Ugh. Winter

By all accounts, this winter has been brutal.

We've missed four school days so far due to extreme cold, with temperatures below -20. With wind chill, two days were at -40. We've also had tons of snow. The shallowest snow in the front yard is about 8 inches deep, and there are giant mounds on either side of the driveway that are taller than Mark (and he's 41").

We've pretty much been trapped inside by either snow or extreme cold (or both) on every weekend since Christmas. On the one hand, we feel extremely lucky to be in our new house, where there is enough space for everyone. On the other hand, it's beginning to feel like a bit like The Shining, minus the Redrum and the creepy kids. We're starting to wonder what the outside is like.

The pictures below are from a rare day when it was warm enough to take Mark outside to play in the buckets and buckets of snow. He made snow angels, and we dug a "snow road" through the front yard, which is sort-of like a tunnel with no roof.

We had a great time outside that one day, but we are definitely, definitely ready for spring. To be honest, though, we'd take 30 degrees. Or even 25. And maybe enough melting to see what our new backyard looks like.