We “enjoyed” a gorgeous day last weekend. Most of us were recovering from a bug, but I couldn’t help myself when I thought of a plan. I’d been forever wanting to try to make a slip and slide down the hill in our yard, so I took action. I laid down moving blankets, since the ground was mostly rocky clay, staked down a couple tarps, taking care to pad and duct tape all the potentially sharp spots (I can’t forget Mom’s E.R. nurse stories).

I found an Ian-safe (not containing Methylisothiazolinone, which is in seemingly everything and gives him a horrible rash) soap, and drizzled it on the tarps, and wet the tarps with a hose. I also inflated some floats, upon discovering that tarps are not inherently slippery. I really wish I’d had some thick plastic sheeting instead of tarps. The friction was majorly disappointing. However, the big boys still had fun. Elijah was a sad panda after ignoring my warning early on, and bumping his melon while running on the tarp.  After a few runs, the slide got pretty gritty, which killed the fun for me. Overall, it was way more work than fun. Ian dissed my idea, but I’m pretty sure it’s because he wished he’d thought of it, because he used the slide quite a bit.

Here are some pics:

I am so, SO sorry that I have failed to include any photos yours truly careening down the slide. Those files must have been lost.