Sledding
Nick, Anna, and I went sledding Monday night. Conditions were outstanding - the snow was hard packed and very cold, so the hill was very, very fast.
Here's a picture of our favorite local hill:
You can barely make out in this picture that the sledding paths worn into the hill extend far out into the field at the bottom. The first time I went down the hill, on a saucer, I couldn't get over how fast I was going. I ended up about 100 yards out into the field at the bottom of the hill. Same thing for Nick and Anna. If you got up a good head of speed on the way down, you just kept coasting forever.
This was the first time we've gone out to a big hill and had Anna going down all by herself. Here she is on the saucer... not sure if she was closing her eyes for the ride or because of the flash:
Nick, meanwhile, had brought along a snowboard:
Occasionally he wiped out:
Here I am, bundled up for the cold and wind:
Our last run of the night, all three of us got on the saucer together. There are no pictures of this event. However, I will not soon forget the sensation of holding the kids in my lap, rocketing down the hill as the saucer rotated backwards, and leaning uphill to keep us from tipping over and wiping out. It was touch and go. If we had crashed on that ride I don't think Anna would have ever gone sledding again. With the weight of all three of us, our momentum carried us incredibly far into the field. It was a breathtaking ride.
Nick and Anna were none the worse for wear afterward:
Here's a picture of our favorite local hill:
You can barely make out in this picture that the sledding paths worn into the hill extend far out into the field at the bottom. The first time I went down the hill, on a saucer, I couldn't get over how fast I was going. I ended up about 100 yards out into the field at the bottom of the hill. Same thing for Nick and Anna. If you got up a good head of speed on the way down, you just kept coasting forever.
This was the first time we've gone out to a big hill and had Anna going down all by herself. Here she is on the saucer... not sure if she was closing her eyes for the ride or because of the flash:
Nick, meanwhile, had brought along a snowboard:
Occasionally he wiped out:
Here I am, bundled up for the cold and wind:
Our last run of the night, all three of us got on the saucer together. There are no pictures of this event. However, I will not soon forget the sensation of holding the kids in my lap, rocketing down the hill as the saucer rotated backwards, and leaning uphill to keep us from tipping over and wiping out. It was touch and go. If we had crashed on that ride I don't think Anna would have ever gone sledding again. With the weight of all three of us, our momentum carried us incredibly far into the field. It was a breathtaking ride.
Nick and Anna were none the worse for wear afterward:
