So Long, Snow!

For a few days, at least!

It was WARM today! Nearly 50 degrees, which felt downright balmy after some of the days we've had lately. We didn't even wear jackets outside-- just sweatshirts. The high temperature, plus the fact that it rained almost all last night, meant that the snow was disappearing rapidly when we woke up. You could practically watch it receding during the day. As of this evening, our entire front lawn is visible again, along with most of the back yard. No sledding today!

We took this opportunity to go exploring, though. Nikos had preschool this morning, but as soon as he was home and everyone had eaten, we headed out to hike in the woods. Honestly, I just wanted to take pictures of them where they weren't all bundled up in their snow gear! They weren't super cooperative, though they DID enjoy our explorations! Here are a few photos I got. I had hoped to get something I could use on a Valentine card, but I don't think I did. That will be a mission for another day, I suppose! Still, I thought these were cute! They had to wear their snow boots, since there was still some on the ground (especially in the woods):



After our adventure, I spent the afternoon doing the usual: cooking, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... and then cleaning some more. This house is HUGE! I also, on a whim, decided to paint the long wall in the kitchen. I am in the middle of working on a cool chalkboard-thing (like this) for the kitchen, but realized that I should probably paint the wall before I put it on there. I will eventually paint the rest of the kitchen, of course, but this wall was sort of imperative for my little project. I also painted the chalkboard, and will get some molding to go around it, too. It's going to be so cool!

Anyhow, the kids kept themselves busy playing while I was spontaneously painting-- because clearly, they have gotten used to my impulsive home improvement projects! They were giggling and running around and reading books. Then, next thing I knew, they scooted through the kitchen like this, giggling like fools:

So, obviously, I grabbed my camera. I love love LOVE this picture! It's so "them"!

Tomorrow, we have our playdate with some new friends, which should be interesting! We'll be practically at the New Hampshire border-- I am tempted to go across and do some tax-free shopping! But we'll see!