too cold for sledding

we rarely feel like it's too cold for stuff. but both times i've taken the kids sledding this winter, it just so happened to be on days with subzero windchills on a hill facing a southerly wind screaming in from across lake mendota. the kids are tough wisconsin folk, we love sledding, and we are pretty accustomed to the stiff cold breeze from the lake, so really, how bad could -25 windchill be when you're all bundled up and having fun? well, folks, james is here to tell you that it's bad, and he can't feel his face (and refuses to wear his balaclava) and he would like to go home RIGHT NOW. that's been the general vibe of the sledding attempts so far this winter.

it's a bad sign when the walk to the sledding hill requires lying down and covering up with sleds.

ramona's first run in the cold cold air, in which her spinning saucer missed that big tree by about a centimeter and i entertained the idea of helmets for sledding.

see that heel dragging in the snow? that's the best way to get a face full of cold snow spray. it's also a good way to yank your tiny body off your sled and send you into a fast and painful log roll down the hard-packed snowy hill. this is what james learned abut 1 second after i took this photo.

a moment of good cheer...


and a moment of sad cold misery.

but the good news is that this week, after a face full of fresh powder, a lost mitten, and many stinging tears of anger, both kids discovered the joy of winter waterfront tree climbing and winter waterfront icicles, and were able to ignore the cold for five minutes of fun. those were a glorious and beautiful five minutes.