Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Wisconsin Winter Day.


Ah, the sun! Just in time for our sledding outing, the sun returned. Cold but bright blue sky and glorious rays. We visited farm friends who live near a rural sledding hill ... and a big one at that! The sun and cold after a week of crazy weather meant that the hill was pretty icy. Before we even could start sledding, one girl was launched out into the middle of the highway at high speed. A few minutes later another girl shot off into the woods and hit a tree *head* on. Her shrieks could be heard all the way at the bottom of the long steep hill. But, the boys wanted to do it. After that intro, though, they were relieved that we brought helmets for them...they could come down pretty fast without being too scared (although it was icy fast and they were a bit intimidated). The trick was to dig in the heels 2/3 of the way down to slow down and stop before being launched into the street at something like 35 miles per hour. We stood at the bottom to jump and catch the kids before the road if their heel brakes or the ROLL OFF THE SLED NOW!!! didn't work. They figured it all out after a run or two. Needless to say, the kids had a blast, and I didn't get any photos of everyone sledding. ;)


After a fun but exhausting hour or so of sledding (that is a long hike up!), we went back to our friends for some hot cocoa and play time. From there we stopped by one of our favorite cafes for an afternoon snack and a game of chess.


After a full day spent enjoying the winter weather, we headed home. The snow in the fields was so shiny it looked more like waves than frozen fields. So beautiful. Tired boys, good day.

Happy Winter!

8 comments:

Dawn said...

Oh snap! 35 mph, ahh! That's enough to send me into a tizzy, you are a brave momma! Hoping to get to the snow sometime soon, of course we have to wait for some colder weather first....perhaps in Jan? Happy New Year and Happy Winter! :)

denise said...

It was nuts, for sure. I was happy the boys were wearing/wanted helmets. They didn't like when they went too fast, and had heels dug in most of the way down to try to slow down (and then rolled off pretty high up often to get OFF THIS THING!). ;) G ended up wanting to only go with dad after a bit, as he didn't have the strength to slow himself down enough, and it freaked him out. Both boys eventually only wanted to start halfway up so that they didn't pick up too much speed. Very icy crazy hill!

Stephanie said...

Holy Christmas Vacation!!!
oof.

We had a minor accident here yesterday with Cousins, a big fat lip and bloody nose. (A cousin.) oof again.

But today.... today we plan to ride with friends tonight -it should be bright enough-, then come back here for a party!!!
(Though who knows how long we'll last towards midnight!) :)

Happy New Year, Denise, to you and your three boys!!!

Lisa Anne said...

Yikes! My heart stopped when you said that girl hit a tree, I hope she was OK. There is always that element of danger when sledding, I think that is what makes it so much fun. The cup of coffee in your header looks more like my pace on a cold winter's day.

dawn klinge said...

Ahhh...a cinnamon roll must have tasted so good after all that fun snow play. I love that kind of good tired one feels after a day of sledding.

Jodi Anderson said...

I love your description of the hill, the speed, the *brakes*, and a roll-off-the-sled-now scenerio. *whew*

I hope that you had a lovely holiday, Denise, and I hope that your new year is merry. Hey, 2010 is the year we meet! I hope to see you sometime this month, it even goes along with my goals for the new year ... to stay in closer contact with friends, to visit in person with more people. :)

denise said...

Jodi - Yes, yay! I'll DM you on FB (!!!). Can't wait to have you both over.

steph said...

The helmets are a great idea! The last time we went sledding we had to stand and watch a helicopter carry a woman away on a stretcher after she was struck by a train of sledding teenagers! The time before that, I watched a girl on a giant innertube slam into the side of a parked minivan because she had failed to slow down at the bottom of the hill. You wouldn't think sledding as dangerous as skiing, but after those incidences, I'm thinking HELMETS.

That would be an awesome hill to live nearby! It would be hard to keep mine off it, too :)

Happy New Year, Denise!!!