Happy Monday everybody! I hope that you all had a great weekend… we sure did!

On Saturday we started lazy, and then decided to find a good spot on the mountain and go sledding. I have to say that there isn’t much that is more fun that 10 kids, two parents, one dog, seven sleds, a few feet of snow and 5 gallons of hot chocolate!!

We live in a small valley surrounded by mountains, so it isn’t hard to find a great place to sled…free of crowds. We found the perfect spot, set up the “hot chocolate bar” in a snow bank and set everyone loose.

I did a lot of watching (along with brushing snow off of faces, wiping noses, fixing gloves and picking up Belane). I loved seeing how differently my kids go at things…there are the ones that go at things full throttle…take a tube (the fastest sleds), head for the top of the hill, and fly down at mock speed without a care in the world…sometimes landing smoothly, sometimes having a “big wreck”…always ready to go at it again.

Then there are the ones that go to the top, find the perfect “run”, use their feet and arms to steer, and get a fast, but safe and controlled ride every time.

There are the cautious ones…gentle hills and slow speeds are much more fun for them.

Then there are the ones who prefer to double up with a sibling…they take a bigger sled, find a good spot and got at things together.

There are the ones that get cold quickly and want to warm up in the van after just a little while, and the ones you have to pry off the mountain hours later because the sun is going down.

I watched them share the sleds, help each other up the hill, brush each other off after a big wreck and cheer for each other after a great ride. I watched Mercy help Belane make her first snow angel, Ben and Des work together to get awesome ride after awesome ride and all of the bigger kids take turns helping little ones and giving them rides. I watched races and stunts of all kinds and turned my head several thousand times to, “Mom, watch this!”

There was a constant flow of laughter…as Marcus screamed and laughed during EVERY ride and then instantly demanded another turn, as we all watched Josh do several dare-devil style trips down the mountain (even the cross country skiers going by stopped to watch and laugh!), as Belane threw her first snowball at Josh and cracked herself up, as the dog raced Ry down the hill and tackled him at the bottom, as Nate managed to “snowboard” on a sled and get a pretty decent ride…until he fell, as Des and Ben rocketed past a group of hot chocolate drinkers…screaming all the way, as Maggie and Amanda giggled and cheered each other on for their short, slow, perfect rides, and as Shane…(that is Shane, the king of head injuries as he is known) was full of his usual stunts and antics (and no injuries this time!!!!)

It was a wonderful afternoon, and it was one of those times where I sat back and marveled at how very much we all are a family. As I watched my kids it was so obvious that they ARE brothers and sisters and that they are all bonded and love each other. I am so grateful for each and every one of them and the wonderful examples of love that they are.

These are the days I hope my kids remember when they are older. It was one of those “without a care in the world” afternoons where we laughed and played and just enjoyed being a family.

Good stuff.