ice tricks, part II

I spread the word this morning that the ice was ready to play on, so after church and potluck I convinced some more people to venture out there!

Talking to dad on the phone. He got off when I told him we were about to drive the golf cart across.

Tyler

Wes & J.P.

me laying on the ice

Oops! Nikie's sliding attempt didn't go so well.

This one was better.

Here's a procrastinator if I ever saw one.

Tyler again - this was about as far over the pond as he went.

Nikie and me

Ryan and me

walking on water

Again! The pond froze - one of the best things to come of all this cold weather.

I couldn't get anyone else to venture out there with me, but that didn't stop me.

My self-timer and I aren't afraid.

The ice is even thicker than before.

Me & my new coat - a birthday present from Ryan

Cattails frozen in place

See? If my head can't break it, nothing can . . . well, maybe Grant's head.

dance of the sugarplum fairies

JP Mathis has been telling everyone that she's been waiting for the pond behind their house to get totally frozen so that she can go walk on it. Well, the day has come. JP told us that she and Tyler walked on it last night, so I told Jaclyn we should try it in the morning. After all, it's coldest at night and the ice should be thickest then. As you can see, Jaclyn was totally convinced.

After gearing up, we set out for the pond. It was 20 degrees (Fahrenheit, for Matt) out when I checked the weather at 8:00a. The pond was perfect.













Crocs aren't the best shoes for ice skating. They hardly slid at all. Jaclyn and I were both wearing them, so we had the same problem. As you can see, the ice held me just fine.













We handed off the camera so Jaclyn could give it a try. The ice did crack a little and made really cool noises. Tyler broke through last night, but had to try pretty hard before he did.

Fortunately, I know that spreading out your weight is the best way not to fall through. Here, I was actually practicing my swimming strokes. I guess it's too cold for polar bear swimming. It would have been fun to have something to knock around on the ice, like maybe a puck, but the cracking was a little unnerving!

I decided it just wasn't slippery enough with the shoes, so I took them off. My SmartWool socks kept my feet warm and made me slide better.

If you click on the pictures of us standing up, you can probably see the small cracks that spread across the ice. The pond is probably only waist-deep. It only holds run-off water and has no outlet.

Jaclyn thought I was crazy to take the camera out on the ice. I wish we had brought some dogs along. I think it would have been hilarious to watch them try to stand on the ice.

I don't know if I'll get to walk on a frozen pond in Tennessee anytime in the near future. The high today is 34 degrees and tomorrow is supposed to be 44. I guess our cold snap has gone away. Oh, well . . . it was fun while it lasted . . . and we have pictures to prove it!

happy campers

12.26.06 - Winter Camp - Day I

Because we didn't get in quite enough driving on the way to Berrien Springs, we decided to head north another 5 hours to Camp Au Sable in Grayling, MI.

Heilmans pulled in shortly after we did. We spent the time before worship playing Hand & Foot. Randy creamed the rest of us.

12.27.06 - Winter Camp - Day II

Wednesday morning was beautiful, even if the lake wasn't frozen.

The 6 of us took a quick walk around the lake on the boardwalk. We had fun figuring out animal tracks in the snow on the planks, mainly squirrel and great blue heron. There was enough snow to pelt Ryan and my dad with a couple of snowballs.

My favorite thing we did the whole week was canoe down the Au Sable River. I wish I had taken my camera in the canoe. I was going to, but chickened out when they said the river was high.

The foosball table is always a handy way to waste time waiting for meals. (Just don't expect Ryan to hang around very long after they announce the line's open.)

This post brought to you by the Travelocity Gnome.