Winter Sports, Our LL Bean Bag, and a Great Day in Hartland

I can't tell you how much we've come to rely on our LL Bean bag. That thing rocks! Not only is it amazingly strong, but it's huge, which really came into play yesterday.

We finally had a playdate with C, S, and CH, and the with all the snow in the forecast, it went without saying that we'd bring some snow gear. The question is, which gear? They are avid XC skiers, but snow shoes were more S's speed. Then again, sledding on their hills would have worked, as well. AND, there was always the possibility of doing some ice skating afterwards-for the record, they don't ice skate.

Not wanting to miss out on any opportunities, I literally packed everything we had-XC skis, poles, and boots, ice skates, sleds, and our snowboards/snowskateboard. It was quite a load, but no problem with the truck. Best of all, with the exception of the obvious large items, they fit right into our canvas Bean Bags. Just wanted to mention, you need the XL size, which is unavailable in the store.

The irony of it all? We never even made it outside, though we had a blast. We hadn't seen C/S in ages, though we always have fun, and made a pledge to see each other more often. We ended up just hanging inside, playing thougthful games (Apples and Apples-a winner) and setting up highways and trains. C's got quite the train/car collection, and best of all, not once did the concept of TV come up.

CH made a killer lunch of pizza and we had homemade bread. There were no sweeties afterward, and I asked the kids not to ask for them since we weren't at home and not everyone has desert after every meal, like us.

As I mentioned, ironically we never made it outside, but were there for over four hours, and could have stayed longer. We always have fun together, and I hope we can do it more often. As an added bonus, CH gave us some of C's hand-me-downs, as well as some home school books to teach government, though I believe I'm beginning to see the light with that one.

Well, after our playdate, we were heading home and it was still early afternoon, and I asked the kids if they wanted to go ice skating, and sure enough, they did. We went to the Hartland rink, and it was snowing up a storm. And wouldn't you know it, we saw the our new friends there, though it was just H and A.

The rink was covered in snow, but we'd brough along our shovels and were ready. While H and I cleared the snow, the kids skated on what little ice there was as we gradually enlarged it. We hadn't been out there for more than a few minutes when the after-care kids at the rec center came filing out, and suddenly it was a zoo.

Have to confess, I was a little bummed, but in tried and true fashion, it was a wrong assessment, because all the kids had a lot of fun, and several of them were from A's choir, so people knew eachother. Best of all, the big kids were nice to N. While they all played, I spent pretty much the whole time clearing the snow, and it was a bear of a job. But I did it, and I think it was much appreciated, and the kids had a good place to play.

You have to love small town life. We might try to go over there again, but sometimes it doesn't work out as well as the first time. Then again, I could be very wrong. It's been known to happen.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.