A Great Weekend in Lake Placid

We had such an amazing time in Lake Placid this weekend. Liam's skiing has really come along, he is super fun to ski with. It's fun to just take a chair lift and ski whatever looks good. Have to be careful when Liam gets to call the run, however, because you might end up racing ski cross, or taking jumps in the Terrain Park. Tonia tends to pick the steep, fast, groomers, and Bobby likes it all.

We skied, skated, took a bobsled ride, toured the town and sights, and went to a cool little festival that had hockey shoot-outs, luge, and curling. We also ate well, and enjoyed some yummy local beer and root beer.

We were having so much fun that we didn't take a lot of photos. Here are a few that we did take... Playing around on the 1932 Bobsled that was in the lobby of our hotel.

Watching some freestyle skiers practice.

The view from the top of the 120 m ski jump.

Waiting to take our bobsled run.

Ready for our bobsled run. Liam has been asking to take a bobsled ride for the past three years. This year he was just about tall enough, so they let him ride. When we were finished with the run, Liam said, "This was the best day of my life!!!!!!!!!! I want to go to the Olympics for bobsled!!!"

Just off the gondola, and getting ready to ski.

Tonia standing in front of the trail map. Can you tell why Whiteface's nickname is Iceface? We were lucky to have had fresh snow, and not so much wind. Usually the summit tends to get blown-off by midday. We got really lucky this visit.

The "Noonan Cup" standings. We had a race for the "Noonan Cup," which included skiing (both downhill and ski cross), speed skating, and swimming. The results were all very close, with Liam taking the Gold, Bobby the Silver, and Tonia the Bronze. Liam was the fastest skater by far, and he won two of the three ski cross races. Tonia lost all chance of a Gold or Silver as soon as ski cross was introduced into the mix. She is not a big fan of big air off jumps. Have to say, however, that ski cross is a blast. Glad Whiteface has a training area dedicated to ski cross so that we could let it rip.

NY Rangers and NJ Devils in the backyard

After Liam's game yesterday, several of the boys, and some parents, came over to skate. Liam with some of his buddies from his team, Kyle, Kevin, and Brendan. It was fun to listen to them as they pretended to be their favorite players from the Rangers and the Devils.

A couple dads got involved in the action.

After skating for a couple hours, everyone packed up their gear and headed back to the rink for stick-time. Stick-time is fun because they can practice some of the fancy shots -- like lifting the puck, and slapshots -- that Mrs. Noonan wasn't allowing in the backyard.

You Won't Believe What We Did All Day Saturday

The day, of course, was all about hockey. Liam had a game in the early A.M., then he and his friend, Kyle, wanted to stay and watch the 14-year-old boys play (they were amazing, FYI), then off to see a movie about, what else...a hockey player, then home to skate and shoot pucks for another hour and a half. Then...the Ranger game. As I type this, Bob and Liam are out back on the ice passing the puck. Liam wanted to warm up before his game this morning.

Psst: I also think that Bobby wants any excuse to get on the ice now-a-days. He is loving the new hockey skills he is acquiring.
Liam picking up a few pucks as he clears the ice of "snow."

Daddy and Mommy facing off.

After a fun afternoon, Bobby and Liam clear and resurface the ice.

The scene at our back door.

Christmas in January

Since Dad was in the hospital until Christmas Eve, we decided to celebrate Christmas on January 9. Much fun was had by all. Here are a few pictures...

Building an Ice Rink

Yesterday we built a 20' x 44' ice rink in the back yard. Now we just wait for it to freeze completely.

Clearing the snow.

Brushing the patio smooth.

Putting up the boards.

The plastic.

Nailing the plastic to the boards.

Water.

Bob and Liam checking on everything as the water began to fill.

Our Rink Master.

The rink as it looked at 7:30 a.m. this morning. It is only frozen about a 1/2" deep, so there will be no skating today.

We love Colorado!!

The view from our room.

Bob and Liam at Keystone.

A happy Bobby, after a most awesome powder day in Imperial Bowl at Breckenridge.

Yeah!!! Having so much fun!!!

Liam, sporting the sweater that Grandma Irene made him. He wore it every day.

The view from our condo of Horseshoe Bowl and Contest Bowl.

Mommy and Liam at Beaver Creek.

Liam and Bob at dinner.

View of our new home away from home, The Grand Lodge on Peak 7.

A moose who was hangin' out near the base of Peak 8.

Another view from our room.

Liam and Mommy waiting for Daddy to finish taking photos. Liam was anxious to get skiing. Bobby thought it was cool that we could see Breckenridge while skiing the back side of Keystone.

Liam and Mommy at Keystone.

Mommy and Liam at Bubba Gumps our last night.