Sledding at long last!

It's amazing how time rolls back to childhood for me when someone mentions sledding. This morning I found myself showered and cleaning up my house in my thermals, hat, and goggles in anticipation. Last year I was unable to participate in most winter activities due to my huge belly and my inability to keep anything down... it also didn't help that we lived in Las Vegas. I was sad about having to miss some winter activities but utterly depressed to miss a whole season of sledding. After returning from Christmas in Sac town on Tuesday the forecast called for snow all week, clearing up just in time for the weekend... PERFECT!!! I sent out an email to family and friends inviting them to join us on our favorite sledding hill. The snow kept falling and I became more and more giddy with the anticipation.

Finally the day arrived and preparations were started. Winter gear was retrieved from storage. Sleds were gathered from the garage. Layers were layered. At 11:30 everyone started arriving and we hopped in cars and headed out. The first run took a long time as everyone geared up and tried getting used to the hill. Half way down my 3 year old niece Gwyna said, "That's it, I'm finished!" Then she proceeded to walk down the hill. She got to the last hill, which was quite steep, and turned around and started walking back up in the direction we had been dropped off. Finally my niece Jayci said she would walk down with her. At that point my other niece Alyson decided she would like to walk down as well. Everyone else went speeding down the hill at speeds quite possibly off the radar. Sophia ending up riding down the last hill with me since Jayci had been her ride previously. She started out in front but started crying when the snow spray made it hard to even breathe. We crashed half way down and she cried while standing in the middle of the hill, refusing to get back on the sled. I kept sliding down the hill, trying to stop myself while yelling at her to hurry up and get back on the sled before someone ran her over. I had her sit on the back this time and she enjoyed the last half of the hill a lot more. Sister-in-law Katie was nicknamed the bullet because she went from dead stop to 600 miles per hour in half a second. Katie ended her first run by plowing down niece Maddie... both got up smiling. As we hiked out to our cars Kevin ended up in the river about six times, he was the only one who didn't have good foot protection.

The second run I was a driver so Michael will have to tell that story. The second run was similar to the first, except that Gwyn and Alyson decided that they no longer wanted to take on the hill. They stayed at the bottom with the cameras and Marne. This time, Sophie and Emma again did not have the best of times, as they ended up with snow in the face, a mitten that came off, and over all cold and crying. But somehow they ended up kind of enjoying it. When we crossed the little stream at the bottom they did not want to move and climb by themselves so they ended up getting hauled up the other side and we all finally made it to the cars where the adults decided it was one last run -- just them.

The third run was just for the adults. It could have been titled The Fast and the Furious. Then we headed back to our house to enjoy some pizza and hot chocolate. It was a blast and hopefully everyone is recovering. Thanks to everyone who came, we will have to do it again soon. Maybe Jayci can even get some new boots that aren't 3 sizes too small... but Katie I wouldn't do anything with that awesome hat of yours.

Sad story - This was also Jonathan's 9 month birthday. It was going to be his first time sledding (not down the big hill, just at the bottom) but he had to stay home because he was sick. Thanks grandma for taking care of him so Michael and I could go sledding.