Sledding and Other Death-Defying Activities

We had a memorable spring break in New Mexico with some of our dearest friends. The people you are in community with when your kids are born just have a special place in your lives, even when you don't live close together anymore. These 3 other families honor the Lord with their lives and share the same values we do. It doesn't hurt that they are some of the funniest people I know too. Our kids are all friends and we know each other inside and out. There were 10 kids and 8 adults sharing one house and we laughed and played non-stop. Great times. However, I was completely unprepared for the mortal danger and sheer terror I felt as we participated in the "fun" winter activities. I am a cautious person by nature and careening down a slippery mountainside on a small plastic disc without a steering or braking mechanism is not my idea of a leisurely activity. Who thinks this is a good idea?! We did have some cute little snow bunnies, though.

On the first day we got to the mountain, we took the kids sledding. We found a fun snowy hill, bought a couple of discs and let them go. I was still organizing snacks and applying sunscreen at the car when I heard a blood-curdling scream from Ava at the base of the hill. I saw her lying facedown in the snow on the wrong side of a tree, with her face scraped up and her lip bloody. We had been there all of about 4 minutes! She had come down the hill faster than she anticipated and couldn't avoid the tree in her path. After dusting off and getting a pep talk from Dad, she decided to try it again. She moved further over and tried again, this time colliding hard into an unsuspecting 2-year-old being pulled on a sled by her mom. The little girl screamed her head off and Ava burst into tears while I apologized profusely to the mom. At this point I told Tye, "Okay, I hate this. It's a head injury waiting to happen." I sat down on a picnic bench and tried to avoid a complete panic attack. There were several sledding paths converging into one giant collision course, so Tye and some other dads took it upon themselves to play traffic cop and provide some safety and organization to the chaos. They indicated when each sledder could come down and probably prevented more collisions and injuries from happening as small children came hurtling enthusiastically down the steep hill. Here's Ava's face after her brush with the tree:

The second day was spent skiing. The weather was perfect, in the 60s, and the scenery was breathtaking. I tried to remember every piece of skiing advice I had ever been given, but it had been a LONG time and I am a few years older than I was the last time I skiied skied? went skiing. Tye was patient to stay with me on the easy courses when I know he would have rather been on the more challenging slopes. We checked in on the girls frequently in ski school and they seemed to be having a blast. Ava and Gentry even got to go up on the lift and come down the mountain a few times. And apparently, the helmet really comes in handy when the lift chair hits you in the back of the head. Thanks to the kind stranger who offered to take our picture because she knew I couldn't juggle my poles, my phone and get both of us in the shot all at the same time.

There is no tired like a just-spent-all-day-on-skis-trying-to-stay-upright tired. There's a reason the first thing the ski instructor teaches you is how to get up after falling over. Tatum gave it up on the way home.

We had a fun dinner with our friends and the kids enjoyed making s'mores in the outdoor fireplace.

Saying goodbye was hard to do. These kids have known each other all their short lives. We don't get together as often as we would like, but they always pick up just where they left off. They are all exceptionally great kids and we love them as our own.

These sweet girls are 5 days apart. They've been best friends since birth.

There is nothing I treasure more than friends who cherish my kids and recognize their unique qualities.

This one made me cry.

We were glad to cross the state line back onto home soil again.

It's good to be back home with all of our limbs and skulls intact. The laundry is done and I'm ready to face the week. I have a lengthy pending order list, so I will contact everybody when I get to your order. Have a great Monday!