You CAN have snow.

Isaac was invited to go sledding with a friend just before Thanksgiving, but I didn't let him go because of some conflict I can't remember anymore.  Then a sledding field trip posted a couple months ago and I promised him we could go.  I soon began to regret it and then dreaded it as it came closer.  The weekend was already packed.  We had Jessica's party that afternoon/evening and visitors were coming.  But we went anyway.  I promised.  And I had the realization not long ago that I can't keep saying "there's plenty of time for that" because these kids are growing up too fast.  We are running out of time and now is the time to make the memories.

So early Friday morning, relatively, we ate and dressed extra warm.  We pulled out the "Utah clothes"  meaning snow pants and gear.  We packed a few snacks and the good old purple sled into the back of the truck and drove off.  After we picked up a friend of Isaac's (Andrew Wilburn) it was only a 45 minute drive to "the meadow" on Mt. Charleston. 

We met up with lots of other families for the service part first.  A ranger met us with a bunch of trash claws and big yellow plastic bags.  We were going to pick up litter.  The ranger told us that she specifically avoided cleaning this area a few days before so the kids would have the satisfaction of making a visual difference, but then it snowed 1/2 a foot and covered it all up.  We did find some trash, but not much.  So much for the good intentions.  (pictured: Makenna found a half full, frozen water bottle and Jess is trying to pull a piece of blue tape from a tree branch.) This activity did warm us up though.  After being there for less than an hour, we all shed our coats and hats.  We tried to go without gloves, but once sledding commenced, they stayed on.

The last time Jess was on a sled was probably 2 years ago in Bountiful and she did NOT like it.  She started a little slow at first, only going part way up the hill before starting down, but she loved it.  Our sled is a two-seater.  The girls would go together, the boys (Isaac and friend) would go together, I went with one girl or the other.  Another family had a few extra disks and let us borrow one.  They all had so, so much fun.  I feel bad that I don't have more pictures of the boys, but they would start too high, I couldn't ever tell when they were about to start, and then once they got going they were too fast.  I am just REALLY glad no bones were broken.  Isaac had to go without his glasses all day, or they surely would have been smashed up.  He took some really good crashes, but always got up (sometimes slowly) to go again. 

Jess did tire of sledding after an hour or so and tried to build a snowman.   She didn't want help on her first attempt.  She built a little snow pile pal and stuck pine cones and sticks into him.  But she was discouraged to look around the meadow and see other snow people taller than she was.  She enlisted Makenna and I to help build another while the boys stayed on the hill.  The snow person was christened "Snowy." Please note the fancy hair, smiling face and necklace.  Those were the important bits.

After 4 hours, we  drove back down the mountain and home for lunch and birthday cake making. Jessica's friend party was later that afternoon.