My Little Dumplins

I was awake and out of bed around 730am then quickly downstairs to start coffee. The sun was just creeping up over the tree tops on what looked like another cold morning. But I was still surprised when I learned that it was only 13 degrees – far colder than I assumed, especially since it was supposed to bust through the freezing barrier by afternoon. I enjoyed coffee and internet for about an hour before taking Mindy coffee then heading out for a run. Our plan was to head up to MRM, and the earlier the better.

Landon & Rocky were up shortly after me. I made them both a coffee, chocolate milk drink. Lindsey was supposed to come over to work on her laundry. Mindy sent her text letting her know that we’d be leaving as soon as she showed up.

Was back from a run before 10am. Mindy was up and had already started to gather our gear and prep snacks. She opted to leave the kids sleep as long as possible, though she woke Bella & Makayla far earlier than Jacob citing the fact that Jacob can be ready in five minutes. True!

The boys wanted omelets. I made eggs for them, Mindy and myself. Landon had two. I took a shower then dressed in my ski base layer. By then it was 1045am. Mindy woke Jacob and had him ready for skiing. Everybody else was pretty much ready. Mindy came downstairs and shared that Jacob wanted a bacon and cheese omelet too. What? He should’ve gotten up with everybody else! I went ahead and made him one. While I did that, Mindy loaded our gear into the Pilot.

Lindsey still wasn’t there. Dang it! Let’s go! We didn’t have any time constraints other than it being a work night, so we didn’t feel rushed. Let me rephrase that. She didn’t feel rushed. I always feel in somewhat of a rush. :) Jacob and I headed to the Pilot after Mindy shared that Lindsey was on her way. It was after 1130am by the time we were finally on the road.

We made decent time heading up to MRM. By noon, the temperature was hovering around 28 degrees. We left our skis and boots in the car all weekend since we knew we were coming back up. I was a little worried that my boots might’ve shrunk but that wasn’t the case. They fit just like any other day. And while the parking lot was fuller than Friday night, thankfully, the initial lift lines were far shorter.

The surface was packed powder. Not bad, but nothing close to the loose powder we were fortunate enough to ski Friday night. At the top of Four Star we found our peeps: Bob & Tina, and then Bob I. out with the son of an old friend, Jake. A bit later we met up with Scott & Zach. Our kids skied off to the mini terrain park. Scott’s son Zach, and Bob & Tina’s son Cameron were doing jumps off the big air ramp. Holy smoke!

We did several turns before considering a break. I had a pocket beer and enjoyed that early on. Scott brought some black cherry nip that was quite tasty. Mindy and I headed inside around 3pm for a break. We each got a bowl of their yummy chicken & dumplings and then bloody Mary’s from the bar. After drinking about a 1/3 of my drink I had Mindy add some of our own vodka. We took about an hour break.

Hooked up with the kids just before heading out again. Learned that Bob & Tina’s oldest son, Trevor fell backwards while catching big air and cracked his helmet. Yikes! After a handful of runs Jacob and I headed to the Pilot to get our clear goggles after clouds moved in and the daylight dimmed. I grabbed another pocket beer too. Bob & Scott had pocket beers too. We shared those over the next hour. The snow, meanwhile, went from packed powder to hard pack over the afternoon. By then the conditions were better suited for my AC30s, but I didn’t bring em. Stayed on my Mantras.

Around 530pm Mindy declared it her last run. I was a little surprised given the hour but didn’t question it. She developed a cough during the overnight and said she was feeling sleepy. Thought she might be getting sick. Uh oh! I watched her last run. She skied with perhaps the best form ever. Seems to like her new Auras.

I skied four or five more runs with the boys. Appeared as though Bob I. was feeling no pain as the day wound down. For that matter, all three of us were feeling fine! Scott showed us the weather radar on his smart phone. A storm was in western Ohio and quickly coming our way. They were predicting icy sleet but then eventually turning to all rain over night. Officially moving out of the freezer we’ve been in since last Sunday. Expecting highs in the low 60s Tuesday & Wednesday before slipping back into the freezer later in the week.

Mindy sent a text about 20 minutes earlier asking how much longer. I knew she wanted to leave. I did one last run with Scott & Bob then headed into the loft. Mindy was sitting there with both kids. We quickly headed for the Pilot. Mindy reluctantly agreed to drive. She wasn’t feeling that great due to her cough/cold, but I wasn’t in any condition to be driving from the beers. I’m thinking that it was about 615pm when we headed for home.

Once at home, everybody helped unload the Pilot. Carried in all our gear. Mindy went right for the shower and then some hot tea. Seemingly out of nowhere she was sounding awful. Mindy & Jacob headed to bed well before 9pm. Bella and I stayed up a bit later, but all of us were in bed by 930pm.