Fun family weekend

What a lovely weekend of family time and injuries.  We had a fun Saturday, starting with watching a bunch of six year olds try to play basketball.  It was very entertaining, since the only real rule was that you couldn't double team.   That and any blatant fouls.  I got such a kick out of watching those little faces light up when the ball that they had hurled with all their strength actually went into the hoop.

In the afternoon, we went sledding.  My little man was having a great time, when he noticed some college students starting up higher on the hill.  Of course, he thinks he's invincible, so up he went and down he came, only he didn't make it very far before he wrecked and scraped up his wrist.  It was a nasty looking scrape and of course I was worried that there might be a more serious injury that I couldn't see.  But, after a movie and a treat, (and a bandage and ice pack -which the kids seem to think is the cure for everything) he was back to his normal happy self.  Kind of cut our winter sports short though.

On Sunday, our family had been asked to speak in church.  The kids even got to take part, which they loved.  Not much stage fright in my kids, it seems.  After all our meetings, the little man informed me that everyone told him what a good job he did, and after a passing person said something similar, he said thank you,  and then turned to me and said, "see!?" 

With my husband in tow, I ventured to do some serious couponing this Monday.  He has the kind of mind that can strategize how to get the best deals.  It's a bit much for me, especially when I have the kiddos with me.  We did not get any amazing deals, or come out spending only pennies, but we did knock a few bucks off of the diapers that we were running low on.  Yippee.  They say that you get a high from couponing.  My high is finally leaving the store, buckling the kids in and then standing there, outside of the car, enjoying the quiet before I have to actually climb in the car with them.  That's my enjoyment while shopping.  The checker at Walgreens assured me that I would catch on quickly.  Apparently he's seen people like me who wander the isles wondering what they're supposed to do become pros.  We'll see.

Also on Monday, thinking that we should maybe cool off on the sledding for a bit, we decided to finally go cross country skiing.  My sister collects skis of all varieties and sizes.  I don't think she can help it.  It's like an addiction for her.  It's nice for me though because I can ask if she's got any skis that would fit a six and four year old, and be pretty confident that she does.  And she did.  We brought them back with us about a month ago and the kids were so excited, they tried to ski in the backyard that had barely enough snow to cover the grass in some places.  Almost everything melted back in January right about the time we finally got the kids skis and the various parts of my skis gathered and brought here.  I have been dying to go all winter.  Finally, finally!, we got some more snow!

Let me just go off on a tangent here and explain why I love cross country skiing.  We get a lot of winter here in the mountains. It can get kind of depressing.  Cooped up inside for some of the fall, all of winter, and most of spring can get really old.  I needed something to keep me from becoming depressed.  I like to sit in the afternoon sun in the kitchen to get some vitamin D, but I just start to feel so fat and lazy in the winter time.  Cabin fever can make you crazy.  We decided to try cross country skiing as a way to get outside and enjoy the beauties of the ranch, without having to wade through the deep snow.  It's amazing how my perspective of winter changed just by skiing.  I actually enjoy the winter and even though I'm excited to get gardening, I was really happy that we got so much snow this weekend.

We drove to a nearby park with lots of open areas and got ourselves ready.  It was lucky that we were at a park since the dancing queen was done before my husband and I had gotten our skis on.  She was in no mood to try yesterday and would fall over and then flop like a fish, screaming her head off.  (unfortunately, I didn't get a picture)  It was clear that she was not going to enjoy it.  Thank goodness there were swings right there.  She had a great time while we skied nearby.  The little man took off like he's been doing this forever.  Twice around the field and he decided to sled down a tiny slope.  The baby got to relax in her sled and be pulled around by mom and dad.  I was worried about how she would react, but she never made a peep until we would stop and then she would screech for us to get going again.  All in all, a fun day.