The thing is, lovelies, I really love winter. And this has been an epic one. This is the one we’ll be talking about for years. Well, we’re still talking about it because we’re still buried deep in snow and were blessed with a few fresh inches last night. Although I’ll be happy to see the snow pants, mittens and boots go away and the ease of life that flip-flop weather brings, I’m truly sad to see this winter go. It has been a real northern Michigan winter with its record-low temperatures, consistent snow cover, perfectly groomed ski trails, ice cover and quiet, beautiful blanket of white. And more than two weeks of total school days were missed to “snow days” for the school kids! Crazy.

As we welcome spring into our lives with its mud, muck and the hopeful planting of peas, I’ll share a few pics from our winter. The year we “survived the polar vortex!” The year we really did not see the ground between Thanksgiving and well, I’m guessing early April given how snowy it still is. You gave us one helluva good time, winter. Cheers!

A few highlights…

We ice skated with family.

We visited the northern Michigan ice caves. Full account of our day here.

Wren made the most of the Winter Fest by playing three rounds of frozen putt-putt golf.

Phoebe ate her weight in snow. The kid loves to eat snow. It must be how she stays so slim.

I skate skiied the 27K VASA race. Absolutely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

Phoebe learned to play in the snow for more than three minutes at a time.

Our nest got buried. And Chris kept on shoveling.

And shoveling.

Wren learned to downhill ski. She’s beginning to make some good turns.

Our indoor snowman kept us happy because we still have yet to make a real outdoor snowman. It’s been too cold! The snow is tough to pack. Maybe this week!

I ran a race with a fun group of ladies. This was a VERY cold day.

A few snowballs were formed.

Our snow bunny.

I participated in SheSkis this year – a great group of female skiiers. I got 4th place in our paintball biathlon! The week before I purchased a paintball gun – since cost of an average paintball gun was covered in my budget.

The week after, Chris got to ride a fat bike out and around Power Island! He said it was like riding on the moon.

Daily scene in our nest…

This snow bunny is ready for spring. I told her it was spring today and she made sure to wear her rain coat.

I took the girls skating on West Bay this week. It was incredible!

Although we didn’t go, we had fun watching the ice boats on West Bay last weekend. Incredible stuff.

I’m getting a bit teary just reviewing these photos from our incredible winter. And I’m also left thinking, “we didn’t ski enough!” and “We didn’t sled enough!” and “We didn’t skate enough!” There’s always April.

Happy spring, lovelies.