Sledding take 2

We went sledding at our original spot, but this time it was treacherous. The day started with us sledding down the first hill to get to the slope. Last time it was a nice little ride (we were the first ones there) that helped alleviate some of the carrying and walking. This time, it was a little intimidating as it had been packed down and some people were opting to just sled there instead of walking to the slope. I tried to determine which side would be safest and after watching Brian lose Ella, barely holding her by her ankles while her head dragged on the ground, I opted to follow Kevin's path on the other side. Unfortunately, I couldn't see that there were giant wooden posts sticking out of the ground on the other side. So, I put Xiana on my lap and we slid down the hill. Just as we were going over the second hump I looked up in time to hear someone yell, "watch out" and see Brian running at top speed towards us. Honestly, it happened so fast I didn't even have the foresight to try to stop us. Just before slamming into the posts, Brian threw his whole body weight in front of us and stopped us like a tank *thud* That was the first of several painful experiences for Brian. A lady passing by exclaimed, "oh my gosh he saved you," and several people cheered. He really did save us. We would have been in a world of hurt had he not stopped us... instead he was in a world of hurt.
The kids would have been content to just sit in the truck and eat snow all day.
We got to the actual sledding runs and life didn't get much better. Because of the multitude of peeps sledding down the slopes, it was icy and frightening. Some lame snow boarders decided that the sledding hill would be a great spot to build a giant jump... not a good idea. When we got to the top we all looked down in dismay, nobody venturing to go first. Until... of course Brian hopped on for a trial run. He said he would be the Guinea pig... after all, he has insurance (I think this is somewhat faulty logic, but whatever). He went down and hit the first jump *boom* flew into the air but managed to hold on to his tube for a few seconds until *wham* he nailed the second and more significant jump. All I could see was body parts, glasses, hat, and tube flying up in the air in a discombobulated heap. It took a moment to identify limbs from rope and I thought he would certainly step on his glasses buried in the snow behind him. He must have flown 10 feet in the air. He said he could hear everybody groaning and laughing except me... he could hear me screaming. I told him that just shows who loves him most :) Without passing go or collecting 200 dollars he immediately began kicking down the jump. Somebody was seriously going to get killed on that thing. Meanwhile, I took Xiana down to the other side and sledded down a very tame hill. It wasn't nearly as much fun as the big slope; however, we did make it out alive and injury-free. After Brian broke down the jump, I went down by myself several times and it was thrilling. Still, with Xiana on my lap I never ventured to the very top, instead opting to walk part way down and then start at a manageable spot. We did have a good time, but it was precarious at best. Mark took his kids down several runs and mastered the ability to hold them tight. He and Brian raced each other a few times resulting in duo-wipe outs.
My friend Deborah flew in from Vegas that day. It was great to talk on the way up and drink hot chocolate on the way down.
While being dragged back to the car, Xiana fell asleep... just like this. I guess you can't argue with nap time.