Winter is Here!

Much to the delight of my children it snowed this past Sunday.  As I sat there not feeling as excited as they were I wondered what had happened to me?  I used to love it when it snowed and I couldn't wait to get out and play in it.   I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the roles are reversed now.  I'm the one wrestling kids into snow gear and sternly telling them that "if they don't put on their gloves and zip up their coats they will NOT be going outside!"  Thankfully they all complied, or (were just too little to get away from me while I was getting them dressed).  And believe it or not, I did put on some wool socks and boots, (Justin's--I tried not to think about how ridiculous I looked in oversized boots and was very grateful that my feet were warm and dry).  Somehow I was blessed to get one of my dad's old Army jackets-indestructible and lined with down--super warm.  Thanks dad!  I think I was even wearing one of his old wool hats over a Carhart headband/earwarmer that he gave me.  My kids thank you now dad, because if I didn't go out with them they wouldn't have been able to really get out and play.

I had to take these pictures pretty quickly as Kenzie was really getting into the spirit of things yelling, "Snowball Sight (fight)!" and throwing as much snow at me as she could.

As much fun as our tiny backyard is--it gets boring pretty quickly.  Thankfully we have a large empty lot within our little townhome community.  So I gathered up all the motivation and happy attitude that I could and walked on down there with the kiddos.  To my suprise I ran and slid a little down the slightly sloping street--I really hadn't forgotten how to have fun in the snow!  However, unlike Bill Cosby I did not have on my "...four pair o' corduroys..." just my favorite pair of jeans, and when one of the kids hit me in the back of the leg with a snowball it was cold and wet.  However I knew I couldn't give up on my kids yet.  They had a great time making snow angels, and trying their best to make a snowman--it was a lot harder than I remember.  I think it's because the snow was a little on the wet side.  (No, I did not get pictures of these things.  I opted to leave the camera at home where it would be safe and dry.) 

After a couple of hours we went home and made our favorite homemade hot chocolate--YUM!  O.k. I will come clean.  It really was a fun afternoon.  I'm grateful I live somewhere where we get a little taste of winter.  And I'm really glad I got to spend some quality time with my kids.  Because honestly, that's all I really want.