Why is it that when you get your kiddles all psyched up for a great day of something special, it seems like things just fall apart?  This was one of those kinda days.  For about a week I had a countdown going for my darlings for a big “Sledding Day”.  Excitement built each day as they anticipated sledding  down our favorite snowy valley just above the Mount Rose Ski Resort…AND they were going to get to do this with family friends.  Oh how giddy they were this morning, knowing that they were going to embark on a trip that would result in thrilling screams and squeals of joy.

The morning started off with my convincing the girls that they did not have to get dressed for the snow right away…we would wait until we got the call that our family friends were on their way down from South Tahoe.  Then a breakfast offering of eggs, bacon, cereal and monkey bread was presented.  Toss in a few of Grace & Rose’s favorite shows (Max & Rubby, The Backyardigans and Kid vs. Kat) and the day was off to a great start.  Weather forecasts called for a “chance of rain/snow”…and the way that our weathermen seem to bat here, it looked like we’d be clear of both, perhaps just the grey skies would remain, nothing to worry about. 

We got the call that triggered the gathering of all snow equipment necessary for a day of fun-filled sledding.  Our trip to the sledding area was running a bit later than we anticipated, we wouldn’t be leaving the house until about 2:30 or 3pm, but it didn’t matter as long as we fulfilled our promises to the girls that we were going to go sledding.  That’s all that they cared about anyway…hitting those hills of sparkling white snow.  So tights went on, comfy pants, turtlenecks (in pink and white of course), snow pants and boots…the jackets & mittens would wait until we got to the snow.

Everyone arrived and after a brief discussion of how we wanted to juggle eats over snow, it was decided that eating would wait.  Not a problem, I warm-up a couple of chicken nuggets really quick and bring them along for the girls to snack on…they hadn’t eaten since 9am, so they were really hungry.  (and I didn’t want to hear requests for cheeseburgers all the way up & down the mountain)  So into the cars we piled and headed off toward the snow…in the rain.  Yeah, it was raining.  Good news is that it meant that it would be snowing if anything up in the mountains…so we had a chance. 

Up the mountain we went, the girls squealing and asking us if we were at the “snow for sledding” all the way.  Then we see the flashing signs…Chains Required 8 Miles Ahead.  Okay, not a problem, we’ve got those in the back ready to be used…and I had plenty of experience now of putting them on and taking them off the car.  So as we head up the mountain I’m on the look-out for the next set of flashing lights that would signal that we needed to pull-off and get our chains strapped on.  About 12 miles up the mountain, there they were…and over we pulled.  Now we’re in a race to quickly get these chains on since we are racing against the sun and snow has started coming down at a pretty good pace.  Plus, they have to be put on bare-handed in order to get back behind the wheels.  Charming is on one side, I’m on the other and we’re seeing who can get them on the fastest…but correctly.  I won!  (in all fairness, I’d done this a few more times than he had)

On our way we go…up the hill at a neck breaking speed of 25-30 MPH.  With a few stops to try to get the chains fixed just right so the links didn’t keep hitting the car as we went along.  Each time the weather was fighting us a little bit more…a little colder, a little heavier snow. 

We finally get to our destination…the girls are going nuts in the car.  Charming and I are scrambling to get their gloves, hats, jackets and sleds all ready to start trecking up the hill.  After about 7-8 minutes, we finally are climbing up a snow wall and heading across the valley to the hill.  Each step brings us anywhere from half-calf to hip deep in fresh powder snow….this is not looking good.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful and if I was going to be skiing then I’d be thrilled at the powder snow.  We aren’t going skiing and I’m not there for sight seeing.  I didn’t even get my camera out of the car because, to top things off, as soon as we got there the wind started blowing more and the snow came down harder than before.  There was no way that I was putting my camera through that…just my family.  *hahaha* And this is not the light, beautiful, fluffy kind of snowflakes…these are hard little balls of spiny snow pelting our faces.  So not how I had pictured this outing to be.  We got half way to the hill and realized that there was no way that we were going to get any sledding done.  Attempting to sit on a sled only solidified your position in the snow. 

Poor Rose kept trying to go further…getting her double mittened hands all covered in snow.  (she lost her gloves that week, of course)  But to get through it she just kept flopping down on the snow and laughing.  It wasn’t long before the kids started making snow angels, were trying to sled (but just sank about 2 inches into the snow instead) and were trying to make a snowman (but he only looked like a pillar of snow).  Tears had come and gone with the news that we just could not sled anywhere that day…especially Grace.  She had been dying to go sledding for weeks and now there she was in the snow facing the hill…and we were packing it in and heading to the cars, not up the hill.  That just doesn’t fly with a 5 year-old.

What a site…four adults sitting there in the snow…one eating a snowball (Charming)…all mad about the conditions and disapointing the kiddles.  What could we do?  It was starting to look more and more like a blizzard coming in.  After “getting over” our disapointment (and I’m talking about us adults) we started packing things up to head back down the mountain.  Try talking a 5 year-old (Grace) and a 4 year-old (our nephew Frankie) that they had to stop building a snowman…hot cocoa wasn’t even working.  They had to be tricked into thinking that we were all getting into the cars in order to be pulled from that pillar of a snowman.  Finally we got everyone in the cars and headed back down the mountain…back home to enchiladas and mexican hot chocolate!  What a non-sledding day!