372 cities and towns in North Dakota. (KFYR TV)

The racing community has been, well, racing to support one of their fellow drivers who was injured in a crash. (Valley News Live)

Congratulations to Frannie Tunseth, North Dakota’s Teacher of the Year! (KFYR TV)

Musicians Chuck Suchy, Richard Torrance, Skitch Henderson, and The Blenders have been inducted into the North Dakota Music Hall of Fame. (KFYR TV)

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