Fun in the snow

My girls know that the first batch of flakes taste the best.

We finally got a good snowfall. By good, I mean that it was deep enough to not just melt away quickly, and it was accompanied by temperatures that weren't bone chilling cold. In other words, perfect for winter fun. Luckily the snow coincided with the weekend, and we made it count. From about the first flake that fell yesterday, she was plotting to build a snowman. Yesterday's snow was perfectly sticky for the task, and our snowman was soon positioned to greet anyone approaching our house.

The snowman might have gotten to be a little taller, but she was just too eager to install the buttons and facial features for it to grow any more. Note the snowshoes.

This morning Oma came over on her snowshoes, so after a hearty pancake breakfast we decided to go sledding. She had gotten a new sled in early December, but to her consternation there hasn't been much opportunity to use it until now. However, the fantastic conditions on the snow hill in a nearby park made up for the long wait. A lot of other kids and families had also congregated on the hill and the routes were prime for action. It's a perfect sledding hill, wide enough for many concurrent tracks, and with a variety of angles from steep to not so steep.

Coming back up the hill with Oma after an early run

She hadn't had much experience going solo, but got the hang of it quickly. She doesn't weigh enough to really seat the sled into the snow, so she just skims along the surface and can pick up some serious speed. This is especially the case where a track has been packed down by heavier riders.

Snow rocket with a Wyoming tuque starting a run.

I was a bit surprised at her stamina for trudging back up the hill after a number of runs. I often met her halfway down the hill to pull the sled, but she was a little trooper, practically running to the top. When she eventually decided that she wanted me to pull her back up to the top, I took that as a cue that she needed a break.

I'm hoping that all the times pulling the sled up the hill will equate to an early bedtime, but I'm not betting on it.

After quite a few runs, She decided to turn her sled into an impromptu snow fort for a snow fight. She's at an age where enjoys scoring a good hit with a snowball as well as receiving one. She's got a pretty good arm, and is relentless with a fair degree of accuracy, as the adults around her were soon to discover.

Plotting an attack from behind her shield.

Making a celebratory "snow fairy" as she called it.

It was great to be able to enjoy the snow. Once we got home, we topped off our fun with a change into some dry clothes and some warm drinks and cookies. A few more flakes are starting to fall as I get ready to start a fire in the fireplace. If winter could be like this for the whole season, I wouldn't mind at all.