It was a cold, cold time in late December in Iowa; we would routinely wake up to temperatures of -10 degrees F (-25 Celsius). So we decided to celebrate by – what else – going to an ice hockey game!
The city of Cedar Rapids, just up the road from Grandma and Grandpa’s place, has a semi-pro hockey team, and Uncle Scott pulled together a family outing to a game against a team from Chicago one night. It was good turnout: besides Nyan and Daddy, we had Grandma and Grandpa; Scott and Maggie; Mike, Sarah and Mia; and Alycia, Brad and young Kennedy.
The ice arena wasn’t huge, but it was pretty crowded, especially given how painfully cold it was outside.
Nyan spent time sitting on various laps:
(Note: it wasn’t *that* cold inside. Those photos where we’re in winter coats were taken shortly after arrival. The coats came off soon after.)
We had good seats, near the ice and just to the left of the goal. They were also right next to where the Cedar Rapids team came off and on the ice, which gave a chance to steal some high-fives from the players (along with a *very* zealous fan):
For much of the game, Nyan and Kennedy hung out by the glass, watching the action, jumping around, chit-chatting and generally being goofy with each other. These two are about two years apart in age, but have never spent any significant time together, since Nyan lives on the other side of the planet. So it was heartening to see them hanging out and being pals.
Check out that excitement when Cedar Rapids scored a goal!
The game ended with an overtime loss for Cedar Rapids. Bit of a bummer, that, but still a fun evening. Here’s Nyan giving Uncle Scott and thank-you hug in the frigid parking lot after the game:
And finally, here’s Daddy, showing his “ten-below-zero” face. Brr.
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