Winter Wonderland

Ten days later, I'm finally posting about the snow. The big snow dump last weekend made for some great playing. It wasn't nearly as cold last weekend as it was for this one. The snow was wet and deep, so it was perfect for building stuff.

Like forts.

On the second day, the tracks had been laid for a nice sledding experience. Sophia made her first successful ramp. She has made other attempts at ramp building, but she never caught air before that day. She was very excited!

It's my opinion that if the temp insists on dipping, I'd just as soon have some snow along with it.

My Loves

I think I post a version of this picture every winter. I just love how cute these two are when they've been battling it out in the snow.

I love sledding, but Erick will occasionally allow Sophia to "sneak up" on him and smash snow in his face or down his shirt. So, he'll always be a little bit more fun to be outside with than I am. I'm okay with that.

Admittedly, I'm hoping that was our last snow. I can smell spring in the air today, and I'm hoping that's where we're headed.

First snow of the Winter!!

Sophia has been incredibly upset that we had yet to get a single snow that would withstand a sled. It was a constant source of disappointment.

To be honest, I have been disappointed myself. So we were both thrilled to get our first real snow last week. While I don't think it was worthy of the snow day that she got from the school district, we certainly used it up!

This was her face after her first roll down the hill. Very, very pleased.

This was on our second sledding trip of the day. Toward the end when she doesn't need the hat any more, and her cheeks get nice and rosy.

On the third time we went sledding on Sophia's snow day, she stayed out for an extra hour with friends. That was the best of both worlds for both of us. 

This picture was taken the next day when we went sledding one more time before the snow was all gone. Like I said, we've only had the one snow, but we made good use of it! On thehat was the best of both worlds for both of us.

Can't wait for the next time that we get to get all bundled out and run up the hill over and over again. Seriously. I still love going sledding.

Sick of the Snow

I like snow. I do. It's something I always say. "If it's going to be this cold, at least we could have snow." I will more or less stand by that statement. I just think I'd rather not have it go to such extremes. In temperature or snowfall...

Anyhow, it wasn't all bad. Even though the wind chills got to 35 below or something. Before the biggest chill hit, we went outside to play. Because the snow was just taunting us. Looking so perfect and untouched.

Bundled to the max

We didn't make it very long outside that day. Sophia could have kept going, but her cheeks took a while to return to their normal color. While she thawed, she blogged. And here's what she looked like. With her cup of snow beside her.

Anyway, now the snow is all gucky and brown. (I find it very interesting that spell check did not underline "gucky.") The charm is gone. And now the rain will even make it impossible to play in. So I'm ready to bid this one adieu.

The next time it gets very cold, I'm pretty sure I'll still say, "At least let's have a little snow."

Sledding Adventures

Sophia and Erick went sledding three days of our break. I went twice. All were big adventures. The first day, we barely had enough snow. Second day was perfect snow for building, so we didn't sled as much as work... Last day was mostly ice. So very fast down the hill, but Sophia has become a confident and independent sledder - a relief for all of us.

All three were followed by hot chocolate, of course. What's the point of sledding and teapots if not for hot cocoa? 

Snow!!

and brrrrrr....



Sophia had a playdate today, but she has been waiting so patiently - well, she's been waiting anyway - for snow that once she got home and wanted to sled, I just couldn't turn her down.

We didn't let the ridiculous cold get in our way. Last year, Sophia didn't like sledding because she got snow in her face. But this time, she was prepared. Face covered and eyes protected, she loved going down the hill at top speed all by herself.



And now that I have feeling back in all of my extremities, I will consider going out again tomorrow if the snow is still sleddable.

Just another snow day

 

Little did I know that I should have invested in some ski pants or something this year. It's gross out there! Okay, the beautiful, white blanket of snow can hardly be called gross, but give it a couple of days.

As soon as we were up, Sophia was begging to go outside. Wind chills in the single digits are no deterrent to a kid with a cozy pink snow suit. Eventually, I gave in.

But I did get a treat out of the deal. Kaldi's is on the way to the big hill, so it was easy to talk Sophia into a quick stop to get warm before getting to the hill. Don't worry, I was finished before I took this picture.

 

Also, I have found a very real advantage to radiators. Without a doubt, I will be asked to go out in this weather again today. When I do, I will have toasty dry clothes.

 

In the meantime, Sophia put on some new pj's, and has decided to create some art today. Works for me. I can sit here and offer input and desired affirmation while drinking some fresh coffee and catching up on the world (and Etsy).

 

Even though I'm tired of snow days, this one is definitely turning out to be a cozy one.

Snow Fam

On Thursday, Erick mentioned that the forecast had snow in it for the weekend. Since that admission, Sophia has been relentless about how many days until snow. I was almost certain this would be a wrong guess by the weather predictors, and we'd have to stall this "first real snow" business another week or two.

I was wrong. They were right. We woke up this morning to a lovely blanket - well, maybe more of a throw - of the beautiful white stuff. I really nearly forgot how much I love the snow. I'm one of those people who always thinks there was more snow when I was a kid. How do I have so many great memories of sledding and snowmen if it snowed as rarely as it seems like it does now? Well, I guess that's beside the point.

Sophia loves the snow, too, and I'm so glad! This wasn't the greatest snow for snowballs and snowmen...

 

But it is perfect for sledding. So we bundled up and walked down the block to the campus of Concordia Seminary, which happens to have several perfect sledding hills, and they don't even lead into the street!

 

You can see the joy on my face, I think.

 

After a few trips down the hill for all of us (and dragging the sled plus Sophia back up...), I became the object of a surprise attack.

 

The powdery snowballs made for a brief fight, followed by a photo op. Sophia kept calling us Snow Daddy and Snow Mama. I could live with that.

 

One last trip down the hill with the snow baby and we called it a morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can talk them into Round 2 here in a bit.

 

The Flavor of Snow

It really is true. Snow tastes delicious. On Thanksgiving Day, we had a brief and exciting little snow storm. We got out and ran around in it. Sophia required our participation in running up and down the street with our tongues out. The rest of us decided to keep our eyes open, but Sophia thought she got better results with her head completely back. Of course, when she put her head completely back, the snow got in her eyes if they weren't closed... Lucky for Grandmary, she was here to participate in the spectacle.

Now we're all hoping for some snow to test out a great hill just a block from our apartment.

Another Snowy Day

This time it's just snow. Of course I discovered the very present layer of ice beneath the snow as I was trying to capture the moment on film. Fortunately no one caught my moment on film. We are still getting snow here this morning, so we decided to get out and enjoy it just a little. Since it was just ice before, Sophia really hadn't been able to walk around in it. We were excited to see what she would do. It didn't take her long to realize that snow is prettier from Daddy's arms.

Happy snowy day, everyone. Hope you're safe and warm with lots of yummies to keep you occupied.