Sunday, November 19, 2006
Grass is not slippery.
The adventures in the snow continue as we now have a good 6 inches of hard packed snow around. Or at least we did before this latest warm spell.
We have been out to the sledding hill at the local school a few times and have had quite a blast. The hill is as big as a kid like Abby would enjoy without being scared of the speed and thrill of if all. There is no chair lift or tow line so the only means of ascent is little kid feet or the joy of Dad whipping the sled to the top in high wheelie style.
I recall the sledding hill outside our backdoor in Cranbrook. It was enormous, with numerous little tracks with jumps, bumps, whoopdy doos and flats. You could get speed, air or simply a sore rearend. We had this antique wooden sled with two thin metal runners and a wooden handle that ran across the front. We'd lie down on the wooden slats and get a big push and go so fast down the hill our eyes would have icicles hanging off them at the bottom. If you pushed on one side of the handle and pulled on the other the sled would make a sweeping turn and jump out of the track and into another tossing the rider into the hard packed snow. There wasn't much that was more fun than that. Of course there was the time when my brother and a friend of his decided that they could get more speed and have more fun if they got a large inner tube, stood it on its side, sat in it and had the other guy roll them down the hill. The results of this are so gruesome that I have blocked it from my memory. No one died or was sent to the hospital but it was a not a great idea.
Back to the local sledding hill. I get great joy from watching Abby Zoom down this slope at speeds she finds exhilarating. On the first few runs of each day when she reaches the bottom she raises both hands in the air and pumps her fists in triumph. Its quite a sight. Then after she makes a few speed runs it is time to test the turning capability of the sled and she has a blast trying to turn herself back uphill. Once she has that down, its time to get snowy and crashtime is the next game. If she doesn't crash on the way down that sled just seems to tip itself over after coming to a complete stop. And that's when the laughter starts and it doesn't stop until I have pulled her back to the van in her sled.
I asked Abby if she liked the snow. She replied, "YES!!! But not all the time." I agree.
by Chad
We have been out to the sledding hill at the local school a few times and have had quite a blast. The hill is as big as a kid like Abby would enjoy without being scared of the speed and thrill of if all. There is no chair lift or tow line so the only means of ascent is little kid feet or the joy of Dad whipping the sled to the top in high wheelie style.I recall the sledding hill outside our backdoor in Cranbrook. It was enormous, with numerous little tracks with jumps, bumps, whoopdy doos and flats. You could get speed, air or simply a sore rearend. We had this antique wooden sled with two thin metal runners and a wooden handle that ran across the front. We'd lie down on the wooden slats and get a big push and go so fast down the hill our eyes would have icicles hanging off them at the bottom. If you pushed on one side of the handle and pulled on the other the sled would make a sweeping turn and jump out of the track and into another tossing the rider into the hard packed snow. There wasn't much that was more fun than that. Of course there was the time when my brother and a friend of his decided that they could get more speed and have more fun if they got a large inner tube, stood it on its side, sat in it and had the other guy roll them down the hill. The results of this are so gruesome that I have blocked it from my memory. No one died or was sent to the hospital but it was a not a great idea.
Back to the local sledding hill. I get great joy from watching Abby Zoom down this slope at speeds she finds exhilarating. On the first few runs of each day when she reaches the bottom she raises both hands in the air and pumps her fists in triumph. Its quite a sight. Then after she makes a few speed runs it is time to test the turning capability of the sled and she has a blast trying to turn herself back uphill. Once she has that down, its time to get snowy and crashtime is the next game. If she doesn't crash on the way down that sled just seems to tip itself over after coming to a complete stop. And that's when the laughter starts and it doesn't stop until I have pulled her back to the van in her sled.I asked Abby if she liked the snow. She replied, "YES!!! But not all the time." I agree.
by Chad
