My wife bought Đạo a pair of USD Sway 60 XXI. It’s pretty slick. His feet are now as long as mines. In case he can’t wear it, I’ll take over. Fortunately, the boots fit him and he enjoys skating in them. Can’t wait to see what he can do with them.

Since the family reunion, we haven’t skated much. Since I started taking the shuttle to work, I haven’t skated during my lunch time like I used to. I don’t want to lose the little skills I have.

I need to figure out a routine to put rollerblading back on.

I just returned my parking permit and gate-access card. I made the commitment to take the shuttle to work. The only thing I missed not having access to my car is going to the skatepark during my lunch break. I will make that up in the evening after work.

For my lunch break, I will be walking to the library or the bookstore. I haven’t set my foot in Barnes & Noble in years. I need to do some exercise to keep myself active. I started ice skating again, but my skills are rusty. I am relearning the techniques I had mapped out for myself. I am wondering if I should go back to retaking group lessons. Private lessons are too expensive for me.

I am still snowboarding in my basement. I can’t wait to get back on the snow again. I want to learn carving on both snowboarding and skiing. I found a few snowboard on sales for $250 or less, but I haven’t made a decision to purchase yet. I am still searching.

While rollerblading, I met a guy who taught skateboarding to young kids. His rate is only $25 an hour. It’s very reasonable. I asked my kids to take lessons, but they refused. They are sticking with skating and scootering. I am still in search for aggressive skates for Đạo and myself.

While vacationing at Wildwood with my family last week, I woke up at 6:00 AM every morning to rollerblade on the boardwalk before everyone else woke up. I skated with my three-wheel YF YouFu. They were a bit bumpy the first day, but I quickly got used to them. I skated about three miles each day. I loved the morning breeze as well as the time to myself. I would love for my kids to join me, but they didn’t want to wake up early. They also preferred biking on the boardwalk.

While spending time at the beach, I was dreaming of skiing and snowboarding. I missed the snow. I still snowboard in my basement each day to learn my stances and my edges. I came across a clip from Thrive Snowboards showing how to ride on the steep slopes. I can’t wait to try out the techniques. I received my Epic pass for next year already. Let’s hope for lots of snow in the coming winter.

The summer is not even over yet, and I already am looking forward to the winter. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Đán is a natural rollerblader, but he lacks the motivation. He rather plays on his PC than blading at the skatepark. Getting him out of the house always created tensions. He would throw a tantrum when I asked him to go out. I would get infuriated watching him and his brothers fixed to their screens. I no longer make it optional to get out of the house. They need to get out even if they don’t skate.

Đán outgrew his rollerblades. He couldn’t do much with them at the skatepark, but he refused to make the switch to aggressive skates. Last week, I bought him a pair of USD Transformer skates from Marketplace. I took away his old rollerblades and asked him to give the aggressive skates a try. He put them on and he was just shredding it. He could jump over the spines on the half pipes. He could blade over the ramps. He could drop into the bowl from the deep end.

With the copings on the aggressive skates, he can stall, grind, and do more tricks. I hope he will be motivated again to push himself further. Blading can keep himself physically active, mentally strong, and morally sound.

I reactivated my Facebook account. I needed to access Marketplace to sell and buy used things. I listed a bunch of ice skates, hockey skates, aggressive skates, roller skates, and rollerblades. I haven’t sold anything and yet I bought a pair of USD Kids Transformer aggressive skates for Đán. It was sold for $50 and the condition was pretty new. It seems like the previous owner only skated for a few times. Đán seems to like it. I hope the skates will motivate him to learn more tricks at the skatepark.

When I made the transition from rollerblade to aggressive skates, I didn’t want to switch back. Aggressive skates provide more stability at the skateparks than rollerblades. I wouldn’t drop in using rollerblades, but Đạo and Đán didn’t seem to have any problem. They dropped in just fine. They just can’t stall or grind on rollerblades.

I am looking for another pair for Đạo. Hopefully, I’ll come across a great deal. Although I reactivated Facebook, I hadn’t posted anything. Facebook is becoming a ghost time. I get more junk posts from Facebook than from my family and friends.

I have been spending some time researching and searching for new sports equipments. I would like Đạo and Đán to switch over to aggressive skates instead of rollerblades so they can do more tricks at the skateparks. I also would like a new pair of aggressive skates because the coping on my Flying Eagle is way too small. Stalling on it is way too hard. Aggressive skates are way too expensive. I couldn’t find anything decent for under $250.

I am also looking to get Đán a snowboard, a pair of bindings, and a pair of boots. The entire packet would cost at least $500. We’ll do rental for him again next year since he’s still growing and he’s quite picky about the board. I have a two really old boards. The shorter one I am using in the basement to train during off season. The longer one I will use for the winter, but it is not too great. I bought a new pair of bindings last season. I would like to get a new board, but I couldn’t find anything under $250.

If I want to get some new gears (three pair of aggressive skates and a snowboard), I have to spend at least $1,000. I am less concerned about the money, but more concerned about Đạo and Đán not using them. They are becoming less interested in skating. Yesterday evening, when I asked Đán to go to the skatepark, he threw a tantrum. He just wanted to play video games instead. I was infuriated. I wanted them to be active instead of just sitting on their behinds playing on their digital devices all day, especially in the summer.

Thanks Chị Tâm for doing the research and organizing the trip. The detailed Google Sheet is very helpful.

All of our family members have seasonal passes; therefore, we have a handful of buddy passes. I believe buddy passes are 40% off the rate for the day you want to ski. If you missed the Epic Day deal and still want to join us, let me know. I will send you the link to purchase the passes online in advance. We have to pick up the tickets together at the window.

For skiing lessons, you should definitely sign up for your kids. I recommend a half-day group lesson. Kids will pick up fast. They’ll be able to ski after 4 hours of learning. They can learn in the morning and ski with their Scout buddies the rest of the day.

For adults, I can give you some skiing tips, but you should also take a two-hour or half-day group lesson. When I first started, I hesitated to learn skiing. My wife signed me up without my consent for a two-hour lesson and forced me to take it. She wanted me to ski with the kids. That lesson unlocked the potential I didn’t know I had. You should get that experience as well.

As for snowboarding, the learning curve is steeper than skiing. I started learning snowboarding last season. I fell five days straight before I could start to snowboard. That first day was brutal. My whole body was in pain. Skating off the lift was also a challenge. I fell every time. After I got over the boot-camp period, however, I enjoyed snowboarding immensely. Nowadays, I switch back and forth between skiing and snowboarding. I love both sports.

In addition to taking lessons, the best place to learn skiing and snowboarding is YouTube. You should check out the videos before hitting the slopes. I learned intermediate skills through YouTube videos.

I hope you will give these sports a try. They will keep you and your kids active during the winter. Before skiing and snowboarding, our family caught all kinds of winter illnesses. In the past few years, we enjoyed our winter activities a whole lot more than before.

I have been blading regularly. On my lunch break at work, I would hit the skatepark with my aggressive skates then hit the bike trail with my three-wheel skates. The big wheels make blading on bike paths comfortable. I blade as fast as a jogger and that’s my exercise for the day.

As for aggressive skating, I haven’t elevated my skills. I pretty much stayed in my comfort zone. I can stall, but I can’t grind. I only drop in at a certain height. I had no motivation to pick up more advanced skills. This afternoon, I realized that I should focus on learning to blade backward. My backward skills definitely need improvement. I haven’t thought much about it.

I still practice snowboarding in my basement. My focus is on my posture, particularly my stand for carving. I just can’t wait for the winter again so we can go skiing and snowboarding.

I am not adjusting well with warm weather. I am not looking forward to doing yard work around our property. Although I am enjoying rollerblading, I am missing skiing and snowboarding in the winter. To keep myself in the game, I continue to do snowboard training in my basement.

Base on the video clips of myself snowboarding last season, I still need to work on my stance. I need to remember to keep my whole body on the board and only my knees bent. I am OK with my toe stance, but I am still falling on my butt once in a while on my heel stance. Tring to sit on a chair without a chair is not as easy as I have imagined.

I am also working on my turns. Since my stance is goofy, I press down with my right foot first then my back foot would follow for my toe turn. For my heel turn, I roll my right knee first then my back knee would follow. The rhythm is 1, 2, 3, 4. Malcolm Moore has an excellent explanation on this technique.

I am also working on my 180-jumps to prepare myself for steep slopes. I always save this one for last because jumping is exhausting. It’s a great exercise.

I wonder what else I can learn snowboarding in my basement.

I haven’t skated on ice in a while. I want to go back to relearn the basics. Instead of following the Ice Sports Industry (ISI) curriculum, I want to create my own roadmap. This is what I came up with:

Mohawks

• Forward inside & outside
• Backward outside & inside

3-Turns

• Forward outside & inside
• Backward outside & inside

Edges

• Forward outside & inside
• Backward outside & inside

Arabesques

• Forward outside & inside
• Backward outside & inside

Jumps

• Half flip
• Waltz (left over right backward crossover and switch arms)
• Ballet
• Half lutz
• Salchow (left over right backward crossover and switch arms)
• Toe loop (right inside 3-turn)

Advanced Jumps

• Flip jump
• Loop jump