Up North

We arrived Up North to a 2-foot blanket of snow and a relatively balmy 20 degree day.

It was amazing.

BioMom and I took Four-Year-Old and Sidekick cross-country skiing today. It was The Four-Year-Old's first time cross-country skiing and she spent most of the time on her back. We got her $15 skis at a garage sale last summer and they're big enough to last a few seasons -- BioMom's favorite trick. She's always looking to save a few dollars on the Four-Year-Old's clothes. At one point, Pre-school teacher actually told BioMom to get her shoes that fit so that she wouldn't fall as much on the playground. Turns out that maybe she's not actually clumsy, just mis-sized (at a bargain).

Then, back at the cabin, the snow was like you remember when you were little. Piles and piles of soft stuff that doesn't hurt when you fall into it, and it is warm enough to spend the entire day running around in it. We built a little igloo in the pile that had been plowed. The Four-Year-Old decided to have her 'quiet time' out there with a book and some candles. We're looking out at Lake Superior, ocean-like in its vast gunmetal grey, birch trees jutting through the view irraticly.

We had to bribe the girls inside by tempting hot chocolate and a movie snuggled up by the fire.

I hope this never ends.