Winter in Minnesota sucks. We all become like little hermit crabs and hole up in our shells during the wintry blast. We hibernate by the fireplace and tv while the cold invades our precious outdoors. All the things we love about Minnesota come screeching to a halt when the wind chill plummets, the roads are covered in snow and ice and the gray months seems to play out like a perpetual Groundhog Day.
But have no fear, we have adapted to our surroundings and have learned how to cope. No, there are no more long walks after dinner. And no, there are no bike rides or beautiful sunsets to be had. And sadly, there are no outdoor games of basketball or around the world. Our outdoor time comes to a halt and we are forced to entertain ourselves indoors. For the love.
You can only play so many games of chess, nertz, q-bits, etc. Kids eventually come home from sports practices and want to do something together. It doesn't take all night to exercise. After a while, your eyes start closing while you're nestled up close to the fireplace with your favorite book. What else is there? The tv. We do about a year's worth of tv watching in the 4-5 months of winter. We probably watch an hour or two every night. That's a ton of tv for us. We don't normally watch tv. We prefer to be outside whenever possible. Obviously, that's not an option right now.
So I thought it would be fun to document the shows we watch that entertain us night after cold night. Five years from now the kids are going to laugh at this list, I just know it. But, trust me, it's hard to find things that all of us will enjoy that are appropriate. One thing we can all agree on is: investigative journalism. Yes - we love us a great reporter! The kids have loved these shows ever since we started traveling with them and would end up in hotels with not many channel options to choose from. From there our love of investigative reporting grew and grew. We love us a good conspiracy theory, whistle blower, fraud or court case (however, we can't watch anything too sad because...Chloe). We've since added anything from the Science Channel, National Geographic Channel and our old favorites, HGTV and Food Network. Thankfully, for us, football and basketball are usually always an option as well. So, without further ado, here's the list:
1. Outrageous Acts of Science
2. Man vs. Wild
3. Brain Games
4. 60 Minutes
5. The Amazing Race
6. The Great British Baking Show
7. Chopped
8. Super Nanny
9. Fixer Upper
10. Flip or Flop
11. House Hunters International
12. Ellen's Design Challenge
13. River Monsters
Well, there you have it. I feel like I've done an adequate job of justifying our nightly ritual of tv watching. I feel better already. Thankfully, spring is around the corner and our DVR will be filled with a back log of programs we're too busy to watch.
