The resulting music themed cake.

 
Meanwhile, decorations are manufactured to a violin serenade. For those who think life at the Calabria’s is just a little strange, I have no retort.

 
Jeanine whisks the frosting for their confectionery masterpiece.

 
This evening the kitchen is filled with females for a baking project.

 
Maya has turned the dining room into a Girl Scout Cookie distribution center. She sold a total of 216 boxes utilizing an interesting marketing scheme. Kyle and Nico were recruited to dial their cell phone contacts one after another. She would ping pong between phones, completing one transaction and then switch to the next victim, rather customer, in the holding queue. Should she call you about buying cookies in the future, just say yes up front and avoid delaying the inevitable. When Maya is on the line it is not a matter of if, but rather how many.

 
Maya before school just being her cute self.

 
Jeanine and friend Kate head out across our field for an afternoon walk in the snow with our very own sled dog, Nala.

On the flight home to Boston, Nicolai captured this view out his window. It is the shadow of the plane against the clouds surrounded by a circular rainbow (probably projected from a reflection off the fuselage). The image is highly magnified accounting for the graininess. 

 
This evening I took the boys to see Rory play in the opening match of an all weekend basketball tournament. Rory helped his team to victory with several field goals including a very spectacular three-pointer.

 
Maya is very proud of the quilt she and her mother made for Rosie. All gathered round for the unveiling.

 
We had lunch in the middle of a frozen lake today. I must confess, that I was not at all comfortable with this venue. You could hear and feel the ice moving beneath your feet. Mark assured me we were safe but I was quite relieved when we reached terra firma again. Notice the little ice huts in the background. For reasons know only to Minnesotans, natives erect small houses on the frozen lakes, fish through holes in the ice and drink lots of beer. Wait, the reason has just become apparent to me.

 
Unsatisfied with the number of pictures of me with my new niece, I take this portrait in the mirror. It is one of my favorite photos from the visit.

 
Marie purchased a watch for Maya and Mark takes her through the instructions. We all took pleasure in asking Maya for the time all day long. She also mastered the stop watch function and informs me I take 3 minutes and 10 seconds to shave.

 
Is it any surprise that I start the day with another photo of Rosie.

 
Mark snaps this picture while I nibble on Sophia’s belly meat.

 
It does not take long after our return for Maya to take up with her long last pal again.

 
This morning we head back to Minneapolis. The kids say good bye to the dogs and thank Goose for a terrific experience. I will try and post some dog sledding videos when I return to Concord.

 
Because Jeanine will take Maya on her Coming of Age adventure, this trip may well have been a surrogate for the two of us. It will remain a cherished memory forever.

 
Food is carefully metered out and mixed with hot water. Too little and the dogs go hungry. Too much and … let’s just say that when travelling on the south end of a dog it is best not to over feed them.

 
In total we had a team of thirteen dogs under our care. After each run we would remove their harnesses, feed, and water them. All the kids shared equally in the work and came to understand the teamwork involved between human and canine. In these severe arctic conditions we literally trust our lives to the dogs and they to us. One of my fondest memories of these guys will be the look they give you when they need you to help with the sled. When the hill becomes too steep or the snow too deep, they all peer back over their shoulders with an expression that can only mean; Get your fat a$$ off the sled and help push.

 
Brave Maya was simply amazing today and ends the day by thanking Orion for a job well done.

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Goose was kind enough to capture me in action as I manage one of my more controlled descents. Trust me. I had more than my fair share of tree encounters. I was very sorry that Jeanine (who planned the trip) and Kyle were not here to enjoy the adventure with us. We are simply going to have to do it again.

 
Rory spent much of the day solo behind three dogs and managed to survive several tree collisions no worse for the wear. It must be understood, that the musher has little ability to stear the sled. It simply follows the dogs where ever they choose to run. Going up hill is no problem because the pace is slow and you often have to help the dogs by running along side or pushing. Down hill is where things get tricky. Any turn at the bottom of a hill is going to be a challenge. If a tree happens to be there it is likely to be painful as well. The trick is to keep tension on the gang line as you approach the turn and to use your body weight to slide the back end out at just the right moment. Easier said than done.

 
During the morning Nico pairs with Mario. At the request of the boys, Goose takes us on some of the most challenging trails through the forest. These are narrow (just wide enough for two dogs) and frequently steep with sharp turns. On one such descent, Mario is caught by a branch and thrown from the sled leaving Nico unbalanced as he approaches a turn. Unable to brake quickly enough, Nico is catapulted as the sled carves a tight turn behind the dogs. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, Nico’s leg is trapped by the sled and he is dragged behind it until he can bring the team to a halt preventing a runaway sled. Neither boy was permanently damaged but Nico did twist his back.

 
Today is even colder than yesterday. Temperatures over night dipped to minus 28F and do not get above zero all day. Maya gets her own sled led by the mighty Orion. Despite her strength, Maya must assist Orion on the hills by jumping off the sled and pushing.

 
Maya rides with me on a four dog sled and we were the only ones to finish the day without falling off or tipping over.

 
By now, the boys have become quite proficient and we are making good time.

 
After lunch, we head out on an 8 mile trek to our next lodge. The three hour journey takes us off the lake ice onto the narrow paths of the forest.

 
For lunch we are treated to a cheese souffle, cubed beets with onions, prosciutto and melon, and a carrot salad.

 
It didn’t take too long for everyone to get the hang of it and we spent about two hours covering five miles on very flat and open terrain. Here Nicolai and Rory (ducking down to avoid the wind) have a four dog team and Mario rides solo with a two dog team.

 
Our guide, David Gossman (aka Goose), leads the way on cross-country skis. As he sets out, we are to remain braked until he is 100 yards ahead. The dogs, who live to pull, are going totally crazy in anticipation of the departure. Rory and Nicolai are unable to hold their team back and are thrown off the sled as they rapidly accelerate (to roughly 20mph in the first few seconds). This condition is called Loose Sled. Without a musher, the dogs will happily run all day long and return to home base only when they get hungry. Obviously, this is something you would like to avoid. Fortunately, Goose was able to catch the sled as the dogs ran past him. The other thing you would really like to avoid is passing the sled in front of you (which the dogs are all too eager to do). When they come even, it seems, they feel compelled to attack each other to see which team is the king of the hill. This only happened once or twice before we all learned our lesson.