What Warm Weather Can Do

It's happening. It has begun. Signs of life are emerging. The deep thaw has begun. 

The temperatures rose to 54 degrees today. Heatwave!!!! People were taking walks and smiling at passing cars and driving around with their windows open. Picnics were being had in the snowbanks and kids played on the swings in slushy parks. Birds sang, kids rode bikes, and people waved. Who would ever think that 54 degrees would make people so darn happy? It was adorable.

Molly and I ventured outside for a run even though I haven't run in weeks because of a heel injury.  The weather was so beautiful I didn't care about the possibility of further injury. We ran anyway. And it was awesome.

Okay, so the temperatures drop again tomorrow and by Wednesday we are back to a high of 12. But, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. This long, dark, dreary, cold, miserable tunnel that was winter. And the light was beautiful. 

This past weekend wasn't quite as warm as today but it wasn't that bad. We did manage to go skiing for one last time this season. We couldn't get over how much snow there was up north. At least four feet. I had to take a picture of the kiddos standing in front of the snow just to show exactly how much it was. The boys could stand on top of the bank and touch the roof of the house. Crazy. But it did make for good skiing.

Once again Todd and the boys ventured off on the hill for the afternoon while Grace and I tackled the bunny hill. By the last hour of skiing Grace really got the hang of it. I tell ya, she can ski!

(please note the ginormous snowman we saw on the way home from up north-bottom right. Those little dots next to it are people. Those are truck tires for eyes, too. That is a big snowman!)

The weather really held up and was pretty perfect for skiing. Sunny and 28 degrees. Grace and I even had our lunch on the decks outside. That's how we do it in Wisconsin, people! Picnics at 28 degrees!

By the time we got back to the cabin Todd and I were exhausted. The kids, not surprisingly, were still ready to play in the snow. It is safe to say that we all slept well that night. Unfortunately for us daylight savings time had to come knocking the next day and kick the crap out of us. Boo.

But who can complain after such a gloriously warm day as today? Not I! I am too high on vitamin D and running endorphins to worry about the loss of one hour.

(Hehe! See? I'm giddy!)

Tomorrow Joey has to dress up and give a speech to his class on his book report subject, Thomas Jefferson. I had him try on his outfit and I really CAN'T STAND how cute he looks. But don't tell him that. He thinks he looks super cool.

I am just so proud of this kid. He has had such an amazing year of growth. He is really becoming so incredibly responsible. He is always on top of his homework, his projects (the speech he wrote was great!), his assignments, and I hardly ever have to ask. I check his work and he has become so diligent and wants to do well. It is such a switch from the struggles we used to go through with him over schoolwork and working hard. He is just really blowing me away this year. Really coming into his own. It is amazing to watch.

The last of the snowmen decorations came down today. I felt it was time. Har-har. Taking place of the snowmen were the spring and Easter decorations. I suppose I should venture outside and try to take the Christmas decorations down. I was afraid that with all this cold and snow the Nativity would be up until Easter. With the thaw today I may be able to yank it out of the frozen ground and snow bank. I guess that is my project for tomorrow. That and I can continue the poop reconnaissance. You know, search through the melting snow for piles of emerging dog poo that has lain dormant all winter. I try and do it in stages so that when all the snow is gone I'm not left with 30,000 piles of dog poo to pick up. Sometimes I feel like it would just be easier to move.

Let's hope the weather is nice enough tomorrow that even dozens of piles of dog poo won't get me down.