New Driver in the House

Wow! These kids are growing up so fast. This past week on 2/21, Canyon took his driver's test in Mankato, MN. He successfully navigated roundabouts and a couple of real ambulances to get his driver's license. Really proud (and nervous) for this 16 year old kid taking his driver's license picture. Way to go Canyon!

Girls High School State Tournament at Xcel Energy Center

What an awesome experience for Presley to participate in the high school state hockey tournament as an 8th grader. The fun weekend started with a banquet with the final eight teams represented. It was awesome to see these sporty girls all dressed up and we were so proud to see Presley being honored along with her teammates.



While the girls' tournament does not get the same attendance as the boys tournament, they still get the honor of playing in Xcel Energy Center (where the Wild play). The JV team made signs for each of the players (Presley #39 has the nickname of Bulldog). The girls also got to each skate and have their name called out on the Jumbotron and on the TV before Friday's game. Presley said "Hey Canyon", which we captured on video on the home TV. The team won their first game and ended up taking 4th place overall. And we were happily surprised to see Presley get some nice playing time in the last game against Eagan and almost scored a goal. Fun weekend and great experience for all the girls!

Eden Prairie Girls Varsity Team Going to State!

The girls' hockey team has battled this entire season, including a battle through single elimination Section Tournament. The girls beat Bloomington, Prior Lake and Shakopee to earn the opportunity to compete at State at the Xcel Energy Center. So excited for Presley to be able to be a part of the team and enjoy this cool experience.

Ron Gets the "All Clear"

Mom and Dad left home at 4:30 am on February 13th to travel down to Mayo for a full day of an appointments, including PET scan, blood work, swallow evaluations, and appointments with his radiation oncologist and ENT surgeon. We were excited to get the news of "all clear". Ron will continue to be monitored every 3 months for the next year but it was great to get this great news. We spent one of our breaks during the day at Cheap Charlie's for breakfast.

Selgae Dance 2018

This year Canyon did not have hockey and was able to go to the Selgae Dance. He went with a group of friends. His date was Grace and we got a couple of pictures at the Mall of America before they headed off to dinner, "dance", and after party. Night went off well and Canyon had a blast.

Super Bowl - Days 9 & 10

Ron and I were excited to see Dave Matthews Band at "The Night Before" concert in St. Paul. We had General Admission tickets that allowed us to get up close. Another awesome show from one of our favorite bands!



On the actual day of the Super Bowl, we stopped by one our pal's hangars at Flying Cloud Airport here in Eden Prairie. Over 1600 private jets flew into the Twin Cities for the Super Bowl event. Many of those jets came through Eden Prairie. It was so cool to see all the jets lined up and the Blackhawk helicopters in town to keep us safe.




Super Bowl was a great game. And it was fun to find out that our very own Eden Prairie Dance team got to perform with Justin Timberlake for the half time show! Fun end to a great 10 days!!

Super Bowl Day 7 - Imagine Dragons at The Armory

The Armory is a new concert venue opened just in time for the Super Bowl. Mom gave Ron tickets to see Imagine Dragons for Christmas. We enjoyed the night with two other couples. It was a super fun night at a super cool new venue that included free beer from Miller Lite.

Super Bowl Day 4 - Prince Tribute Celebration

On Day 4 of the festivities, Mom and Dad headed downtown again to celebrate with some of his GPA colleagues. While the temperatures were much colder, the crowd was much bigger. The stage was super crowded so we listened to the band as we enjoyed some of the activities on Nicollet Mall, including food from Hot Indian food truck, pictures near the ice sculptures and fun tubing down the Birkebeiner Bridge.

Super Bowl Day 2 - Winter Carnival Snow Sculpting Contest

In addition to the Super Bowl festivities, Minnesota was also celebrating the 10 days of the Winter Carnival at the same time. On Day 2, we went to check out Vulcan Snow Park with Canyon (he came begrudgingly). It was Day 2 of the festivities and the sculpting contest was still in progress. We checked out the artists in action, walked through the snow maze and also went down the "big" sledding hill. We made the trip "worth it" for Canyon by finishing off with burgers at the Blue Door Pub.

At entrance to Snow Maze...


With Mom in front of the sledding hill...


Snow sculptors in action...


Getting ready to sled down the hill...

Super Bowl Comes to The Bold North - 10 Days of Celebration

Minneapolis hosted the Super Bowl this year. It was an epic 10 days in Minnesota. While the temperatures were unusually cold for the 10 days, we embraced this unique opportunity and I was proud to live in this town. It was so cool to see the Minnesota rise to the occasion and we tried to make the most of the festivities happening in and around town....

Day 1 - Opening Ceremonies on Nicollet Mall....
Ron and Trisha came downtown for the first night of the celebration. It was a balmy night in the 20s and we were able to take the bus in and out of town to make it easy. Nicollet Mall was transformed into a street full of Instagrammable photos and activities to keep all entertained...

Entering Nicollet Mall from the South


Super Bowl Snow Globe


The American Birkebeiner International Bridge featuring cross country skiing, dog sledding and tubing...


Idina Menzel Sings "Frozen"


Mom and Dad with the new mayor of Minneapolis