The four of us ventured out both Saturday and Sunday to the ski hill. We used our free Mount Du Lac ski passes on Saturday. The weather was perfect, ski conditions were ideal and the hill was not crowded. We spent about four hours skiing (and snacking – the kids got hungry). Mike spent most of his time working with Sophia, but did have a chance to go down the black diamond hill with Sebastian a few times. Mike was preparing for his ski trip with his Dad and brother next month, while Sebastian was practicing for the Chester Bowl ski races the next day. Sebastian also worked with me practicing his race moves. He gave me a (big) head start. He beat me most of the time despite the lead.
We were lucky enough to run into friends that were also skiing with their kids. They took this snapshot of us at the top of the hill. Thanks Kim & Kyle!
Mount Du Lac
All of the skiing Saturday paid off for the kids. Both Sebastian and Sophia had their best times yet at the ski races on Sunday. Sebastian finished 3rd in his division, only 1/100th of second behind the 2nd place winner. Sophia shaved off several seconds from her previous races. Way to go!!
Trophies
I took short video clips of the kids during the races and uploaded them to our Flickr site. Just click on their names to open the Flickr video page.
We have had beautiful weather this week. Sunny and highs in the 30’s – great for northern Minnesota in February. The kids have been off from school all week and have come home from daycare soaked after playing outside all day. I think Daphne is getting spring fever with the rest of us. I couldn’t help but take her for a long walk during my lunch hour yesterday. Now that the snow has almost cleared from the streets, she was able to take a walk without her dog booties. Yeah, our dog not only wears a coat when it’s cold outside, she has sensitive paws and needs dog booties to walk/run in the snow. Part of the problem is the salt that is put on our streets during the winter. We found booties for her that work great and are also inexpensive from a local company – doogbooties.com. If those tough dogs in the Iditarod can wear them, our sensitive Boxer can wear them too.
Daphne
Daphne
After we returned from our walk, she rested near our front window and soaked up the sun’s warm rays.
I made Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert on Valentine’s Day. I found the recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website earlier in the week. I told Mike and the kids that I had a fabulous dessert planned for our “family” Valentine’s dinner. It was going to be a surprise. I hyped this mystery dessert so much that I was afraid it might not be nearly as good as I had promised. No worries – it was beyond amazing. I did have to stop myself from thinking about the amount of calories and fat that we all consumed though. I probably should make this dessert only once a year…or maybe twice. 🙂
Chocolate Lava CakeDig In!
Just in case you feel the need for a rich chocolate dessert recipe, here it is…
Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
4 pieces (squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate
½ cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is also melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour. Divide between cups. Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand 1 minute. Combine sugar and heavy cream and whip until stiff. Invert cakes on dishes and top with whipped cream.
**I didn’t use the amount of whipping cream the recipe called for. It seemed like way too much. I used only about 1/2 cup and added a small amount of sugar and vanilla after I whipped it. I would serve the whipped cream off to the side next time so that it doesn’t melt from the heat of the lava cake. I used sliced fresh strawberries for garnish. The tartness of the berries along with the richness of the chocolate and delicate flavor of the whipped cream made for a perfect trio.
M. Sullivan Photography 