Tobogganing

January 21, 2008

Tobogganing, or any other winter activity involving young children, takes a lot of effort. I never really appreciated this until last night. And now I understand why my parents didn't take us tobogganing more often.

After bundling up two little ones, our small group headed out to play in the snow. Andrew didn't have his snow boots so he drove to the hill while I took Nathan through the backyard to the hill. The snow was deep, making it really difficult for Nathan to walk so I decided to put the little guy in the toboggan to make things go a little quicker. Of course, Andrew had to give me the sled that didn't have a string attached to it, so instead of being able to pull Nathan along, I had to push him. Which was alright going uphill because then I wouldn't have to bend over. But when we got to the top, where it was all flat and deep, I couldn't push him anymore so he hopped out and tried to walk.

Let me just tell you. It's a hard task, walking in deep snow, carrying a sled and a almost-three-year-old. When we finally made it to the other edge of the hill, Nathan and I hopped into the toboggan and Andrew pushed us down. It took a lot of hoping for us to make it down without tipping over because I knew that would ruin it for Nathan and he'd never go again. Luckily, we made it down without incident. I asked if he wanted to go again and his response was negative. I believe his exact words were, "No. I was frightened."

So after one more run, we all decided it was too cold so we went back to the house for some hot chocolate and Mario Kart. I think the kids liked it more inside anyway.