Cross Country Skiing At Last

Simon was getting cranky from being stuck in the house all weekend and kept demanding that we all go sledding together. With the thought of our last family sledding adventure in mind (Thomas and Simon sledding together, hitting a bump, Simon flying off the sled and landing on Thomas, Thomas being dragged face down the rest of the hill by Simon's body...no, never again) I staunchly refused. Fed up with being told that I was a kill joy I reminded him that almost two years had gone by since I got him cross country skiis and he hadn't used them once so today was the day! And, amazingly, he did get them on, as you can see here:

And here he is practicing in the backyard: Amazed that it actually works, he headed off to a nearby park to see what he could do out in the open. Shortly after, he came home even MORE determined that we all go out as a family because, apparently, the park was stuffed with families enjoying the fun of winter. So, my plans dashed, I got out my skis and we got Frederick suited up for sledding. (Thomas, meanwhile, adverse to exertion, stayed upstairs. We pointed out that for the rest of his life he would regret not coming along but surprisingly that didn't persuade him to join us.) And, amazingly, no one was injured. Simon and Frederick went sledding down a giant hill while I skiied around the open expanse at the bottom. We all had a good time, especially Frederick, who seemed to find the image of me on skis particularly hilarious.