Lutsen

Chuck and I got a much needed vacation last week when we headed up to Lutsen for a few days of skiing with our good friends, Sandy and Ray. We left after school on Wednesday and drove all the way to Lutsen, arriving at about 10:30 pm. Fortunately, the roads were dry, but the wind was howling the whole way. Unfortunately, it was still blowing like crazy the next morning so our first day of skiing was spent hanging out at the resort and then driving up to Grand Marais. Back in the olden days, when we were totally driven to be the first ones out on the slopes (nothing like "fresh corduroy!"), we probably would have been out there in the -20 degree wind-chill, but we're pretty much over that!

After coffee and some shopping, we did venture out long enough to take a very short hike up to see the falls on the Cascade River.

My batteries died in my camera, so I only got a couple of pictures to prove we weren't total wimps!

We had dinner at Moguls, the newly remodeled restaurant at Caribou Highlands.

Dinner was great, but...

the view of the sunset over Moose Mountain out the restaurant window was even better!

After dinner, the wind died down (although the temp was still -5), so we decided to take a shuttle from the resort to the Okonto Ranch for a sleigh ride. The ranch is halfway up the Gunflint Trail, smack dab in the middle of nowhere.
Our wooden sleigh was pulled by two huge Belgian horses, 2000 pounds each! The trail was lit by 110 lanterns hanging from trees along the way, and it wound around a lake, across a stream, and through the woods. The air was crisp and clear, and the sky was filled with more stars than I have ever seen! It was gorgeous!

Needless to say, we were bundled up, and they gave us several quilts to keep us warm. We also had hot chocolate in an old Finnish log cabin afterwards.

Friday was a beautiful day, although still a bit chilly. No wind, though, so we hit the slopes and skiied all day. This is the top of Bull Run on Moose Mountain, one of my all-time favorite runs. That's Lake Superior in the far distance, and Superior National Golf Course at the bottom of the ski run.

Chuck and Ray stopped for a break.

And....here I am (see - I really can ski!). What a day! The snow was great, the temps were OK, no lift lines, and the legs still felt good!

After skiing, we hung out at Papa Charlie's for awhile, and then headed back to Grand Marais to a new restaurant called The Crooked Spoon, where we were entertained by a very mellow folk singer.

The next morning, we had our traditional last-day brunch at Bluefin Bay. This was the view from the restaurant window - beautiful!

We've been taking late-winter ski vacations to Lutsen for almost 30 years. I remember going even when I was 8 months pregnant with Jenna, although I didn't ski that year! The next year, when she was almost 1, she came along, and Chuck and I took turns skiing. We had to put her crib in the loft bathroom, with two legs in the bathtub, so she could have some peace, quiet, and darkness at night.

It's been fun watching the ski area expand and change over the years - there's nothing else like it in the Midwest!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us!

Isn't this a great picture of our little lady? Phebe woke up really early this morning, and didn't feel very well. However, after a bath, some Children's Tylenol, a few new Littlest Pet Shop toys, and some heart shaped pancakes, she was doing much better!

We met my sister and brother and their spouses at Olive Garden for an early Valentine's dinner while Phebe had a date with her daddy. Chuck thought I was nuts when I told him we were meeting at 4:00, but our wait for a table was only 15 minutes. When we left at 6:00, the entry area was jammed, and people were actually waiting 1 1/2 hours for a table!

Pat was the only one who had food left over to take home . We were all hungry! Ted and Pat just got back from a week's vacation visiting friends in Oregon, and then they're heading for Florida in a few weeks for their annual "spring break."

Joyce and Paul, the newlyweds of the group, are taking off for Arizona later in March. Guess we're the only ones braving the long Minnesota winter without a warm-weather vacation. Actually, we're off to Lutsen for a little skiing later this week. We're hoping for more snow!

Valentines!

Today was the day to do the valentines! Phebe has two classes, so that means at least 40 valentines to fill out. Of course, being a teacher, I expect my kids to write out their own valentines, and so I could expect nothing less of Phebe. She got started last week when we first bought the cards, but she didn't last too long. This afternoon, however, she really set her mind to it.

Time to get started.

Such concentration!

Almost done! After writing all the names, she taped a foil-wrapped heart on each card. Way to go, Phebe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mini Golf/Alumni Basketball

The weather finally warmed up over the weekend, and we took advantage of the improved temps to take in some mini-golf - the indoor variety at the elementary school! Phebe and Kyle had a great time checking out the 18 holes set up by the teachers and staff. This is a great fund-raiser for the PTO, and lots of fun for families. All proceeds come back to our students.

This is the 2nd grade hole - "Chill Out."

The 3rd grade theme was the Chinese New Year.

Of course, I was partial to the 1st grade hole, a Norwegian Lodge with a gnome crossing. Our first graders decorated Norwegian flags, rosemaling patterns, and gnomes.

This is the Kindergarten hole. The idea was to make an igloo out of milk jugs, but somehow it wouldn't quite hold together. They ended up using the jugs as giant ice cubes.


After golf, the kids could jump in this giant blow-up playground in the gym. It was hard to get Phebe out of there. The slide was great fun!

Both Kyle and Corey played basketball in the Alumni tournament (Kyle on the '95-'96 team, and Corey on the '97 team). Heidi also played in the volleyball tornament, but we didn't get to her games since we were golfing and then eating pizza with Jenna and Andy, who stopped over after skiing at Welch.

Kyle hasn't played basketball in years, and he could hardly move on Sunday after playing in two games on Saturday. His team won their first game, and then lost the next two. Phebe decided her daddy runs really funny!

Corey's team has won the whole tournament for several years in a row, but this year they won their first two games on Saturday, and then lost two on Sunday. During their game with '83-'85, we watched two of the "old" guys blow their Achilles tendons. They both ended up as roommates at the local hospital following surgery - yikes!

Maddox had fun sitting between his two grandpas, but he had even more fun climbing up and down the bleachers. It's kind of hard to keep a 2-year old still at a basketball game!

Alumni weekend is always a highlight for January. It's good to get out and see lots of people after hanging out at home all month!