Monday, December 31, 2007

This is the Hill...

After driving around with caffeine-drunk navigators for an hour or two Sunday afternoon, our caravan (5 cars long) finally made it to the big sledding hill in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Here's one happy sledder:

Theresa in her Christmas present jester hat that made William (2) laugh hysterically the minute she put it on her head.

And another happy sledder:

Cathy, "I'm just resting for a minute" in her new jester hat.

And some more of them:

L-R ~ Kevvy, Dominic, Jon's hand, Grandpa, Michelle and Paul discussing strategy.

And the tandem sled run:

Front to back ~ Kevvy, Michelle, Joh, Dominic, my brother Dave and Paul.

And, it was a cooooooold, windy day, folks, let me tell you!

Which leads me to add a word of advice to any potential sledding partiers... In fact, I'll add it to my list of "100 Things We learned the Hard Way" And here it is:

51. Never!

52. Never!

53. Never!

54. Never!

55. Never!

56. Never!

57. Never!

58. Never!

59. Never!

60. I repeat: NEVER take children under 5 years of age up on the side of a windy, cold mountain and expect them or anyone else around them to enjoy an afternoon sledding!

And here's why...

By the time we:

  1. got the children out of their carseats
  2. into their hats, gloves, scarves and snowpants
  3. up the hill
  4. and tried to get them to like the idea of sitting with us on the sleds
  5. and flying down the hillside...

Well, let us just say, um, our two little boys (ages 2 and 3) were not happy...

But, as soon as Mama

  1. took them home to their nice, cozy, warm, familiar house,
  2. turned on Goofy,
  3. got them snacks
  4. put on a vat of campfire stew and a pot of hot apple cider for the returning crowd...

everyone, everywhere was happier.

Did you feel a lessening in the static of the atmosphere of the earth yesterday afternoon about 4:30 pm mountain time?? Now you would know why that was.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks like great fun! Unfortunately, where I live, Mr. Heat Miser reigns supreme. And you thought that a 2 and 3 year old would enjoy the event because...? ;-)

Maria said...

Hi, I just found your blog and really enjoyed it! I will definately visit again! It must be so fun having such a large family. I have 4 kids but would love to have more. How do you have time to blog?

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Gee, I guess I never thought much about the "fun" one can have trying to convince a 4 year old that the hill isn't as steep as he thinks it is. We didn't ever have steep hills like that where we live in Indiana. Yep, great idea. Take them home where it is toasty warm and secure. Great advise...

Joannof10 said...

It sounds like you "almost" had a great day! I stopped taking little kids sledding--except for in the back yard--years ago!

Lisa said...

Yeah, Raulito, GrandmaK and Joanne, it's true... I really did know better. My husband says to blame it on blunt head trauma. -gg- It's actually that Mama really, really, really wanted to go, doggone it! Well, I did get to sled down one time before I took the Littles home, anyway!

Maria, it really can be lots of fun with the whole gang! How I have time to blog is a post I'll have to write!

Shosannah said...

Well as 3 quarters of my gang are still under five I'll be taking your advice:0)
That is if we ever get any snow here this year!

Maria (also Bia) said...

Wow! That looked like a lot of fun...but after a few runs down the hill I probably would have been like your little ones and been much happier inside a warm, cozy home with stew and cider (I'm just not made for cold weather!)

God bless, and felice anno nuovo (happy new year!).

Bgenie30 said...

I remember y-e-a-r-s ago in Staten Island, NY, sledding down any hill that got in my way. It was almost always a whole bunch of kids, a few who didn't have sleds. We had a ball, along with red cheeks, noses, and anything else that showed. Mom-Mom always had hot chocolate or something good for us when we got home. Our favorite spot was a hill inside the gates and in front of a monastery. That was the only time they let us in there, when there was a big snow. That was absolutely the best place with the longest hill and several levels. Your Mama remembers, maybe. She was pretty little then though, so maybe not.....
Bgenie30

Lisa said...

ABJ! I wonder if that's the hill she went down the time she ran into the pole? She still remembers that for sure! &:o) I had forgotten you'd lived in NY, but that's where Mom was born, isn't it?