Snowy Days

We've been lucky enough this winter to be blessed with a bunch of great snow days. You know, the ones where the sun is shining, the snow is packable, and the wind is calm. It feels like a crime to not make the most of these perfect winter days so I've made it a point to keep the kids busy outside. 

building snowmen

shoveling

snowball fights

spray paint snow
*liquid watercolors (food coloring will work too) in a spray bottle

fort/tunnel digging

As you can see it's been fun, but it's also been HARD! Taking three (sometimes four) kids outside is not easy! Getting everyone bundled up is an event by itself. Once we make it outside, inevitably someone's boots, gloves, or hat starts causing discomfort. It's also rare that one of the kids doesn't decide they are too cold after a few minutes. Lets just say there a lots of reasons to whine and sometimes I'm very tempted to scream at them all to "shut-up and have fun!" No worries, I haven't - I practice my deep breathing instead and tell myself that this experience is worth it. And I believe it is because I want my kids to be active. I want them to be ready to step outside their comfort zones for the sake of fun and adventure. I also know that it's creating good memories because when they tell their dad about their day they don't seem to remember the cold or the uncooperative gloves - just the fun. 

It's also worth it because playing outside means I don't have to feel guilty about choosing to sleep in instead of working out... 

Bonus - yesterday Jeremy's afternoon class was canceled so we all headed out to a local hill for some sledding and snowboarding. The video below shows the kids in action. You also get to hear my over zealous cheering - my children are going to hate me when they are teenagers :)