Football Epilogue

My kids on top of Lutsen Mountains overlooking lake Superior. When you hear "Minnesota" you often think of all the aspects of a cold snowy winter, except for skiing. However, the Twin cities area as well as northern Minnesota are home to a few gems. Skiing here is a little different. Runs are shorter, with ~400 vertical feet being the maximum elevation you'll find in the Cities, but there's a lot more opportunity to hone your technique. Lindsey Vonn even got her start on the Minnesota slopes at Buck Hill before becoming a downhill superstar. Areas such as Afton Alps (a member of the Epic pass family) and Welch Village are vast in the sheer number of runs and varied terrain. The close proximity to the Twin Cities also means there's a lot to do when your ski day is done. If you live in town or are visiting for an extended time, you can easily drop the kids off at Hyland Hills for a few hours while you go off to dinner or shopping at the Mall of Americ...

My daughter and her aunt on the bunny lift at Bridger Bowl just outside of Bozeman, MT.  Okay, maybe not. My kids are excited at the prospect of the first snowfall. Now that it has passed, maybe they'll be ready for the first real snowfall, which hopefully will not show up until the Thanksgiving-ish timeframe.  The last few winters have been rather mild. I am on the fence about liking and hoping that mild winters will continue. I do enjoy the reduced number of alternative workouts involving shoveling, the treacherous driving, the increased heating bills and the mouse invasion. In contrast, I do enjoy some of the activities a snowy winter has to offer. Getting the kids up on skis these last couple of years has been tremendous fun. I'm hoping to bring them someplace a little bigger than the local Hyland Ski area  or  Buck Hill . In the coming years these places will be great as I envision being able to drop the kids off, maybe ski a couple of hours and enjoy the ...

Just when we thought our 6th grade the football season was over, an amazing opportunity was presented by one of our coaches. Through some contacts we were able to play one more time as a team. This time on the indoor field at the Minnesota Vikings practice facility, Winter Park!  This was really a fun event which allowed the kids to play indoors on the artificial surface. We played our other counterpart in the league who were also the league champions for the season. Prior to playing one of the Vikings players, Jarius Wright, came out and talked with the kids about playing football, leadership and handling adversity. The kids, parents and coaches got to bombard him with questions. I found myself asking who's idea was the "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck"  touchdown celebration? He did say that he calls it "Duck, duck, goose", he's from Arkansas so I guess that's okay, and it was Kyle Rudolph's idea. Other questions ranged from who his favorite players ar...

I want Ice Cream too! Last night my son and I engaged in our new routine. We hit the weightroom at the local activity center while my daughter is at her gymnastics class. The first few weeks went well. I had to cancel some expectations of having a fervent training partner for the realization that he's a kid and wants to explore and do some of the things he wants to do. This has resulted in the dynamic of me performing my workout and him on his favorite pieces of equipment: assisted pull-ups, the StairMaster, the back extensions machine and the cable-cross machine. Yesterday was a little different. His school was having a fundraiser at  Chipotle  and one of those build-your-own frozen yogurt stores,  Yogurt Sundae . I caught him after the dinner part of this combination and promised we'd get the Ice Cream after the workout. I guess the kids really likes the ice cream as he proceeded to complain how bored he was and kept asking to go to dessert during the workout. I...

Granted Hyland Ski Area is no Heavenly and MN skiing is very different from in the mountains (more time on the lifts, more ice), it's still a great time and a great place to learn!  My daughter, Norah, gaining mastery of the slopes. She actually made it down some of the intermediate runs and even a black diamond!