Are we having fun yet?

We got 8 to 10 more inches of snow on Friday. Luckily the snow didn't start until around 10am and the kids already had an early release day so they didn't have to take another snow day. It snowed til late Friday night and the youth basketball tournament was canceled for Sat morning. :( By Saturday afternoon the roads were mostly clear so we drove up to my parents for some sledding.

AND BOY DID WE HAVE FUN!



Here's Chase after a run-in with a thorn bush. My parents have a small stretch of woods behind a rock wall at the far end of their yard. Normally that area is off limits because there is so much poison ivy back there but I guess Chase figured since the ivy was dormant it would be fun to go try it out. We aren't quite sure if he fell or if the branch flung back in his face but he had a half inch thorn sticking out of his face just below his eye (we're thankful it didn't go IN his eye). Daniel pulled it out and patched him up.

My parents live on a big hill. Their yard slopes down from the street and just keeps going. Along one edge of their property there is a row of large pine trees that divides their yard from their neighbors. The best sledding route sort of cuts diagonally across the property from the top to the bottom. Inevitably the sleds end up under the pine trees. We have tried to emphasize that you must roll off the sled before it hits the trees. Ainsley went down a few times in the beginning but the riding was a bit slow - the sled path hadn't been worn down enough. She landed under a big pine but luckily hit feet first.

Here's Uncle Brigham:


He built a snow ramp right in the middle of the sled path. He caught some air and then the sled turned so that he was going down backwards. He was moving rather quickly and never bothered to turn and look to see how close he was to the trees. He also landed at the base of a large pine after his face took out a lower branch. His neck and back were a bit sore as well. We saw him hit the tree from the house and he laid there for quite a few minutes. We thought for sure he was faking as he normally does, but when he came in the house all bloodied we apologized for not running to the rescue.

Ainsley really liked the snow ramp too. She went down as part of a triple. She was the front, MacGregor in the middle and Daniel pulled up the rear. The snow ramp had just been repacked but unfortunately not tight enough. With the weight of the triple sledders, the top of the ramp came off in a huge hunk and landed right in Ainsley's face. Daniel said she had snow packed into her eye sockets, nose and hood. Poor thing!

Although there were injuries, in the end everyone had had fun and lots of good rides down the hill.