Merry Christmas!

It seems Christmas is 'right around the corner' for so very long. Then 'poof' it comes and goes in a flash!  We had a lovely time.  We began our Christmas Eve by going to the movies and seeing 'Wreck it Ralph'. We migrated home and ate Swedish Christmas food and opened presents. It seems the boys had been good this year and they made out very well! On Christmas Day we went skating and enjoyed a brief amount of winter before the rain rolled in and washed it all away. Hope springs eternal for some snow for the weekend as we're slated to go skiing in Duluth. 

The tree

One of our most persistent family traditions is to cut down our own Christmas tree. In this year of non-stop hockey, the excursion was slightly delayed. But we got it done, in time! 

Have to say it is nice to have boys old enough to operate a saw! 

Wayzata Tournament

Not to be entirely outdone, Johan's Squirt team took their place in the Wayzata Fire on Ice tournament. It was also in one of those games that Johan got his first ever penalty - slashing! He seemed surprised.  

Hopkins Tournament

The Orono Peewee season is going fantastically well.  Early season hockey was topped off with the kids winning the Hopkins Thanksgiving tournament (in a very exciting final that went into overtime).
Just like with the Stanley Cup, the kids are now taking turns being home to the big trophy!

The Cup!

It is  small-ish world... A gentleman in our small town works as a talent scout for the Washington Capitals.  As part of the team winning the Stanley Cup this year, he got to bring the cup home for a few days. And it landed at the local hockey arena. As most kids in the hockey association have at some point pictured himself winning it, it was quite a popular attraction! 

Squirt Hockey!

Johan landed on the Squirt C team and he's having the time of his life!  The team consists of a bunch of nice kids and they all get along.  In his first game on the ice, Johan played defense. The team a won the game! And Johan came off the ice thinking defense was the best spot to be, for sure!
Although later on as he was in different spots, it seems sentiments change!