Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
If the success of a weekend can be measured by the number of times that you scream as you go hurtling down a hillside with snow flying in your face, WE WIN. We spent essentially the entire weekend taking turns crawling into a cheap plastic sled and throwing ourselves down a hill.
A big hill.
It started out all wrong. On Saturday we stopped at the big hill with the idea that we would just give it a shot. Once. We just wanted to see if the short person in our lives would enjoy the thrill of flying much faster than she can on our little "hill" in our back yard.
Uh, if screaming and crying and yelling, "The kids threw snow in my face!" is disliking real sledding, then Alexis hated it. HATED IT. I spent half the evening fussing at her about lying (the kids did not throw snow in her face--the sled did) and the other half studying what she was saying when words weren't actually coming out of her mouth.
I had a hunch that she actually maybe liked it.
So, Sunday we loaded up and headed to the hill again. When Alexis was quick to start pulling her sled up the hill, I became more confident that I had read her right.
And then she came back down the hill with Mr. Husband.
That's not her I'm Having the Best Time Ever Face.
But that is. It seems she just needed a second to think about it.
The trick for the little nutjob is that she has to face backwards. She doesn't like when snow flies in her face, but she sure does think it's hilarious when her weight ends up distributed unevenly and she makes you go spinning like a top.
I don't think the pictures really show just how big and just how steep that hill is, but that's us flying backwards down that hill at crazy high speeds, just before we nearly crashed into about a dozen people. Apparently the eyes in the back of my head are only good for detecting Alexis shenanigans. Fortunately, the kids we nearly crashed into have enough of a survival instinct that they moved out of the way.
Up and down we went, over and over and over. The only reason we managed to drag the kid away from her new favorite hobby was that she ended up needing to go to the bathroom.
Later Sunday night, I turned on the news to see if there's a chance that the snow will still be there next weekend. We NEED to do a ton more sledding. Of course, I turned the TV on just in time to see a story about the dozen or so kids who wound up in the emergency room after sledding accidents. I'm not sure what the universe is trying to tell me with that crazy coincidence, but I think I'll ignore it.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Reader Comments (22)
That looks like so much fun. I have been dying to go sledding (we certainly have enough snow) but we've been too sick. As soon as we get better I am hitting the golf course with my plastic sled.
Cute pics and that is a big hill!
i am jealous of all the snow... we're in the south, so when we get 1 inch of snow, it's a BIG deal. Love the pictures. ~Brandy
Judging from the first picture, that's quite a healthy hill. All I can think of is "What a long walk UP!" I think I'd want a tow rope or something...
LOVE That last shot of her! AWESOME!!!
Dude that hill is awesome.
We have the snow. Now we just need a hill. That looks like so much fun! I'm glad she enjoyed it.
Love the hill. Totally understand not wanting snow in the face...duh!
You could get her a snow helmet and little goggles and it would help with both the safety factor & snow in her face.
well, unless she doesn't like goggles.
Totally awesome! We planned on doing that this weekend, but a leaky roof waylaid our plans. We hope to get out there this weekend, though, provided we still have snow!
LOL love the photo of her first ride :)
Glad she ended up loving it
I just can't get over how adorable she looks in that snow suit!
Awesome Sled hill! Looks uber popular, and I'm glad Alexis enjoyed her first rite of being a big girl in winter time. How fun! I think I would have freaked out a little sledding backwards, just because of the "unknown" but obviously your super cool like that. :)
Yay for sledding! I can't wait until next year, when I can go!!
So fun and great pics as usual! I bet she slept well those nights after sledding too!
That. Hill. Is. Awesome.
'Nuff said.
The first time we took our son sledding down a "real hill" with him in our laps (at 2½, I think), I actually called the pediatrician to ask if he should wear a helmet. For real. They said no, but not to go where there are trees near the hill.
Case in point - A boy from about an hour away from here LOST HIS LIFE New Years weekend when he sledded into a tree. So unfair. Trees should somehow sprout bubble wrap when 8 year old boys accidentally sled too close to them.
Way to go, Alexis! Enjoy the thrill and make your parents proud!
(I have nevered liked to go really fast or on really steep hills. I'm always impressed with kids who love it.)
This reminds me of all of the times I went sledding as a kid- my dad had a knack for finding the fastest, longest hill in the area. We'd spend hours there. I miss that.Judging from that last photo, I bet Alexis will have some great memories!
As for the injuries- ANY physical activity has a risk.
I have never sledded down a hill. What do you think of that? With the lack of snow and the fact that I grew up where the land was as flat as a table top for hundreds of miles, I had no chance. Now we have hills, but no snow. I am jealous of Alexis and you and hubby and the kids you about ran over.
We did pull the sled behind 4-wheelers though. That was fun.
They are probably the kids who didn't get out of the way. Silly wabbits.
Boyce Park has good hills, and I think they take you back up the hill. That would be the part that kills me.
Could you just tell me how you made her keep her gloves on, or is that a problem only I have?
That looks awesome!! I was stuck with the cold and the 1/16" of snow these southerners freaked out over and canceled school for 2 days over - I wanna go sledding! LOL
Dude. That IS a big hill! I am so glad she warmed up to sledding and that she had such a good time.