It had been thirty years since I skied, and I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is. The kids and I got out for the second time on a gray, but warm day, and it was awesome to see how quickly their skill level jumped. Our first visit they took a lesson and then we spent the rest of the day and night on the bunny hills. This time we covered Afton Alps from one end to the other on the intermediate runs. No (almost no) big wipeouts this time. It was great. This is now one of my favorite things to do with the kids and I’m already thinking about where in the world we’ll be able to hit the slopes again next.

I had actually been a little worried about going skiing on a Sunday, thinking there might be actually be crowds. Obviously, that concern wasn’t warranted.

A Little House on the Prairie musical? Count us in. Who doesn’t love Little House (the books and the show)? As a musical I’m not sure it worked so great, but whatever, it was a fun night out.

Just like with me, it had been thirty years since Ali last skied. She did great. Best of all, everybody always had a lift partner.

It had to be the nicest January day in the history of Minnesota, and because it was a weekday we had the entire place virtually to ourselves.

Lowe’s binding broke when a screw popped out. By some miracle we actually found the screw. All we needed was a screwdriver and we were back on our way.

It was such a ridiculously nice day that when we got home we cooked up some chicken on the barbeque as the sun set. My time in Minnesota is drawing to a close, and what a way to end it. I fly back to the boat first in order to tackle a few projects, and everyone else follows about ten days behind me.