Ze purfect vinta sport

A couple years ago, I went to Eastern Europe with an international journalism class. It was amazing. Don't think traveling Hungary or Ukraine can hold a candle to Western Europe? You're wrong. Give me a trip in Budapest or Kiev over London and Paris any day. Someday, maybe I'll finally finish that scrapbook and share it with you. Until then, here's one of the more humorous highlights of the trip:

A group of Wyoming students were out in Bratislava with a group of Slovakian students. Some Slovakian men were talking about how much they love winter sports. One of the girls from our group joined in, bragging about how much she LOVES winter sports. She liked to show off a lot, and at this point in the trip we were all quite tired of hearing about all her amazing life feats. She continued on and on and on about what an avid and extreme winter sportswoman she was, surely impressing these Slovakian men (in her mind).

Then one Slovakian man asked exactly what winter sport she enjoyed most. Her answer:

Snowshoeing.

Yes, snowshoeing. Now, in the realm of extreme winter sports, snowshoeing doesn't exactly come to the top of my mind. Apparently, our fun-loving Russian exchange student thought the same. Before said snowshoe queen could defend her sport and her feeble attempt to show off, Dennis the Russian says,

"Ereen (Erin), sno-shoing iz not a sport. Eat iz not even an acteeevety.

It iz seemply walking.

Un sno."

Bahahahaha. I love Dennis Yulin's honestly.

The point of this story, you ask? I’ve finally found the only “winter sport” that is easier and less brag-worthy than snowshoeing. It’s called snow tubing, and it’s very fun for the lazy sportswoman in me. It’s basically sledding on a groomed ski hill.

While Rhinestone Cowgirl was here to visit this weekend, we joined a group of co-workers for a very special youngster’s birthday party at the snow hill. We were pretty much the only adults there not directly accompanying children, but I swear – we are still just as cool as we were in college.

Seriously, look how fun this is:

In a moment of pure genious, we decided to take the camera down the mountain with us to document the ride down. Shockingly, it didn't work out as well as we might have planned.

Here we are, at the top of the mountain. We're not scared at all. This is going to be fun!

Yes, this is still fun. We're being shoved down the mountain by some poor high school student with a crummy weekend job.

OK, this is a little scary. We both sqealed like little sissys.

No, it's fun. We're giggling like five year olds.

We survived! Yay!

In most sledding situations, this is where you have to turn around and lug your tube back up the hill, completely detracting from all the fun you just had going down the hill. That's where normal sledding may qualify as a "winter sport."

But not here, my friends. In snow tubing, there is this:

This is a conveyer belt. It pulls you back up the mountain. Effortlessly.

This is where Dennis the Russian would step in.

"Sno-tubing iz not a sport. Eat iz not even an acteeevety
It iz seemply seeting.
Un sno."

Enjoy the Winter Olympics, my friends! In the meanwhile, I'll be confining my winter sports to sitting. In a tube. On snow.