Our Sledding Adventure

I love where we live for so many reasons. One of those reasons is the huge sled right behind our house that is SO perfect for sledding. The last three winters have been so fun because of that hill. It is one thing we will really miss when we leave this place (whenever that will be).

This afternoon I got the kids all bundled up so we could go to the store, but when we got to the car I realized Joel had the car seats in his car. Noah was pretty bummed, but when I suggested we go sledding instead his excitement returned. I've never taken Clara, but it was pretty warm today.

Here's one of the many times Noah went down. He has so much fun!

Clara and I only went down a few times. I couldn't see her face going down, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it because she didn't cry or scream (even though I do- scream, that is) and when we'd get to the bottom I'd turn her toward me and she'd have a huge smile on her face. It was so cute! The last time we went down was pretty scary, though. On one part of the hill someone has built a big jump that send its victims flying into the air (too high). Of course I avoided that area. But on our last venture down the hill because the snow is old and has been sledded on a lot, it is very slick, and we took off before I was quite ready and I couldn't control where we were headed. Unfortunately, it looked like we were headed right for that big jump and fast too. I held on tight to Clara and screamed, hoping we wouldn't hit it. Luckily, we barely missed it. Clara still seemed to enjoy it, but it ruffled me up enough that I didn't want to go down again with her.
Noah also had a close call, but not with the big, scary jump- with another sledder. He was down at the bottom, just starting to make the hike back up the hill when another sledder took off and was headed straight for him. I thought maybe she'd just miss him, but no. She ran right into him. She hit his legs, making them fly up and forcing the rest of his body to obey gravity's demands. It looked like it hurt, and I was worried he had a broken bone or two. But, to my great surprise. He stood up and was perfectly fine- he was even smiling. I kept asking him if he was sure he was alright but he kept saying he was. I guess he's tougher than I thought.

Well, even though we all almost died (Clara also fell on the cement and scraped her head), we were all smiling in the end and will probably go do it again tomorrow.