Caroline wanted a trip back to her old stomping grounds for Christmas. We finally made it happen this week and I’ll be the first say that a trip to the Hamptons in March just isn’t as fun as a summer adventure. But it was beautiful with some fresh snow. This picture will not do justice but I had to snap a photo of the trees covered in snow on Squires Ave (our old street).
Snow on Squires
So….visiting Maine in February has reminded me that we don’t have it that bad on Long Island. We spent less than 4 days in Maine. Great weather when we arrived. Beautiful on the day we left. The two full days we had in between–snow! And not just a “dusting.” The best part of it was remembering that life does go on when it snows. Not at all like out on Long Island where even the outlet malls close for stormy weather.
The temperature was brutal. I won’t lie to you about that. Nana introduced Caroline to the time and temperature number and she was thrilled to dial it up and report the temperature to me. There’s only so many times a day that you want to hear that the temperature is 14 degrees!
But still, we played outside in the massive snowbanks and thawed out by the radiators when the kids had had enough. And after a short but fun visit, we returned home to find most of our snow was gone followed by an (admittedly usually) warm weekend. Nothing like the tease of a warm day to make you dream of spring!
Mountain climbing!
The gentlest game of King of the Hill ever!
I tried really hard not to get mad when they knocked snow on to my neatly shoveled walkway.
A few days later, back home, not a coat in sight
Caroline, who likes the cold and snow least out of any of us, is more than ready for warmer days!
This weather is for the birds!
This has felt like the endless winter. It has snowed weekly since Christmas. Sometimes just a bit. But there have been a few storms when we had to shovel the driveway twice in one storm. While I don’t prefer the cold, I’ve always prided myself on having a toughness about snow. You know, being from Maine and all. But I feel a bit like a wimp this winter. I’ve complained about the weather a lot. I groan when Liam asks to go outside and play. I’ve started dreaming about how nice it would be if the Coast Guard sent us to a warmer climate next time Jeff is up for a transfer.
On top of all this, I can’t believe I agreed to take the kids from the land of cold and snow (New York) to a land of more cold and more snow (Maine) next week when they are on vacation from school! What was I thinking?!?!
One thing that Caroline wanted to do while on winter vacation from school was visit Jeff at work. She rarely gets a chance to stop by his office now that she in school all day. It was snowing and I didn’t exactly feel like being out and about (even the traditional trip to get a treat for the kids and coffee for Jeff wasn’t motivating me), but I bundled the kids up and brought them over for a short visit. Of course, it was worth the hassle. There’s just something fun about being able to visit your parents at work and I can still remember some of the visits to my dad when he was at work.
Caroline was more than excited to visit Jeff, but part of me wonders if she sees visiting his office like going to an art gallery. Jeff has a lot of drawings and paintings in his office and she likes to look at it all (80% hers, 20% Liam’s). She likes tell him that she remembers making a certain picture for him and asks him why he still has it up. He tells her it’s because she is the best artist he knows and her big smile gets just a bit bigger. Just take a look at those smiling mugs below to and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Yep, definitely worth a drive in the snow on a lazy afternoon to see those smiles!
Caroline & her dad. She’s holding his business card and very proud that he has displayed her artwork.
For the record, Liam is working hard to increase his artwork stats. Yesterday he painted twelve pictures and designated that eight of them were for Jeff’s office! Guess he noticed he was under-represented on the desk!
Nothing makes waiting for the bus like a little snow! That’s right–we still go to school when it snows around here 🙂 Even though it is December and I knew it was going to snow, the boots were still in the basement. Opps. I did redeem my Mother of the Year status and tucked dry socks and an extra pair of shoes into Caroline’s backpack before she hopped on the bus.
After Big Sis was gone, Liam managed another 45 minutes of outside play (on top of the 20 minutes with had while “waiting” for the bus) before I forced him into the house for hot cocoa and dry clothes.
Caroline’s ingenious snowplow
Good thing the plow just came through so Liam and his emergency vehicle could get through!
Yup, making Mama happy by brushing off her car. He’ll make a good husband some day!
We have a pretty big tree in our front yard. I couldn’t tell you what kind. I can tell you it’s not a pine tree, oak tree or maple tree. But it’s a nice tree. The kids love its low hanging branches and it’s Caroline’s dream to climb it all by herself (she’s pretty close to reaching that goal!).
A few weeks ago, Caroline noticed some small pink buds on its branches. It only took a few days before the front yard was an explosion of pink! It was quite a surprise after seeing it all summer with green leaves and then the long winter months with no color. Sadly, we are already being reminded that the pink won’t last. Our yard is covered with “pink confetti” and it is so thick in some spots that it kind of looks a bit like snow!
The “before” shot:
Our tree with snow–December 30, 2012
Pink on a rainy day–May 2013
Pink up close–May 2013
“Snow” on the ground–May 16th, 2013
I spoke too soon about Spring being on it’s way. We definitely took one step forward and two steps back. The news has been nothing but talk of snowstorms on the way. As a former Mainer, I should know better. How many times was Easter met with snow, and not just a flurry or two! I had a few folks say to me in recent days things like, “Bet you are wishing Jeff got transfered some place warmer” or “Wouldn’t you like to be in Florida now?” Maybe. Just a little. That’s all I will admit for now.
But I wasn’t the only one doing some tropical dreaming! Liam discovered pineapple. I am sure he has had it before, but I can’t say when. Caroline loves it and can eat a whole can by herself, but Liam has always passed it up. So it was a bit of a surprise when he asked for it. He frequently asks for things that he doesn’t like (think apples and chex mix), but we always give it to him. Typically, he will take a bite, maybe two, and announce that he is done, doesn’t like it. On the night that these pictures were taken, he impressed himself and us by eating the whole container of pineapple (canned, no sugar added) with a bit of help from big sister.
They started with cupcakes and moved on to pineapple.
Sour!
What is this strange, wonderful food?
Caroline gets fierce with her pineapple chunk!
