We fell in love with winter all over again this weekend when we awoke to fresh snow and February’s promised blue skies. We all headed out for a long cross country ski together at our favorite local spot and were greeted with a glorious afternoon.

Wren usually skis for as long as she wants to then jumps in the Chariot with Phoebe for snacks and a tour of the north woods. Each time we go, her own ski time seems to get more enjoyable. She falls a lot, but she laughs a lot and can usually get back up on her own. Last winter there was a very high level of frustration and not a lot of fun for Wren on skis, but it’s encouraging to see her enjoying it more. Often she’ll take off ahead of us and play around on the first little hill before we catch up to her. It’s important to keep it fun and well, there’s always a promise of good snacks. Because why ski if you can’t have good snacks, right?

It started out cloudy and bitter cold. But by the time we were climbing the hill past the river crossing, the sun came out and everything sparkled. Grins all around. We were warmed up from the climbing and full of awe. One of those days when I felt so grateful for our health and opportunity to enjoy our lives together outside.

After our cocoa and (peanut butter and Nutella) sandwich break (hey, I said good snacks, right?) about three miles in, we got the girls bundled back up and kept on skiing. Eventually they both fell asleep and took good naps.

We made it back to the parking lot with the girls still asleep so Chris and I were able to sit together and enjoy each other’s company and more snacks without any whining or interrupting. A rare mini-date! The skies opened up with a fresh dusting of snow and we started to get cold again. Time to call it a day. A great day.

P.S. We all slept so soundly that night and we attribute it to that rare, bright spot in the sky. Thank you, sun!