Sledding on the solstice

We got a phenomenal amount of snow the weekend before Christmas. The official total at the Philly airport was 23.2" (59cm), which put this storm in the all-time Top 10 for the city. It's unusual for us to get that much snow so early in the season, since we're fairly close to the ocean and the water is usually too warm in December to support snow as opposed to rain. Everything broke right, though, and we got properly walloped.

After the usual routine of shoveling and snowblowing, we had a holiday week and a winter wonderland at our disposal. Perfect timing!

And we lucked out in one other respect - the kids and I had gone together and bought Chelsea a toboggan for Christmas. We deliberated a little over whether to give it to her early, and then decided there was no other choice.

So late in the day on the solstice, we set out to try that new toboggan and to sled till we couldn't sled no more. The kids all brought along friends, so we had to take two cars out to the hill:



Including my three, the group came to seven kids in total. Evidently we feel some kind of pressure to win a Coolest Parents Ever award.

Chelsea let me carry the toboggan out to the hill. I was bundled up like an Apollo astronaut, because it was pretty darned chilly out there:



The toboggan was a huge hit. Chelsea, Anna, and a friend went first:



It was all smiles around after the maiden voyage:





My turn came next:



Meanwhile, Nick and his friend were hitting the hill with saucers and perfecting their running starts:





They got a turn on the toboggan soon enough...



...as did Maria and her entourage:



Nick and his wingman looked well pleased with the sledding conditions:



And Maria was happy too:



It's worth mentioning that the toboggan is wicked fast. Chelsea got a nice shot of me and Anna making a run:



You'll notice that we both look a little stunned afterward:



That's how it went all afternoon and into the early evening. The kids took turns, and in between toboggan runs, made "sled trains" with the fleet of saucers and other rides that we had brought with us. Chelsea and I even got a couple chances to ride, just the two of us, and that was great fun.

So far we haven't had another snow to rival that one before Christmas. And the weather warmed up and got rainy for a couple days after Christmas, which was enough to wipe out the snowpack on the ground. Right now it's actually a little too cold for us to get a good snowstorm. But February and (sigh) March are still in front of us, and we expect to get a few more opportunities for whooping, streaking rides on the toboggan made of greased lightning.