Our Ice Rink

It must have been cold this winter...because the pond behind our house froze solid enough to make a rink. Our rink was approx. 40'x70'... perfect size for a good 3-on-3 game. We were able to skate about three weeks before Christmas and we skated on it a TON until just over a week ago. That's a pretty good run. I even went the extra mile and made my own DIY Zamboni that hooks to our hose to put a thin layer of new ice down after we skated. It made the surface super smooth (see the pictures below). But I did have to buy a couple hoses to reach down to the rink from our house. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was nuts to be out there at 10pm at night making ice....but everyone used it so who's crazy now?!! We had some fun 3-on-3 games with the neighbor kids. Nathan, Ally, and I also spent countless afternoons and evenings over at the Dood's (family from Nate's hockey team) house on their backyard rink. Ally's nickname is now Olie the Goalie thanks to Mr. Dood and she's skating really well now. Nathan is wrapping up his hockey season (4 games and 2 tournaments left). As much as I'm bummed the ice is melting I'm looking forward to spring, green, and a little baseball!

The beginnings of our rink...Nathan playing snow plow.
Couldn't wait long enough to clear the snow so they just started skating on what ice was clear...
After using my new toy for a couple cold nights, the ice was excellent!
Nate stick-handling...