Julie and I made the most of this uniquely long spring skiing season in Big Sky which continued into the spring. It would seem like the snow must surely melt away, only to be replenished like a just-in-time inventory system for skiers.
We had scheduled a short break in Pennsylvania to attend Emma's Synchro Ice Skating competition in Hershey.
Emma and her team put on one of their finest shows, taking home third place medals.
Before that triumph, Julie, Gina and I had some unexpected drama en route, when a young woman on the lam from an assault warrant in Mississippi rammed a truck so hard that it was rammed into our Escape's tailgate.
With flights booked to return home to Big Sky early the next morning, we decided to carry on to the skating show and leave the auto repair until April.
It turned out the wild racer had no insurance --- isn't that the way it always seems to go? --- so while technically she was responsible for our $500 deductible, we wrote that off.
A pleasant highlight of our short trip to Philly was attending "Groucho: A Life In Review" at the historic Walnut Street Theatre. It was founded in 1808, making it the oldest theatre in America. In the play, it specifically mentions the Marx Brothers performing there back in the 1920s.
As someone who watched Marx Brothers movies at the Old Time Movie Theater in Buena Park back when I was in college, I recognized many of the jokes, as did Laszlo, who treated me to the show. He had watched several of their flicks on video over the last few years.
The backstory behind the different phases of Groucho's life as portrayed by Frank Ferrante made for a good plot. I was most moved by the relationship between the parsimonious Groucho and his spendthrift brother Chico, which resulted in some interesting twists.
Gina and Julie got together to watch a movie while the boys were at the play. Gina has been busy in her post as Interim Dean, but she and Laszlo made time to visit often.
We returned to Big Sky to find a big dump of fresh snow had revitalized slopes, a repeating theme.
After a few more weeks skiing at Big Sky Resort, family began arriving there, with Darlene, Brooks and BG3 arriving at their home nearby and inviting us up for happy hours and delicious meals.
Amy and Lukas flew in from Jersey City for a week, and spring conditions with blue skies and sunshine was perfect for them.
We all skied at the YC, where each day the snow presented varying conditions.
After a quick week, Amy and Lukas returned home.
It wasn't long before Jay, Sasha, Owen and Jojo arrived for a week of their own. Their plan to drive was snuffed by an unexpected problem caused by a $50 part in their Range Rover, but rather than backing out they booked flights and arrived a day early.
We stopped at favorite barbecue restaurant 3 Bar in Belgrade on he way from he airport, walking over to a nearby park for owen to swing and play a big xylophone while we waited for Jay's take-away meal. We had great BBQ at River House Grille, and drinks one night at both the Wilson and Tips Up.
Jay and Sasha got lots of new powder on the slopes, which is exactly what they wanted.
Julie and Darlene kept Owen happy, including trips to a kids' area at YC called 20 Below, so his mommy and daddy could enjoy the slopes. Even Grampa helped out sometimes.
Jay and Sasha watch most Lakers games, and at 20 Below, Owen found it belly-laugh funny to see Grampa dribbling the basketball and clapped happily when I made shots. He also loved playing soccer with Nana.
We enjoyed a wonderful visit, and of course Owen was the star of the show wherever he went.
For Easter, we dyed eggs, which Owen truly loved.
Owen also enjoyed riding an innertube down a short slope with his parents.
We are blessed to have such wonderful family and be able to spend as much time with them as we do.
