Last night the forecast was for 4 to 8 inches of snow during the night, and then another 3 to 7 during the day. Shortly after 7 a.m. this morning Abbey was out of bed to look outside. I think she said, with a nice crescendo, "Whooaaa!!" She and Quinn, still in pajamas, headed out with a meter stick - ok, a ruler - to check the depth on the table on the deck. Right at four inches, but it was still snowing hard.
After coffee, and a quick breakfast of grapefruit and bagels, granola and yogurt, we were pulling on snow gear and gathering the sleds.
We headed down the street and around the corner to the sledding park. We were first on the hill, which was not a surprise since it was only 8:30 on Sunday morning. The snow on the east hill was about six inches deep at the top of the hill, with a drift on the slope more than a foot deep. Being first on the hill doesn't mean getting the fastest sledding, but it's fun to flop around in the powder. Poor Quinn couldn't get back up the hill on his own.
The air was cold and the north wind was fierce. The sun was hidden behind clouds and billions of flakes of now. It looked like blizzard. Maybe it was. The snow plows were out in force. All of the roads in our neighborhood were soon plowed.
It took several slow runs down the hill to pack the snow enough to make a good run, but then it was fast and fun. Quinn's little sled is very fast and tracks well. Sometimes it rolls if it gets into a rough spot. It was given to us by one of our neighbors last winter. Abbey was using a large round red dish sled, also from our neighbors.
We didn't last too long this morning before we headed home to shovel the driveway. After lunch Abbey got a call from her friend, Mya, who lives in one of the houses across the street from the sledding park, so we pulled on our snow gear and headed back to the hill. This time Cindy came, too.
Mya's little brother, Logan, is about Quinn's age, and he joined us on the hill. He's on the left with his red sled in the image below. Mya and Logan had similar sleds, one red and one green. They were toredo shaped and rounded in cross section, so they did pretty well in deep and rough snow.
The sun was trying to shine, and the snow had stopped falling, but the wind was still blowing strongly. We found that the slope on the north side of the park was less crowded and somewhat sheltered from the wind. The snow was nearly two feet deep on the north side, but once we had cut a couple of sled runs, we had a blast. Mya's house is on the right in the image below. You can also see Logan right after a crash.
Even Mom and Dad had good time sledding. This kind of fun is not something you should outgrow. Here's Cindy spraying some snow on the pink dish sled.
Quinn, Mya, and Abbey. Quinn just recovered from another face plant.
We don't have any sleds big enough to hold an adult and a kid, so to ride together we had to make a train.
Down we go!! The houses in the background in the image below are across Hatch street to the south. Hatch, by the way, has a reasonably wide shoulder for cycling.
Abbey and Mya went side-by-side on their tummies on the big red dish sled. It's the best sled for adults because it's big, but it's not real fast.
After an hour or so of sledding, we headed home. Mya came with us and we used some climbing 'biners and some rope to drag the kids home on the sleds. No, not with a car or even a bike. Cindy and I ran like a team of sled dogs, but we didn't get any pictures. Should have given the camera to the kids.
Here's our house in the snow. I had to shovel the driveway a second time.
The view down the street. The road slopes away from our house, making it a nice hill for bicycling and skateboarding, but it's not steep enough for sledding.
Here's the house across the street. It's empty and has been for sale, but at the moment it appears to have been taken off the market. We think it would be nice if we could buy it, or if Grandma Sharon could buy it, so she could move in there. So far we haven't figured out how to make that work.
Well, it's time for dinner and warm cranberry bread, and maybe some hot cocoa.
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