Upon Further Review...

Well, my period of mourning is over and I'm ready to write about last weekend. Lets start off with the really good stuff. My Cousin Rich (technically cousin in law, but he's always been a cousin to me) starting his new job at Mortenson last week. He and I went out to dinner on Friday night at Jake O'Connors, in downtown Excelsior. We both enjoyed a Friday fish fry and a few really good Irish beers. It was great to catch up with him on his new job. It sounds like an awesome opportunity for him. Chris and I are also excited to have more family close by.

On Saturday we awoke to a temperature of -15 degrees. Add the wind chill factor and it felt like 25 below zero! That kind of cold will take your breath away if you take too deep a breath. Catie and I had planned to attend the first annual Excelsior Arctic Festival. When we moved here I vowed not the let the cold dictate what we do on the weekend. So around noon Catie and I bundled up and headed out for our Nordic hike. We hiked out to Frog Island which is 1/2 mile out on Lake Minnetonka from the Excelsior Commons. It was still -5 at noon, with a good wind blowing across the lake. We made it out to the Island and explored a bit. We found a rope swing that people use in the summer to swing out into the lake. Catie tried it out a few times. Not quite the same when you can't let go and dive into the water. One the way back Catie suggesting we nock on the door of one of the many fish houses on the lake and ask if we could come in a chat for a while. Instead, we hiked back to the commons were they had a huge bonfire set up on the beach. By then I had ice hanging from my whiskers. Volunteers were making S'Mores which tasted really good after the hike. We warmed ourselves by the fire for a while before making a trip to McDonald's for a late lunch.

Sunday we waited with great anticipation for the Packer game. Lets just say that we did not get the outcome we were hoping for. The team looked tight and nervous right from the opening kickoff and never really did get on track. In the end the better team won. It wouldn't have felt right for the Packers to back into the Super Bowl. It was still a magical season. I have so many great memories. Alex and I journeying to Lambeau in August to see the Packers play the Jaguars, Alex's favorite team. Alex along with my cousin Jon Wunrow and his son Seth seeing the Packers beat the Vikings in Minneapolis, the game where Brett threw touchdown pass number 421, breaking the record held by Dan Morrino. Being able to see all the Packer games on Sunday Ticket when Brett broke the record for most wins and most yards in a career. Having the team that just two years ago was 4-12 go 13-3 was awesome. No mater what happens in the off season this team was something special and brought me much joy.