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1.30.2010

Our style of sledding!

It wasn't quite the seven to twelve inches we had been promised, but we did get a good snow through the night ~ at least according to our "southern standards."

True to form around these parts ~ where it snows so infrequently that cities don't find it beneficial to add snowplows to the budget ~ our hectically scheduled weekend ground to a halt and we suddenly found ourselves blessed with a day with nothing to do (and nowhere to go as EVERYTHING was cancelled or closed).

Kylie and Caleb could hardly contain themselves as we finished bundling up this morning.

They were thrilled to get outside!

Flashing that "million dollar" grin.

Working on cleaning off the deck, one dump truck load at a time...

Even Daddy had fun!

Perhaps though Maya was the family member that enjoyed the snow the most. We haven't seen her that frisky since the last snow.

What the pictures don't show is that around 8 this morning the snow changed over to sleet. And it continued most of the day. Yeah, that's right. We played outside as sleet pelted us this morning. Here in NC you gotta take what you can get.

Nothing that a cup of "warm cocoa" with marshmallows couldn't fix...

After lunch, some games, and a long nap for the kiddos (while I worked on organizing Kylie's closet so that it is now "the girls' closet" and Ian researched transportation options from Shanghai to Hangzhou), we headed out for round two.

"Taste of ice anyone?"

Digging for the sake of digging.

Then we headed out front and the real fun began.

Let me preface what you are about to see with the fact that Ian stopped by Walmart yesterday morning on his way to work to buy our kids a sled. Walmart doesn't carry them. Last night we were at Toys R Us to trade in an old car seat for their 25% off "trade in deal" to get Ky a new one. (Hers is only rated to 40 pounds and while she's been hovering at 37.4 since September, we decided to go for it while it was on sale). They carried sleds but were sold out.

The hours of sleet had reduced our road to a nice hard pack. Our hill was begging for some sledding action. I'm sure my "snow savvy" friends in the Northeast and Midwest have plenty of sleds in their storage areas. But here where we're lucky if we get one three inch snow a winter, we just don't keep them handy. Unfortunately that meant we got caught without a sled for the storm of the season. And after last year's sledding adventures with Lottie and her family, our kids were hungry for more.

Luckily I'm married to an engineer who can improvise on the fly.

Well, actually I'll take credit for the dog leash.

I'm sure that a laundry basket being pulled down the street with a dog leash may look redneck to some.
My kids thought it rocked. Kylie even practiced her parade wave as Ian pulled her back up.

And we went back down,

and up.

Again and again and again. Until Ian and I could pull no longer. Then it was time for the potato soup that had been simmering in the slow cooker all day.

I love snow days with my family!

And I love weather patterns in NC. Weren't my kids just standing at this mailbox barefoot earlier this week?

16 comments:

Faith said...

Don't feel bad, we pulled the girls on a small fold up table behind a mini-motorcycle! Gotta love it! Maybe we'll buy a sled next October....just in case!

bbeatley said...

I LOVE IT!!! What a neat idea....and so much safer than a sled since they can keep their hands and feet inside!! It has been some crazy weather lately.

Laurie said...

Great pictures!! I love the laundry basket idea. Allison's first sledding adventure was done on a big lid to a Christmas storage bin. Worked great! :)

Ann Marie said...

You made us laugh up here in the north!! :) If you would like me to buy some sleds for you (seriously) and mail them I would be happy to. They're all on sale now.

Ann Marie

Pam said...

Great improvising!!!! I love it!

Looks like a fun day for you guys!

Our girls had a great day, too!

Our Journey said...

Ok -- LOVE the "sled" - I laughed outloud..what a GREAT idea. We haven't been able to buy Anne Marie a sled either & we just got another 12 inches, so I'm thinking we need to consider that. Thanks for the inspiration! What a fun day it looks like you all had.

Nancy said...

That is awesome you got so much snow!!! I bet your kids will ALWAYS remember it. Its so weird that my southern friends have gotten so much this year and Dave hasn't had a single snow day yet! Great idea by Ian! Very earth friendly... the forgotten "r", Reuse! Looks like a great weekend!

a Tonggu Momma said...

Love it! And a laundry basket is MUCH less tacky than a trash bag. I'm just saying...

Unknown said...

I LOVED the sled idea so much that when we took the girls out today we used our laundry basket and dog leash too!

Amanda said...

Looks like y'all had a ton of fun!!! We actually got some this time too and have had a blast! Love the sled.

Tricia said...

That's HYSTERICAL!!! We actually have a couple of sleds... :) The kids were with their dad this weekend. I came home from work Friday night and didn't leave until around 2:30 today. I actually feel rested for once.

Did you get my email about next weekend?

Melissa said...

OK, we are SO SO jealous of your snow here in the Northeast! Matthew got a sled for Christmas and he only got to ride on it ONE TIME!!! We will take some of your gorgeous snow to go with out FRIGID temps!!!! Loved all the pics, and what fun you had this week-end!!!!!

Unknown said...

Okay, now call me crazy, but we're gonna give that a whirl! What a great idea! Glad to see you had some snow fun! We got about four flakes out of this one. And my kids were sorely disappointed. We haven't had much this year, either, really...but I remember when we were in China, they had an all-out blizzard!

Three years ago tomorrow...

Cindy M said...

Um, oops. That last comment was me, and I failed to see that he was logged in on my computer.

Anonymous said...

so much fun. Love those pictures. The kids look like they are having sooo much fun!
Aunt Cici

Lisa said...

I love your style!!!