SWISS BLISS

Our family loves summer.  My favorite thing to wear is flip flops.  We cook on the grill 250 days a year in Atlanta.  Anytime we hear a song that Isaac really loves, he always says, "this reminds me of the beach".  And, if given a choice for a vacation to the ocean, city, mountains, or desert, we most often pick the sandy, sunny, hot BEACH.  I have even thought to myself while building sand castles with only swimsuits, t-shirts, flips and towels to worry about how/or why people would pick the cold cold mountains in winter with the loads and loads of gear for vacation.  I just didn't get it.  

Until now. 

Over Christmas break, we were invited to go sledding in the Alps with our Swiss friends.  We took a 2.5 hour train ride to the top of a mountain pass to go on an extraordinary sledding run.  I think it may end up being one of our top three defining "swiss experiences".  It was a perfect day: blue, sunny skies, snow covered trees, and mountains that looked as if (as Isaac put it) they were dipped in frosting.  The mountain pass road is covered in snow, closed for the winter, and turned into an 8 km-(yes, a FIVE MILE) sledding run.  And let me tell you, it was curvy, icy, fast, and FUN.  First time down, Chris and I figured out that pulling on the sled rope and leaning just wouldn't cut it for steering while whizzing down the mountain, so we dug our heels into the ground to steer our wooden snow bullets.  This of course, sent a spray of snow flying into Levi (on Chris's sled) and Isaac's (on my sled) faces.  Levi wanted nothing to do with it, so Chris took his googles off and put them on Levi's face.  With protection from the snow, the little guy actually managed to fall asleep while sledding.  In another one of life's mysteries, we were left to puzzle over why he WOULDN'T sleep on the exhaustingly boring (for Levi) train ride, but how he COULD even fall asleep while going down a mountain at 34 km an hour on a sled!  (There was actually a radar speed sign on the course...and it was posted on a slow segment!).  

Other highlights from the day shown in the pictures below:

-Isaac fell asleep mid-chew during our lunch break between our two runs down the mountain…think someone had a little adrenaline rush?

-We wrapped a bandanna on Isaac's face for the second run, and he enthusiastically coined himself the SNOW COWBOY.   It was a perfect solution!

-Luke remarked, "that was the most fun thing I've ever done".

-After the run, we pulled our sleds through the beautiful town of Bergün to catch the train back to the top-it was divinly picturesque on a perfect winter day.

-We passed a literal "ice bar".   Cool.  

-My favorite part was holding Isaac tight, and listening to him belly laugh with the speed….we only wiped out once.   I have a newfound respect for lugers in the Olympics. (And a major concern about the mental state of the people who dare to compete in the skeleton event…they go 60 kph, headfirst.  Insane!)

-Levi sleeping on the sled as we pull him through town.