Spirit Mountain

Expressions of a faux inner wild child

 We spent the morning of the 24th on Spirit Mountain, the local ski hill. It's nothing compared to the mountains out west but it's got enough slope to provide a good venue for learning to ski. The kids like it and it doesn't cost to ride the magic carpet up the bunny hill so the parents like it too. To our great delight O and i. wanted to break out some serious runs on the blue hills but were dissuaded by a less-than-enthused brother and the enticing aroma of hot chocolate. In the end we got in just enough skiing to remind them of how fun it is. Game on, Winter.

The only pink she'll wear

After five runs

The magic carpet

embracing the descent

#15 for the Congdon Rangers!

#15

 Our ice queen is no diva. She had her first hockey tournament of the season last weekend and had to play a Friday evening and an early Saturday morning game before we left to see family in the Twin Cities. I watched the sun rise over the hockey rinks at Morgan Park while five and six year old kids skated across the ice. It was 11°F. She didn't complain until we got in the car after the game and I asked her why she was crying. "Because I can't feel my hands or my feet. Are they going to fall off?" We made sure the trip to Minneapolis included a stop at REI to outfit her with better glove liners and warmer socks.

David and Goliath

 So how did she do? She's lost nothing from last year. Her heart is as big as ever and her desire for the puck is not diminished. In fact, the other team had a brute of a player (he's in the background in the picture to the left), a gentle giant type. But definitely a giant. He had the puck in front of his own net at one point and #15 came screaming across the ice to knock it away and into the net. Of course, her momentum carried her right into him at full speed. She bounced back sliding away laid out on her back. He took a moment but came down like a big oak tree. One of the fathers looked over at me with a concerned but admiring look and commented, "She's not really afraid of contact, is she?" I have yet to master the proper feigned surprise but gosh-isn't-that-amazing look. Should I be embarrassed? Should I be proud? There was certainly no malice, but she did level the big kid. Ah heck! As long as this girl plays this hard and pursues things with this much passion, I will be her biggest fan. You go girl!

The Peanut Gallery at 8am in 11°F

We have our new goalie

Giving Gifts

I'm no expert when it comes to gifting (just ask my siblings). I tend toward the practical while E comes up with some remarkable gift ideas. So our marriage is one of whim and pragmatism: as are the gifts that we give our kids. Two out of three of the gifts pictures here have to do with surviving life in Duluth. I's hat is a must for any hockey player on her way to a game or practice. Little o's goggles will come in handy this year as he learns how to ski at Chester Bowl. And O, we can only hope his gyroscope will give him some balance in his life.

Christmas Eve

 Ever since our time in Boston we developed our own sort of Christmas routine. We celebrated Christmas at Park Street downtown and followed that up with a light dinner at our place with our kids and whatever friends felt like popping over. Our Christmas eve dinner has come to include one of two dishes: cheese fondue or wild rice soup. This year we chose cheese fondue and only one of my colleagues could make it before he had to perform at one of the area churches. The meal was lovely and was followed by O reading the Christmas story to the rest of us in front of the fire. Before our guest arrived we had the kids answer a series of questions drawn from a hat. They dealt with the best and worst from the past year. Each of the kids had to talk about one of their favorite memories or a favorite quality of one of the other siblings, among other things. E and I were surprised by the thoughtful answers. Definitely be adding that one to the Christmas tradition. 

An Immediate Classic

We got the kids a digital microscope for Christmas, one that connects to the Mac via USB cable so everyone can see the images on the screen. We can also take screen shots of the images. It's awesome! Like most good gifts one can reasonably ask whether it's for the adults or the kids.

A hair follicle

A fly's wing

A US quarter

The pixels on a computer screen

A bee's head

H2Oh Boy!

 When the Carlson Clan comes to town, it's water time. We swim at the pool, the beach, the rocks, the rivers, the creeks. We swim in pretty much anything that will hold water. And with the kids getting older, they're only getting more and more brave. We paid a visit to the swimming hole at Lester Park and found it full of life. Ours wasted no time in joining the fray. The jumped off high ledges and low ledges, into moving water and still water, and enjoyed every minute of it.

A Real Hockey Player

Notice the two teeth missing in the smile below. Our little I. lost her first tooth while eating corn on the cob at the lake near Fergus over the Fourth. The tooth was already loose and like most loose teeth that bite into corn on the cob it nearly popped out. She was so impressed by the new gap in her mouth that she soon asked me to pull out another one. I asked her if she had another one ready. Not really, she had a mildly loose tooth, but she decided it should come out anyway. I reminded her that a tooth has to be really loose before someone can pull it out. She asked me to make it looser. So I feigned a real effort on it to placate her whilst doing her no harm. Nope. Not good enough. She wanted that tooth out and she wasn't going to take any pretending. There had to be pain. She knew it and was ready to accept it. So I positioned my finger in my mouth and told her to bite down. She did. There was blood. The tooth loosened. She worked on it with the ear of corn. When she realized it wasn't working fast enough, she asked me to do more. I told her that blood and pain were necessary. She accepted these conditions. I nicked it sideways. Much pain, much blood, much looser. She winced, dabbed at the blood and felt her tooth. Pull it! she said. I did. She had tooth number two.

As a child I avoided pulling teeth at all costs (a possible explanation for the museum of horrors that was my mouth as a child). But this child is ready to bang her head against a wall to loosen any tooth. Is it any wonder she loves hockey so much?!

Accentuate the Positive

 Having the cousins in town for a few days is a great way to reconnect with family. They played with pretty much every ball and toy and created games of their own: balls, cards, board games, puzzles, trampoline, skate board, bikes, bats, hats, costumes, and lots and lots of good hiking, swimming and eating.

I also discovered that our little point-and-shoot camera has an accent function that allows me to select a single color to accent in a B&W photo. I'll admit that it's not always a good idea, but it does make for some nice photos in certain situations.

Motley Crew

Sister A's family joined us for a week in Duluth. Nuff said.

A Fergus Fourth

 We spent the Fourth of July in Fergus Falls with family (how's that for alliteration?). It was especially fun to have E's sister and her British family in town for said event. Something about giving the Brits a gentle ribbing over the loss of their colonies on this Independence Day is like having a Yankee fan around when the Red Sox win the World Series. Only, this particular Brit is so level headed as to be unfazed by my juvenile jokes and seemed to actually enjoy the fireworks and songs. The nerve! We also enjoyed the company of our French friends. In fact, it seems to me as I write this that we had the nationalities of the major players at our little celebration: Americans, British and French. I wish this had occurred to me sooner. I would've asked for a reenactment.

As for our kids, they were very keen on the fireworks. Things that sparkle and explode, and all that. I think we even got them to sing the Star Spangled Banner for kicks.

A View to a Thrill

Uncle E takes on the lake

Future Gymnast

The Spin Move

I think the floatie actually survived this hit

The Dancer

On Second Thought...

The Trip