Christmas, the Day I Became a Troll!

This year Nate and Elli were fortunate to receive cross country skis for Christmas.   Nate has wanted them since tuning into the X-Games and Olympics last winter. He has even been asking to make cardboard ones every time we went out to play in the snow.  You can imagine his joy when he opened his last gift on Christmas morning.

Conditions could not have been better Christmas afternoon.  A pristine field with the Sterling Mountain Range rising in the background, a sunny sky, and crisp cool air. We strapped on the skis and the kids had a great time learning how to work their new skis. Nate found it slightly easier than Elli and also did not get "coldy"  as quickly.  After Elli, Papa, Grammy, and Grampa headed in for cocoa, Nate was ready to tackle the hill off to one side of the field.  He wanted to fly like Treva, in Jan Brett's Trouble with Trolls.  We spent quite awhile with him working to master "flying" down the hill and I turned into a troll, pushing him and shouting, "Fly, fly, fly!"  Then "Dog, dog, dog!"

When we went inside we had a cozy cup of hot chocolate and made sure to read Trouble with Trolls as well as our other skiing favorite, Mary Calhoun's Cross Country Cat  before bed.  It's a day that I'm sure he won't forget.  Books certainly spark our imagination and inform our play.  What books do you remember reading and acting out?