snow days

We are having a real winter. It has been cold with snow on the ground for weeks! Usually snow may stick around for a few days, and below-freezing temperatures last for a week or so before it warms up and we can all play outside. This year, however, I have resigned myself to bundling up the girls and letting them play outside for as long as they can stand it when the temperatures are hovering around freezing and there's no negative wind chill, like today. I've learned that their instinct for self-preservation will drive them back inside for hot chocolate in 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how much snow they've eaten. Still, it's always more fun when dad is around to help them build snowmen and so that Anthony can join them in a snowball fight.