Maple Grove Family Blows Minds With Homemade Ice Rink
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Maple Grove family is taking a homemade ice rink to a whole new level.
"My wife throws out crazy ideas," said Shawn Carlon. "I usually figure out a way to do them."
When the Carlon family moved into their home in Maple Grove, it came with a sizeable backyard and a tennis court.
"I thought, 'Well we're not really tennis people, we don't really play,'" Laura Carlon said.
Shawn, who owns a flooring business, decided to make the court into an ice rink for the winter. Two years ago, Laura had a bigger idea.
"I said, 'I wonder if there's a way to have some kind of light?'" she said.
Using a flooring program, Shawn mapped out his design, and then laid down waterproof LED lights in a layer of ice on the rink. He covered the lights in another layer of water.
Once it froze, the rink -- and the sky -- were glowing for all of their neighbors to see.
"They thought it was great," Shawn said. "They were skating around and it looks really neat once it gets dark."
Shawn took nighttime video of this year's design using a drone and posted it online. It's the second time he has done the LED lights frozen in ice.
"We get to skate on cool lights and it's awesome," said daughter Elizabeth Carlon.
The Carlons, who are not a hockey family, say the rink is there to be shared, which allows them to see the faces of friends and family light up when they step out on the ice.
"I do it for the kids," Shawn said.
Shawn and Laura will be hosting a New Year's Day ice skating party for their neighborhood to get to experience the rink this year.
