Dashing Through the Snow!

The day after Christmas we were still at my mom's so we did a little shopping for some after Christmas deals, and then we decided to hit the slopes!  Well, I should say slope.  On a sled, not skis.  (Those of you in Colorado are laughing!)  But really, this was the hill I used to go sledding on when I was a kid.  And it seemed big then.  And quite frankly, when you are flying down it in a sled with snow blowing in your face, it still seems ginormous (ok, I see the little red squiggly line, so that isn't a real word, but it describes how I felt about this hill!)  Especially taking my two (almost three!) year old down it.

 

Can you tell I was freaked out?? Ha!

 I hadn't been sledding is ages!  It was scary!  I couldn't get over the fact that the hill seemed just as huge as it had when I was a kid!  Either that or back then I was just fearless- Does old age make you more paranoid about things?  Ha!

Andrew had a ball.  The second we got to the bottom he'd squeal with delight and yell "AGAIN!?"  I couldn't believe he wasn't scared!  (Because I was!)

 You can tell we dressed for the occasion.  Who says jeans and tennis shoes aren't a good wardrobe for sledding?  Besides the fact that my pants were soaking wet, I'd say we did okay for not knowing we were going to be sledding!  At least we brought Andrew's snow pants.  No boots though, so we substituted for hiking boots...close enough, right?  Yeah, we left his boots at day care.

Oh, and why were my pants soaking wet (in case you are wondering), it was because when we hit full speed and I somehow couldn't figure out how to steer a sled, I thought it would be a good idea to put my feet down in the snow to try to slow us down.  You would think the first time I tried it and it didn't work, I would have learned?  Nope.  Did it every time.  I made daddy go down more.  Plus, he figured out how to steer!  Apparently you can just tilt your body the direction you want to go?  Hmmm.  I am wondering when he had time to figure that out as you're racing down the hill at 90 MPH (ok, maybe not that fast, but it sure feels like it!)

Andrew found this snowman and his attention became diverted from sledding.  He wanted to hang out with this snowman the whole night.  He kept patting it and just standing there staring at it.  I think he thought it was supposed to do something?  (Too much Frosty the Snowman this year!)

I absolutely love this picture.  For several reasons (besides the fact that Andrew is smiling so adorably cute!)

That is my dad's headstone in the background (I won't try to explain which one it is, but it's there).

When I was growing up, my dad used to take my friends and me sledding all the time to this very hill (we call it "cemetery hill" because it is right by the cemetery.  Logical.)  I have such fond memories of doing this with my dad.  All my friends loved my dad growing up.  He was a likeable guy. :)  He made everything fun for us.

So when he passed away, it seemed appropriate that we get his cemetery plot near the hill where the kids would continue to go sledding every winter.  I love the idea of him being there, surrounded by the children that he loved.  (He was an elementary teacher and principal, and loved children, instilling that same passion in me).

And now, for me to take my own son sledding there, it was almost as if his grandpa was right there with us.  In fact, I know he was.

After sledding we headed back to Ga Ga's for chicken noodle soup before we finally made the trip back home after 4 days at Ga Ga's.  We had so much fun, but we were so excited to get home and get ready for Santa with Andrew.  I'll do our final Christmas post tomorrow!  (Scroll down for the first few posts).