Winter Wonderland

Happy New Year to everyone! I got back into Seattle on the 31st, and it really doesn't seem cold here after spending a week in Minnesota. I had fun doing all of the 5 traditional wintry shenanigans: ice skating, snowman building, strolling through the park, shopping at Mall of America, and sledding.


Sean really wanted to skate outside, but it was hard to find an outdoor rink that also provides skate rental, so instead we went to the Depot in downtown Minneapolis. This was a nice place to skate, but a word of warning - it's not cheap. It was $8 to skate plus another $7 for skate rental! (In comparison, last time I went to the Brooklyn Park Community Center and it was $2 for skating.) The one upside is that they have open skating all day, so you could leave and come back if you really wanted to get your money's worth.


Dad, two of my sisters, and I built an awesome snowman in the backyard. Its ears are mushrooms - they didn't stay in very well, but they are funny looking ears. Also, its nose is a pickle. We didn't have any carrots.

And here is the most traditional winter activity - shopping! Here's me at the Mall of America, sampling a delicious piece of Wisconsin cheese. (2 year old Wisconsin cheddar - it was super good.)

Those dang samples worked on me, of course. I bought some cheese for Sean, as well as some yummy Elk Sticks. My little sisters thought that elk is too cute to eat, but I thought they were delicious. While at the mall, I bought a zip-up hoodie, and some sweet boots . Of course now all the snow in Seattle is gone, but at least the boots look awesome!!