Hockey in July? I must be from Minnesota!

So here I sit on another beautifully humid, hot and sunny July day inside an air conditioned hockey arena. Hockey in July you ask? Welcome to Minnesota, where they put skates on their kids at 6months! Well, except me of course. I resisted the idea of hockey and everything it entailed. We avoided talking about the white elephant in the room for 9 years despite living in 'LangenbrunnerLand'.  When our son, who is small in stature, decided to lace up a pair of skates at the community learn to skate night I secretly hoped he hated the sport. After all, what kinds of people ENJOY freezing cold outdoor games and practices,  regular diets of concession stand food, miles of traveling on icy winter roads and let's not forget the unmistakable stench of their equipment and locker rooms? As it turns out, his small stature for once was a blessing. He took to the ice like he'd been skating for a long time! "Uh oh!" I sighed nervously. I didn't want to be a hockey mom (stomping my right foot rebelliously)!! After just one short hockey season I have found that the self confidence and comorodity he's gained has come WAY faster than football, soccer, Taekwondo and even neighborhood get togethers. To me, that's priceless. Not only are they good kids, but their parents are pretty cool too! They say mans best friend is their dog but today the dog has been replaced by the handheld computer of the moment. So if hockey is what will get him excited to put down the Gameboy and hang out with other kids while having some fun and getting great exercise, I guess I can't condemn that. Afterall, this new outdoor spectator sport has demanded a shopping trip for new warm outerwear. "Does this goose down puffer jacket make me look fat?" As far as the road warrior weekends, gallons of lip blistering hot cocoa and even the stench of sweaty skates goes, I've learned to see the lemonade in each of these lemons. My flavor happens to be a pink lemonade margarita http://bit.ly/13luxpN sitting on the beach somewhere in the Caribbean celebrating another successful season; for both Mom & Son!

Does your child play hockey? Have you bonded with your team so much you'd vacation with them too? We have awesome group rates for groups of 10 or more; ask us for details!