Snowy Snow

This week it has definitely felt like spring has arrived in southern Maryland and after a cold, snowy, and icy February and early March, we were more than ready for the warmer temperatures and blue skies.  Still, we were really excited for the snow as well. Probably more excited than people with a really long driveway and only two snow shovels should be!  We didn't have any snow last winter in Germany - it was just typical grey, rainy German weather with no beautiful snow to break things up. The year before was pretty much the same except for a few days of snow from late November to early December; after that it was just fog, cloudy skies, and rain. So yeah, we were overjoyed to finally see some actual snow, even if we were a bit unprepared to shovel it all off our driveway.

I took just a few pictures on our days outside in the white powdery stuff and thought I'd share them before my head is filled with springtime thoughts.

The driveway all cleared! This was after our first big snow and it took for-ev-er to shovel this thing. We're developing a better system every time it snows and are getting much faster every time!

My favorite thing about snowy days is how bright and clean everything looks. Once the snow stops the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the snow sparkles like diamonds - so beautiful.

We did go on a little walk in the woods on one of our snow days. No one else had walked there yet and there's something special about big expanses of untouched snow. This is the little wooden bridge we cross to get to the trail in the woods; we loved the way each board on the bridge had it's own triangular pile of snow.

The trail in the woods before we ruined that perfect snow...

Poor Natalie, every time she would play in the snow one of her boots would somehow come undone and fill with snow. 

We're still working out which hills are best for sledding. This one, off the side of our house, is okay. The hill in front of our house is even better, but you have to watch out for a tree or two on your way down. 

Snow boots roasting on an open fire! The best place to dry off boots after coming in from the snow is in front of the wood stove.

We're pretty confident that we won't be getting any more snow this season, but it was so fun while it was here. The kids loved getting snow days as they were pretty much unheard of in our old schools, and I loved the break from driving to seminary before school and other activities after, plus having bonus family days. So even though we're welcoming spring I just have to say, long live snow days!