Spring!

I used to think I loved winter. Well...I don't. Not really. I do enjoy the snow, especially the first snow. It is beautiful as it falls from the sky and magical when everything is covered in frosty, glittering, snow just after a large storm but it quickly becomes a dirty, slushy, mess. My biggest problem with it though is that the kids do not like to go outside in the winter, we can not ride our bikes, and I can't easily go for walks-a lot of people do not shovel their walks! Grrrr!
Spring however is glorious. I don't care how much my allergies go crazy in the spring, it is my favorite time of year. I love the colors, the warmth of the sun (without being hot!), and playing outside. It is as though our neighborhood comes alive again. We see almost no one in the winter, but often in the spring the kids and I will lay out on the grass Sunday afternoons and we start to see our neighbors again! We all talk and catch up on each other's lives, the part of our lives where we hibernated for 3 months or so. It is wonderful to me.
Everything seems better in the spring, it seems that anything is possible. Even the kids seem more cooperative, they are more willing to help outside, and even inside. I know that there will be more winter weather before it is really spring but I enjoy going outside without a coat and not freezing, I actually enjoy getting in the car and having it feel warm. Some of the other things I love about spring:

Hearing the birds chirp
Seeing the sun more often
Watching things bloom
The sound of lawn mowers
The smell of fresh cut grass (not that I like to do the cutting) ;)
Planting new things and pulling up weeds
Taking walks
Going to the park
Going on picnics
Bike rides
Watching my kids play outside

My kids are just like me, they are loving the good weather we have been having. The only one that was sad was Lilli. The other day she looked outside and cried "Hey, help! My snowman is melted!" 2 years is so cute! She also told Lars a few weeks ago when it snowed "Dad, look snow! Santa is coming!" Lars wasn't sure how to explain that Santa was not coming. Thankfully 2 is also an age of distractibility and short memory (about some things!)
The other kids are all for the spring and Emma is even trying to wear her capris!