Cold and Happy

Ken, Owen and I went to the Camp Randall Hockey Classic last night - an outdoor hockey game between the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan played at the football stadium here, Camp Randall. It was a little cold but we had a great time, despite the fact that Michigan lost.

First haircut

As you can see, we had put off Zora's first haircut long enough.

Before:

During:

And after:

Another hockey player in the making?

Apparently Zora has been paying attention during all those hours she's spent at the rink watching Owen. She's going to give Owen a run for his money (sorry about Garrison Keillor reading Johnny Appleseed in the background).

Ice Time

We've been spending a lot of time at the rink this winter. In addition to Owen's Learn to Skate, we've also been spending a lot of time at the outdoor rink a couple of blocks from our house. Here are some shots from an afternoon at the neighborhood rink:

Owen really loves skating and loves hockey. He has a huge smile on his face whenever he is out there. And from my perspective the best thing about it is that no matter how many times he falls down or how hard it is to learn how to stop or skate backwards, he doesn't get frustrated and he still has fun. For him to have the experience of working hard at something that isn't easy and having fun doing it even when it is hard is worth the effort of packing up Owen and Zora and hauling them to the rink, getting all of the equipment on Owen while Zora does her best to run away and then chasing Zora around the rink while Owen skates.