To the Mountain

Anyone who spends any time around me has heard me talk about how much I love Portland. I feel so lucky to live in such a cool town with so many great things to do for both adults and kids. One of the many awesome things is that you can get up Mt Hood in 1.5 hours and play in the snow anytime between Dec-April. We decided that the best way to spend the last day of winter break was to hit the slopes for some serious sledding. The temperature was cold, but it was a clear, bright, beautifully crisp winter day and the snow was positively sparkling in the sun.

Little D, who is either SO EXCITED or SO MAD flipped the coin and decided to be awesome today. He loved sledding, never complained about snow in his face or climbing the hill again and again. We found an awesome natural snow cave under a bush and spent some time playing hibernating bear. He laughed, smiled, glowed and made me happy to be alive.

DaVinci, typically our agreeable little girl who is amenable to almost everything... Our daughter who will wade up to her waist in freezing water for way longer than anyone else I know... The girl who is a rockstar in almost every way - must have decided the day was lacking in fuss. She complained that her toes were cold (with 2 pairs of socks and snow boots). After Z gave her a pair of his socks and I got her to sled 5 times (promising her that at the end of 5 sleds her toes would NOT be cold) her toes were fine, but her chin was cold. She wasn't terrible, she wasn't throwing a fit, but after we made the effort to get up to Hood, I wanted everyone to enjoy it, dammit! Our last day of vacation! Suck it up and have fun! Yes, the bad mommy in me was thinking "I hope this girl has a fever and that is why she is being a pill." But no. Home and inside, she was back to her exuberant self. It was very odd, especially for her. I guess what I finally figured is that it is much easier to have a 6 year old who is complaining about things than a younger kid. The rest of us had a great time, and she even managed to have moments of fun between complaints. Practicing for when she is a teen, I suppose.