Dear LA: Family Matters

As far as parents go, I've got it pretty good.
That whole, "you don't truly appreciate your parents, until you have kids" thing - it's true.
I come from two very hardworking parents: Randy and Linda.
Well, work hard and play hard is probably more their motto. Because anyone who has come across them on the LA Kings moms' or dads' trips will admit my folks know how to have a good time.

I can thank my mom for my more emotional side, both on and off the ice.
She always had my best interest at heart, making sure my schoolwork was done before I could play hockey. She also supported my hockey career wholeheartedly. Every time I was in a tournament, she always led the fundraising efforts and did whatever she could behind the scenes to help out.
She shaped me into the man I am today, and I owe her a lot for that.

My dad is a pretty simple guy, but he's also one of the most fun and friendly people I've ever met in my life. All it takes is seeing him walk around STAPLES Center and you'll realize he knows more people in the building than I do.
We're pretty similar in a lot of ways - starting with the love we share for hockey. I'm lucky to call him one of my best friends.
There's no question my parents did a lot for me, but one of the best things they ever did was move into my childhood home in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, right across the street from one of the few ice rinks in the city.
From the time I was two, my dad would take my brother Mike and me across the street to the rink. I was barely able to walk at that point, but he'd strap on my skates, hold me up and let me cruise around.

Mike is 10 years older than me, but that didn't stop him from beating me at almost every game we played. Looking back, he definitely toughened me up and helped build my competitive nature.
Lucky for me, I also was on the receiving end of all his hand-me-down hockey gear. It was like Christmas Day when he would pick up new equipment because I knew I'd get to take his worn-in gear for a spin.
I loved the quality time we could spend together playing, and over the years I became a bit of a rink rat.
With the cold winters in Salt Lake City, you'd think hockey would be a more popular sport, but the chances of making the NHL as a Utah native were just about as slim as the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl (sorry, Alec Martinez).
Only two others had done it before me, which makes not only playing in the NHL, but winning the Stanley Cup twice, that much more special.

After we won the Cup in 2012, I went back to Salt Lake City to celebrate with my family and friends. And like all classic romances start: I met a girl at a bar.
Her name was Kara, and we kept in touch constantly despite living in different states.
During the Olympic break in 2014, a group of guys on the team were heading to Hawaii with their wives and I saw the trip as a good opportunity to invite Kara and potentially build our relationship.
Maybe it was the Mai Tai's, but we fell in love in Hawaii and have been in love ever since.

Which leads me to Boone and Brix. No, they're not a popular country duo. But who knows, maybe one day in the future. For now, they're my 16-month-old twins.
Kara is a twin, but everyone tells you that it skips a generation, so having twins never crossed my mind. You can imagine my shock when I came home from practice one day to a picture of an ultrasound with two little dots. My initial thought was, "Those must be the baby's eyes."
Heads up to any expecting parents… two dots equal two babies.
I went from complete and utter shock to overwhelming excitement in a matter of moments.

A lot of people tell us they don't know how we manage to do it, but it's nice that we had twins first because we don't know the difference. Plus, since my wife's family has been through it, they've given us a lot of helpful pointers.
I never thought Kara would let me name my, I mean our, son Boone, but everyone in my family said that even if we didn't name him that, they were going to call him Boone anyway. So yeah, she didn't really have a choice.
We decided that if I got to pick the boy's name, then she got to pick the girl's name. I wasn't overly convinced by her choice at first, but now after seeing our little girl, she's definitely a Brix.

Despite the fact they're twins, the two couldn't be more opposite.
Brix is very friendly, smart and always likes to be the center of attention. She's never met someone she didn't like, which reminds me a lot of Kara.
Boone, on the other hand, is a classic guy. His hobbies include balls and trucks, as well as watching cartoons. He's very stubborn and shy, a lot like I was as a kid.

Life has changed a lot since we left the delivery room on April 9, 2018. I definitely don't get to golf with the guys as much as I used to, but the tradeoff is well worth it.
I love being a dad more than anything; to be able to watch them grow and learn new things is incredible to see.
And none of this would be possible without Kara, she's the rock of our family. If you count me, she's basically a mom of three, and I'm constantly amazed by her selflessness and patience.
We toss around the idea having more kids in the future - I could stop at two, but Kara would like to have more. Like most things in our family, she usually wins the battle.
Regardless of what happens, we hope to instill the same strong worth ethic and values in our kids that my parents taught me so many years ago.
Our journey may just be beginning, but I have a feeling it's going to be quite the ride.