A Park Day in January

Since the beginning of the year, it's been quite cold around here. Most days have been gray and damp, something I am not a big fan of. We even had a couple of days of snow last week. But there was quite a change on Friday that called for a celebration complete with a picnic. Temperatures soared near sixty degrees (almost flip flop weather) and we headed out to the park with my sister and her kids. Sometimes she just has the best ideas.

Yes, you will see snow in some of these pictures, but we didn't mind. The temperature was really quite nice and the sunshine felt warm actually. The big kid park was still covered in snow, but the little kid park was fun anyway. My teenagers joined us and we were all glad to spend some time outside with temperatures above freezing.

Oh, and Lindsay took pictures for me. It is so nice to have my own personal photographer and end up with such great pictures. Thanks, Lindsay!

Back to the Real World

Back to the real world today. The last two days have been filled with snow, hot chocolate, altered schedules, board games, and a little tv, but today, Ken has returned to work and it looks like the snow may be melting. It was a blast while it lasted.

Snow

A cure for the winter blahs? Wide-eyed little people staring out the window waiting for enough of the white stuff so accumulate to they can go outside to play. Yep, we woke up to snow and the forecast calls for 4-6 inches of the white stuff. Now I am a bit tired of the cold weather myself, but if it's going to be this cold, having snow for a couple of days is a definite plus. Since we rarely see snow, this calls for celebration.

The kids are trying to con me into no school. Good thing it is inauguration day and our plan is different anyway; we can still have fun and learn something. Of course my favorite argument is, "All the other kids are out of school." And they are even offering to clean the whole house and play outside in lieu of school work. They are also trying to convince their dad that there is enough snow on the road to justify coming home early from work - maybe by lunchtime.

So what's a mom to do? I think I'll put on some hot chocolate, relax while they clean the house, and help them bundle up. Yep, if it's got to be cold and gray outside, snow is a pleasant interruption.


Patriotic snowflakes instead of red, white, and blue stars.