If you’ve read anything on my blog, you’ve figured out that I love the outdoors.  And winter.  So I’ve been eager for my grandkids to reach an age when they too can come out and share some outdoor activities with me.  Who would have guessed that in late March we’d have better snow than the previous two Christmases?  Finally, I had my opportunity.  With a yard full of deep snow, mild temperatures and the grandkids visiting for the weekend, I laid my plans.

Friends lent me some mini snowshoes, and I couldn’t wait to try them out with Ben.  He thought they were pretty cool when we strapped them on.  And standing on top of the snow with them he was all grins.  Walking, however, turned out to be another matter.  Ben’s snowshoes kept trampling on each other.  How to explain to a toddler that he has to walk with his legs spread far apart?  Clearly I wasn’t quite getting my point across.  Not wanting to put him off, we scratched that mission for the time being.  We’ll give it another try later.

On to the sliding hill!  By this time Mya was bundled into her snowsuit.  At a year old she’s already more adventurous than her cautious brother.  She rather enjoyed her plunge down the hill with her dad.  Ben and I followed, but it turns out my sled driving was a bit wild – fast, wobbly and snow in the face were not Ben’s idea of a good time.  Fortunately, his daddy was able to navigate a more sedate ride down the hill, and Ben never noticed that each successive trip down got faster and longer.  I guess I need to tone down my enthusiasm a bit to better match the tastes of a toddler.

I haven’t given up yet.  But I guess I’d better hold off getting those kiddie cross-country skies for a while.