We went to church, enjoyed a little visiting with friends in the foyer as Cheyenne and Wesley patiently waited on us to be ready. We finally got home and had lunch, taking our good old time about it. As we were finishing lunch I began to dread the question I knew was going to come soon. I thought, "I'm too old for this". Then I began to be ashamed of myself. I realized they wait on me all the time, I ask them to do things for me all the time and they do it without argument because they are good kids and they love me and want to please me. So I thought, "I'll beat her to it!" I got up and started getting ready to go out before she even knew what I was doing. She was goofing around when I went out to get my hat and gloves and when she realized, she flew out to get ready!
When I got outside I decided to teach her how to build a proper fort:
It took us about an hour to build this much and I wanted to get the wall up to the cross bar on the swing set but, despite my good intentions, I really am getting old and I was starting to wear out! Fortunately, I didn't have to confess this to Cheyenne because she suggested we take a break and go sledding.
Soon we were zipping down our little hill and having a great time. There is a risk of shooting off the edge of the hill down into the woods but fortunately I managed to avoid this fate, barely, on several occasions!
We were almost done when Wesley decided to come out and we managed to get a couple trips down the hill with both of them piled on my back. It was a little nerve-wracking being on the bottom of the pile, with the snow mere inches from my face, cruising along at what felt like 55 MPH but I survived! It was definitely better than getting snow down the back of my pants like I did trying to sit cross-legged on a tiny saucer sled and ending up flipping over backwards!
Finally, my old bones couldn't take any more so after 2-3 hours out in the cold we came in and warmed up with hot chocolate. My back is tired, my legs are tired, I have a bit of a headache, and the back of my underwear is a little wet, but it was a great time! I am glad I decided to make my kids happy instead of being lazy and only thinking of what I wanted. In the end, I had far more fun than I would have had, sitting inside wondering what to do! :)
Maybe next time I won't hesitate! Besides, I have a fort to finish!
Three cheers for you! You did the right thing, and had fun doing it,it dosen't get better than that. Glad you had a good day.Blessings jane
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane! I did have a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Andy! You're a totally awesome Dad and I'm so glad that you had a blast, this is something your children will NEVER forget! :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a fantastic week!
Thanks Darlene! I had to pop a handful of pain killers this morning to get my aching back and legs a chance to carry me through the work day, but it was TOTALLY worth it!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you had fun in spite of the aches and pains. The pictures are great. We used to make snow forts, too. Ours never got as tall as yours. They would be about at foot at best and not too long, but we were just three girls. We didn't have a grown-up to help us.
ReplyDeleteAndy, I am passing the stylish blogger award to you, I think you deserve this award,you do a great job with your blog,and I really like your writing. So hope you enjoy your award.Just go tomy blog read and collect your award. Blessings jane
ReplyDeleteNancy, my brother and I used to build huge snow forts when we were kids! I remember having some that the walls were above our heads and we would build ledges inside to stand on to see over! We had a lot of kids in our neighborhood to have snowball wars with and a great vacant lot to have them in! Those were the good old days! I really wish there were more kids in our area for Cheyenne and Wesley to play with but it is mostly elderly and young couples around us! The kid closest in age is only 4! :)
ReplyDeleteJane, Thank you so much for the award! I am honored to accept it! I'll be over soon to pick it up! :)
How fun! Looks like you all had a blast... and I must admit I envy your fort...I have started many and never gotten that far! Like Darlin said, this is something your children will never forget. It's the things like this that stick with you all throughout your life.
ReplyDeleteMy hat goes off to you for facing the cold to spend time with your children! I think sometimes what starts out as doing something to make our children happy, winds up rewarding us so much more.
Thank you Amanda! We did have a lot of fun and I am hoping to build the fort even higher if the weather permits. Right now we are getting freezing rain which is adding a layer of ice to the walls making them even harder. Maybe if we get some more snow later we'll be able to add more to it! :) Do I sound like a kid myself now? :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, too often I let myself make excuses when the kids want me to do something with them but I always end up having so much fun with them! I am seeing them grow up so fast! I need to remember that I don't have an unlimited amount of time with them and I need to treasure every minute! I keep trying. :)
I love this post Andy, you really are an awesome dad. You remind me so much of my father when I was little. He was the same way. I'm glad you decided not to sit it out.
ReplyDeleteI've also awarded you the Liebster Award! See my blog to accept it. I hope your week is fabulous so far!
Thank you Cheilsea! It's been two days now and I'm still a little sore but when I came home from work this afternoon and saw our fort I was so glad I made the effort!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the award! I'll have to get busy and write my post for it! :)