Time Away

 While our winter routine has been pretty solid this year (thank you ski pass and lake ice!), it has also been rather...routine. So we decided to shake it up a bit with a quick getaway weekend.  It was definitely worth the drive.

We took advantage of our Ohio Pass access to Mad River resort, near Dayton.  Just far enough to warrant an overnight stay and making a weekend of it.  Our little AirBnB was just right, complete with bunk beds and TV's everywhere and a pool table, and we were blessed with not one but two sunny, crystalline days to be out on the slopes. Long lines on Saturday took the shine off of the trip temporarily, but we rallied with cookie baking and pizza and pool, and a nearly perfect day of skiing on Sunday.  

Taken out of their preferred natural habitats (the yellow chair and his computer desk, respectively), Ivy and Jack opened up and relaxed a bit into their screen-free personas. They even played a game of pool together, just the two of them! 

Sunday was a perfect ski day, with warm sunshine and lovely snow.  By comparison to Saturday the lines weren't bad, and we were able to really sink in and enjoy the skiing.  We rode the quad chair together all day, choosing our own adventures down the slopes and meeting at the lift.  The sun was shining, music was blasting from the lodge, the insanely long line of people waiting for lift tickets and rentals (so very grateful for our privelege of having our own equiment and season pass...!) were all in remarkably good spirits, with a very high percentage happily enjoying White Claw at 10 in the morning, there was ski racing going on (complete with cowbell)... just an all around festive atmosphere.  The lift operators were friendly and full of personality -- our favorite was an older gentleman who had a stuffed squirrel (wearing a mask of course) attached to his helmet.  Everyone there was out to have the most fun possible and it was infectious.  

We skiied til 1:00 and then decided to leave while we were still having fun.  Also we had a couple of important stops to make on the way home.  

Stop One:  IKEA of course.  Our first time since the pandemic started, and it felt pretty normal in there.  We needed some batteries and lightbulbs and left with a blue bag full of randomness, which is the way of IKEA.  It was like visiting an old friend...

Stop Two:  PUPPIES!  Winter's babies are 3 weeks old and ready for visitors.  We detoured to Granville to snuggle them and see our girl.  Win was so worked up to see us-- which is nice because we are never certain she misses us, what with her love for everyone she meets.  It seemed like she could not decide whether to be a mama or a pet while we were there, and she would get up at random times to come see us, forgetting that her puppies were nursing, and not appearing to notice them dangling off her belly.  Silly girl.  The pups are just little potatoes of warmth and snuggle.  They have just opened their eyes but can't yet really use their legs, so they scootch around and burrow into each other, or Winter, or our necks when we held them.  So much cuteness!  We love them all and its a good thing we're not keeping one because how would we choose??

And now we are home and almost to the end of February somehow.  We've had a major warmup this week and have watched the snow disappear with great sadness.  We are still skiing!  And there is something to be said for not being painfully cold all the time...But the snow and conditions have reverted back to their Ohio-normal-- cornmeal mush and corduroy with a glaze of ice crystals- so we've had to adjust our technique.  Hoping for at least 2 more weeks out on the slopes...  

Photo time... 

A night out for Nat and I at the Botanical Garden.  We dressed up and made an event of it.  The Orchid Mania show was very much diminished from years past, like most things in this Covid era.  But it was still lovely and the glasshouses at night, lit and magical, were worth the price of admission alone.  (Which was free because membership is the way to go.)

Mad River....

We stayed near Indian Lake, which was charming. There were tons of little islands, all fully populated with cottages.  The smaller the island, the fewer cottages, all the way down to one cottage on one tiny island...  

The kids were so excited about the bunk beds and having a TV in their room.  They did a great job sharing a room.  Brought back memories of all those years Ivy chose to sleep on Jack's bottom bunk instead of her own room.  

Ahh, IKEA.... 

Joy and snuggles...

Look how tiny!

Not to be left out, this girl continues to enjoy being top mammal in the house.  While we were away she had care from a neighbor girl who texted us photo updates.  Here Sunny demonstrates her ability to put all of her appendages in one spot. 

And a different kind of time away...  This week brought Jack's turn to go back to school in person. He will attend two days a week (Thursdays and Fridays) with the rest of the time remote.  He's not thrilled by this development but he really needs the structure of being WITH his teachers.  Fingers crossed he can turn some of his grades and motivation around...

(He actually let Nat use product in his mane of hair... look how handsome!!)