Ollie and I hadn’t gone skating in awhile.  We went to Rock Creek and there was two other little kids and a dad on rollerblades.  Ollie was hyped because there wasn’t bigger kids to intimidate him.  I was bummed because the dad kept wanting to talk to me.  Luckily Darrin showed up and I skated with him while Ollie rolled around having fun.  I sucked it up on the ramp and am pretty bummed how little Rampy helps me skate real sized ramps.  I slammed hard on a axle stall to fakie.  But in reality I wasn’t skating hard and was tired and cold.  Darrin and I played a game of SKATE that I somehow won.  I landed a nollie treflip.  Sweet.  Then we went to the Louisville park where Ollie just would not leave no matter how much the wind picked up.  Kid smiles more then anyone when he skates.  So rad!  He dropped in in a couple different places in the small bowl.  Sick!  I basically just cruised around not doing anything other then being cold.  Ugh!

Woke up real early on Saturday because of skateboard excitement.  And I mean real early, aka 5:50 am and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Nice.  Around 9am I just had to go try a kickflip to see how my ankle would take it.  I bet India and Liz each 5 cents I could land one first try.  Ollie wouldn’t take the bet since he knew I had it in the bag.  Ha.  Landed it and was 10 cents richer to boot!  After skipping rocks with the kids I met up with Brian, Rob and Jam and we started off at the Louisville ledges.  Rob and I took a year to complete a game of SKATE.  I was getting used to a new 8.25 board.  It didn’t feel all that surprisingly big compared to the 8″, but it was definitely harder to spin around.  We skated the ledges for awhile.  I did a few horrible crooks and some front 50s then started playing with a metal bar from a sign that went across the flower boxes where the ledges are.  I got a couple 50s and started playing with it in a line for fun when Brian showed up with the camera saying it should be filmed.  I ended up getting a nose manual followed by a 5-0 on the bar and it ended up looking pretty cool I thought.  Thanks for filming Brian.  We arrived at a fun little ditch later that Brian wasn’t feeling.  Rob and I skated for awhile and it was pretty cold.  I ended up trying a few tricks that Rob was kind enough to film.  It was more so to see what they looked like.  I got a blunt to pivot which I’ve maybe landed two of on anything other then a curb before.  Fun day.

I can’t even believe how huge the SOL ramp since I’ve basically only skated my own little ramp lately.  It felt great to be able to get some speed and it took me forever to start warming up.  I got a back axle stall to fakie and was just about to get in the groove and bailed a front 50 attempt that resulted in me stepping on my board weird and rolling my ankle.  Ugh.  Not a bad roll.  Probably wont be skating for a week or so though.

Had a blast with the kids all day.  Went swimming, to the grocery store, played Trouble.  Basically had a blast all day.  After they went to sleep I skated Rampy for about an hour.  Liz even took a couple photos.  Started trying a new trick for me.  Fakie front smith to fakie.  Never committed, but was close.  Accidently landed a new trick when I was trying nollie pivot – nollie back smith stall.  Also tried a bunch of lines I’ve never done before.  Back 50, back 5-0, back feeble, back smith.  Got dizzy on that one.  Also did my first front 50 while coming out of an axle stall instead of a tail stall.  I gotta get rid of my 20 tail stalls/ rock fakies per run.feeble grindBack 50 revertmaybe not the front smith I landed, but compensating for the crappy delay on our digital camera sucks.

Not being hungover on New Years Day rules.  I had gotten a few things down around the house before we headed out around noon.  Today was my last day of being a bachelor as Liz and the kids get back from Obamaha tomorrow.  The Parker skatepark was crowded as usual.  I heard a dad drop off his young daughter and friend on their scooters and say “have fun playing”.  Ugh.  Aboout two seconds later they nearly got killed by Jeff trying a gap.  Parents are clueless.  Especially me.  Ha.  The session was pretty amazing though.  I didn’t stop skating for two hours.  I came close to getting a front smith on the bank to ledge, got a first try back board pop out, 50’d the tall ledge (1 out of 50 tries), got some back axle stalls on the weird circle qpipe up top and followed it by ollieing into the bank and off the ledge, front 50’d a q-pipe, did back axle stall to fakie, did some good back 50s on the little ledge, nose manualed the little manny pad first try, did a bad front 5-0 shove first try, and basically had a blast.  Jason skated hard and was ripping.  Jeff did some really rad trick.  Fakie front crooks the bank to ledge.  Damn!We left and went to a spot that Jeff was telling us about.  It had a bunch of little plastic ledges, weird banks, and three stairs.  It was perfect for old men.  Although jeff straight killed the spot.  We were thinking of heading somewhere else when Jason and I tried ollieing a little bench.  Jason did it all good, I sketched it, but suck at ollieing and was hyped to have ollied a bench.  Jeff did an absolutely retarded line where he ollied a bench then ollied another bench into the parking lot.  We ended up skating for awhile and it was some of the most fun I’ve had skating in awhile.  Jason was killing it.  Neil, Jason and I tried a little gap that we eventually all landed.  Jason 180’s it.  So rad.  I did a little line where I ollied up a three stair, kickflipped up a curb, then ollied a 1 flat 2.  It was nothing in the modern world of skateboarding, but seriously the funnest thing at the time.  We left when it got dark hyped on skateboarding.  Since the wife and kids were still gone I figured I should skate the ramp.  The wind had picked up all crazy outside so skating outside wasn’t even really an option.  Nate ended up showing up and skating for awhile.  I landed maybe the second best front smith I’ve ever done and most of my tricks.  The only new trick of the night was an accident, but I’ll take it – nollie back 5-0.  Rad.  That ramp is seriously the best money I’ve ever spent.

Got out of work early, picked up Nate and Neil and headed to campus.  We started out at the plastic bench pool over thing that Jeff back nose blunts in Null And Void.  At first we were all totally sucking.  Nate had an excuse though, his knee was hurting.  Neil turned it up though with the worst slam I’ve ever seen him take.  One of those back 50 hand ups jump all the way to your hip.  Doh.  I was having fun skating up/down the curb to start/end runs.  Well, in my case they were single tricks because I almost never landed anythign on the ledge.  I got a few kickflips down the curb, pop shove, switch 180s and backed something up with a crooks on the ledge.  We took off down to campus for a fun ride downhill ride.  My favorite trick of the day happened there as I ollied the 4 stair at the student center first try just cruising down to the banked manny pad spot.  We ended up skating the curved stair area for awhile and Neil even filmed me do a run.  I kickflipped up the curb, front 50d the middle stair then rode down the rest of the stairs and backed it up with a tic tac ridden wallride on a rock.  The best part being that I got the run in less then 10 tries which is pretty much unheard of for me.  Next up we went do the banked manny pad.  Nate’s knee was still sucking for him.  I was having fun, but we split when we saw the campus police roll by.Later on I skated Rampy for about 20 minutes and got quite a few of my huge bag of like 10 tricks.  

Tired from partying at the Denver Shop premiere I made a weak attempt at going street skating.  It was pretty chilly and I went to campus.  I forgot the students were gone and the campus was empty.  It feels weird skating campus when no one is around and it makes you more visible to cops.  Sure enough in the warm up process I spotted a cop rolling up on me when I was near the curved stairs spot.  I left campus and went home to Rampy where I had a tough time warming up, but ended up getting three tricks I’ve never done on it before.  Back 5-0 grinds, back feeble grinds and a fakie back feeble stall.  The first two are tricks I’ve landed a few times and the feebles aren’t Riley Persing or Hightower legit, but it was cool.  The fakie feeble stall was hard though and I felt like Brian Ball, but,  without the hips.  Ha ha ha Brian you are my hero.

Not much time to skate before the Denver Shop premiere.  Got a few basics that I’ve done before.  Nothing special.  Having problems with front disasters again.  Suck.

Went to red curbs with Neil, Brian, Lazer, Fuzz.  First time street skating in a along time and it showed.  I basically couldn’t do anything and about the time I started to get warmed up everyone wanted to go eat.  I need to start driving seperate so I can actually skate.  Either that or learn how to warm up in less then an hour.  I wish.

In Omaha and it’s super cold with snow everywhere.  Joe and Drew hooked up a little ramp in the back of BBB and it ended up being really fun.  Dan DJ’d and danced in between ollieing into the extension.  Joe ripped the halfcab pivot to rock combos.  Drew skated the weird extension like he’s skated it everyday.  I didn’t skate great, but had a good time and got a kickturn on the weird extension.  I should have done more.  Oh well, tight crew and it was fun.