We arrived on time, as the traffic was light and we cruised right down. Nancy, Gary, and Dillon arrived ahead of us. They brought the appetizers and we grazed on delicious cheese, crackers, hummus, pita bread, nuts, and dip. When Todd and Jen came, they added fresh carrots from their garden along with salsa made from their own tomatillos, chips, mushroom pate and other veggies. Sometimes it is hard to remember to save room for dinner because it is so easy to nosh in between conversations. While I was munching out, Selim and Joshua were playing with Sarah.
Selim showed Joshua the ropes. Where to sit for maximum snack advantage as well as finding his name tag on the table in the dining room.
Dinner time conversation ranged from our work, my three weeks in London this summer, history of the Second Amendment, issues surrounding gun control, the ease of getting foreign visas to study abroad, and the process that medical students go through we getting assigned to their residency assignment. From the other table I caught snatches of the ease and difficulty of studying Italian and Chinese, what adds to the feeling of safety while in the midst of protests in Cairo, and the importance of having a local bringing you in and out of dangerous areas in Mexico. When we get together we bring a wide array of experiences and opinions that are so interesting to explore.
Because of the impending storm, the gathering broke up a bit earlier than usual. We left at 5:30 when the snow just started. Because of an accident just south of the Bedford tolls, our ride home lasted over 2 hours. The flashing police, ambulance and fire truck lights kept the boys entertained for a bit while traffic was at the pace of a snail. We made it back home in time to watch one of our all time favorite TV shows, the Kennedy Center Honors.
The forecast had been for 6-12 inches of snow overnight. I think we got about 3. But it was enough to get most of us up and out of bed and out to the sledding hill at an early hour. Jacob and Jero joined Robert, Heather, Joshua, Selim, and I in the blowing wind and snow for a few runs.
Without proper snow gear, Heather went in first. Joshua was next after an impressive face plant in the snow when he rolled out of the sled. Robert brought him back in. At one point Selim tried to escape my camera by hiding underneath his sled.
I didn't let him off the hook. When I walked back up the hill, he didn't realize that his back side was so exposed.
That left Jero to fend of the snowball attacks from Selim and Jacob. I made him pose before we went in. One can last only so long with that much snow in the face.
After some inside time, we went back out in the afternoon with Todd and Jen. Todd brought sleds from home that he had been using to carry firewood. Turns out that might not have been the best use of the blue plastic. We heard the crack of the first one when he hit the edge of the track. The second one experienced the same fate.
Jen took Joshua down a gentler slope and the two of them made a few successful runs before getting cold and heading back in.
Soon the sledding made way for a full on snowball fight.
Selim tried to use the sled as a shield. Sometimes in worked, and sometimes it didn't. It was hard to through and hold the sled as a shield at the same time.
I managed to humor my guy into a photo or two with me. Can I look any fatter if I tried? Nothing like a puffy down jacket to help the self esteem in the looks department.
The trick to snowball fights is knowing when to stop. We managed (I say we, as if I were participating. I wasn't, just documenting) to have a cease fire before anybody got too hurt of cold. We wrapped up our day with potato soup with homemade croutons, salad and blue cheese biscuits. And because we still had lots of chocolate left over from baking, Heather made hot fudge sauce to put on top of the strawberry, vanilla, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Yummy!
I have so many more photos from the day. I'll have do do a separate spread of Selim with snow around his face or Selim making faces at me or Jacob and Selim together as best buds. But this is enough for now. Time to get the tacos going for dinner!
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