For juniors Gigi Lawver and Maddie Hartwig, the long stretch between winter break and spring break are broken up with fun mini-trips each year. Lawver looks forward to her annual girls weekend with her mom in Florida and Hartwig always gets excited to ski with her dad out in Vail. For those of us who aren’t as lucky as these girls, they gave us some great advice on how to spend those seemingly endless weeks back in Minnesota as we wait for warmer temps and sunshine.

“Take advantage of winter. Go to Afton Alps or Trollhaugen and ski,” Lawver recommended. Hartwig also recommended skiing. She enjoys going to Welch Village.

Lawver suggested the “classic sledding and skating.” Sledding down the enormous hill at the high school is fun for even those hardcore daredevils. There are smaller sledding hills at Browndale Park and Creek Valley Elementary School for the tamer riders. Cornelia Elementary School and Arden Park have public skating rinks and if you bring a hockey stick, there are usually pick-up games on the weekends.

Senior Jens Foyer spends his winters out in the fresh air. “I teach with Skijammers” he said.  He helps younger kids learn how to shred the slopes on their snowboards.

On those days where the weather outside is a little too frightful, there are fun things to do indoors, too. Spending time with friends and doing something out of the ordinary are all ways to beat the January blues. “Bake for a friend and deliver it on a gloomy day” said Lawver.

It is important to remember that third quarter only comes once a year and that it will be over before we know it. As you begin the countdown to spring vacation, “Try to have a positive attitude about it all and instead of moping around, get out there and enjoy it” said Hartwig.