Long, cold winter!

This winter has been ridiculous. So bone-freezing cold, so much snow, so  much ice. The kids have had (I think) 8 snow days home from school, and they may have another tomorrow. But! Spring starts next week. I can almost smell the daffodils and feel the warm breeze!


We've gotten to where we're all tired of the snow, but the kids definitely enjoyed the first couple of big storms. We had some pretty epic days of sledding and snowman making!




Snow days also usually mean that my house is full of the neighborhood kids. It does make for extra wet bootprints on the floor and extra mouths to feed and extra noise, but they LOVE it. I'm so glad to have these sweet friends in the neighborhood!

On one of the snow days, Daddy and Hope cooked up a plan and went snowboarding at a ski place about an hour away. Talk about an adventure! This is her breakfast of champions before she left: two entire tomatoes, and a sausage/egg/cheese sandwich. She'll always be my tomato baby.
Anyway, they rented the gear, took a little class (for kids 8 and up, Hope had to look mature) and then hit the slopes. I'm amazed that she had the endurance to be out in the cold, working so hard, for what turned out to be 4 or 5 hours! I'm not sure that she loved it enough to make it a regular thing, but I know she enjoyed the special time with Daddy. And what a Daddy he is!