Spring - are you here?

Dansk (english below):

Siden sidste blog-indlæg har foråret (igen) besøgt Minnesota. I sidste weekenden havde vi et par dage med 16 graders varme og det medførte ikke bare at sneen (endelig) smeltede (igen) men også at flere ”indfødte” trak i short og endda enkelte som begik sig ud på en løbetur i bar mave! - Og jeg som troede, at danskere var Vikinger!! Holder det så ved denne gang.. altså det varme vejr, det håber de fleste af os i familie på, egentlig ikke fordi vi som sådan er trætte af sneen, men når man nærmest ikke har set græs siden sidst i november, så tænker jeg at billedet af ”køer på græs” til økodag ikke er skudt helt ved siden af i forhold til hvordan vi har det. Kigger vi mod vejrudsigten, så er det dog ikke alt for opløftende, de lover sne og -15 grader igen til weekenden. Dette er dog helt normalt for årstiden her i Minnesota, har vi fået at vide, man har endda et begreb for det ”Fake Spring”. Altså bedst som man tror at foråret er kommet, så rammer en ny snestorm igen og vinterjakken, huen og handskerne skal atter findes frem. Vi må se hvor ”galt” det går denne gang.

Mens der endnu var sne, var vi så ”heldige” at komme på ski en ekstra gang. Jeg bruger anførselstegn, da dagen ikke sluttede som vi havde håbet. Nå, men vejret var skønt, lidt under frysepunktet og høj sol fra morgenstunden af - ligesom sidste gang vi var der. Vi kom hurtigt igennem skilejen og så ellers bare ud på løjperne. Det tog ikke mange ture før vi alle følte os godt tilpas på skiene igen, så inden frokosten fik vi taget mange gode ture. Stemningen var høj og over frokosten gik snakken på, om vi skulle prøve mere krævende ruter inden dagen var omme. Vi kunne mærke at alle drengene nød det og syntes det var sjovt at være tilbage. Det var så lige indtil Silas styrtede og brækkede kravebenet! Vi kørte alle på samme løjpe - Mary og Liam forrest med Silas lige i hælene, Benjamin og jeg en smule bagved. Jeg havde mistet synet af dem alle fire rundt i et sving, men da jeg fik øje på Silas liggende i sneen kunne jeg hurtigt fornemme, at der var noget ret alvorligt på spil. Flinke mennesker fra ”Snow Patrol” fik ham hurtig logeret på en briks hvor han kunne få lidt is på osv. Men der var ingen tvivl om, at dagens sidste tur var taget for hans vedkommende. Så da han havde sundet sig lidt, og Mary, Liam og Benjamin havde fået taget et par sidste ture, så var det ellers på skadestuen, hvor røntgenbillederne tydeligt viste et brud på kravebenet (samme som han brækkede for 8 år siden). Det kom selvsagt ikke som nogen stor overraskelse, så Silas var nærmest bare lettet over beskeden om, at den ”bare” skulle hele selv og at der ikke var behov for en operation. Nu er der så ved at være gået 2½ uge siden og Silas har taget det flot, men han er også meget udfordret af de begrænsninger slyngen, og det at skulle holde armen i ro, giver. Ingen boldspil med vennerne efter skole, ingen fodboldtræning, ingen trommer til ”Youth Group” og ingen vilde rutsjebaner når vi om lidt skal til Florida! Meldingen er at han forhåbentlig kan få slyngen af inden længe og så måske fodbold mv. igen om ca. 3-4 uger. Han skal til tjek om ca. 1½ uge, hvor vi får svar på hvordan det heler og hvad fremtidsudsigterne er.      

Here we go again.. we are so ready for a fun time!

When everything was still awesome!!!

In good hands with the "Snow Patrol" at Powder Ridge

you don't need a doctors degree to diagnose

Ja, det var noget af en oplevelse - en af dem vi sagtens kunne have været foruden. Men vi nyder heldigvis stadig hinanden og livet generelt - med eller uden begrænsninger. Her er lidt flere billeder som dokumentation:

Liam at his friend Asher's house

Benjamin at a Birthday "Escape room" party

Global Market w. Cusins Emmy and Becca

Global Market w. Cusins Emmy and Becca

LEGO Masters competition

Sim. golf as we wait for "real" season to begin

First home game of the Season - Benjamins Birthday gift

Bike ride to the library in town

A lot of darts is being played

English (AI translated):

Since the last blog post, spring has (once again) visited Minnesota. Last weekend, we had a few days in the low 60s, which didn’t just mean the snow (finally) melted (again), but also that several "natives" threw on shorts—and a few even ventured out for a run shirtless! And I thought Danes were Vikings!!

Will it last this time? Most of us in the family hope so—not because we are tired of the snow as such, but when you haven’t seen grass since late November, I think the image of "cows being released to pasture" isn't far off from how we’re feeling. Looking at the forecast, however, it’s not too encouraging; they’re promising snow and around 5 to 10°F again for the weekend. We’ve been told this is perfectly normal for the season here in Minnesota; they even have a term for it: "Fake Spring." Just when you think spring has arrived, a new snowstorm hits, and the winter jacket, hat, and gloves have to be dug out once more. We’ll have to see how "bad" it gets this time.

While there was still snow, we were "lucky" enough to go skiing one extra time. I use quotation marks because the day didn’t end the way we had hoped. Anyway, the weather was lovely—slightly below freezing with bright sunshine from the morning on, just like the last time we were there. We got through the ski rentals quickly and headed out onto the slopes. It didn’t take many runs before we all felt comfortable on our skis again, so we managed many good runs before lunch. The mood was high, and over lunch, we talked about whether we should try some more demanding routes before the day was over. We could tell all the boys were enjoying it and thought it was fun to be back. That was right until Silas crashed and broke his collarbone! We were all skiing the same run—Mary and Liam in front with Silas right on their heels, and Benjamin and I slightly behind. I had lost sight of all four of them around a bend, but when I spotted Silas lying in the snow, I could sense immediately that something quite serious was wrong. Kind people from the "Snow Patrol" quickly got him settled on a cot where he could get some ice, etc. But there was no doubt that his last run of the day had been taken. Once he had recovered a bit, and Mary, Liam, and Benjamin had taken a few final runs, we headed to the emergency room. The X-rays clearly showed a fracture in the collarbone (the same one he broke 8 years ago).

Obviously, it didn't come as a big surprise, so Silas was almost just relieved by the news that it would "simply" heal on its own and that surgery wasn't necessary. Now, about two and a half weeks have passed, and Silas has handled it well, but he is also very challenged by the limitations the sling and the need to keep his arm still provide. No ball games with friends after school, no soccer practice, no drums for "Youth Group," and no wild rollercoasters when we head to Florida soon! The word is that he can hopefully take the sling off before long, and then perhaps soccer etc. again in about 3–4 weeks. He has a check-up in about a week and a half, where we’ll get answers on how it’s healing and what the outlook is.

Yes, that was quite an experience—one of those we could have easily done without. But fortunately, we are still enjoying each other and life in general—with or without limitations.