Yesterday Tage and his classmates participated Lilla Vasaloppet–or “Little Vasa Ski Race”–an 800-meter cross-country ski event staged in honor of the annual Swedish ski marathon, Vasaloppet.  Our boy looked pretty comfortable on his skis, especially given that it was only his third outing on them (and the first was just five minutes in our front yard).

Like most of the rest of the parents, Olof and I went up to the sports field to watch the skiers in action.  There was no real “spectator area,” so we all just milled around, trying not to sink too deeply into the loosely packed snow and peering over each others’ shoulders in an effort to make out our own little darlings from a couple of hundred meters’ distance.  Brynja had little trouble seeing over the crowd, but I don’t think she knew what to make of all the fuss. After making two laps around the course, each kid was given a glass of saft (the Swedish answer to Kool-Aid) and a gold medal.  Tage was so taken with his bling that he wore it for the rest of the day, and again to school this morning. We got home just after lunchtime, and a treat was absolutely in order.  It being Fat Tuesday, only semlor would do, so I whipped up a batch of my famous–some might say “infamous”–chocolate-coffee delights.  I made a dozen, and the kids all turned their noses up at them, so Olof had to eat the lot ourselves.  Too bad.