Monday, December 03, 2007

For the Love of Snow

I love snow - especially when it falls on the weekend and there is plenty of time for the crews to clear the roads before I need to drive on it. Yes, I was out in the storm on Saturday morning for the Reindeer Run, but I was in Minda's big truck, so I didn't have to stress about driving. In addition to the truck, she used to live in the areas where we ran, so she knew which roads to take that would have less traffic and be more clear.

After arriving home from the race, I didn't leave. I opened all of my blinds and admired the storm. My favorite place to admire it was curled up on the couch watching movies. It was lovely. Sunday was a busier day, but the day still had a wintery theme to it. I went over to the house and helped put up the Christmas tree because I learned that Kyle wasn't going to put it up. I couldn't let the boys be without a tree and I didn't want to haul everything over to my apartment, so we put up the tree in the traditional place in the living room. Side note: I learned today that a friend at work is going to loan a small tree to me. I can't wait! I need to get some lights and a few ornaments. Okay...back to Sunday. After the Christmas tree, I headed home to relax, but how could we let a beautiful, wintery afternoon pass by without sledding?! So, I called up the boys and they agreed to meet me at the sledding hill. It is pretty close to my apartment, so I walked over there fully outfitted and ready to go. Alexander, of course, was right in with the big kids who were building a snow jump. He was one of the several "testers" and "crashers" for the snow jump. Ethan took the more even routes without jumps. Needless to say, I joined Ethan on runs down the hill, but never Alexander! My brain still remembers the pain in my tailbone after going over one of those snow ramps last year! Our festivities on the hill ended when it started to get dark, Ethan was cold, and Alexander did a nose-dive into the snow off of the snow ramp and his nose hurt.

We then headed off to the Galleria to pick up some yummy, Big Bowl. While we waited for our food, I couldn't resist going into Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Pottery Barn Kids just to see the looks on the clerks' faces when someone dressed like us entered the store. Side note for Mom - the Galleria is the snooty mall by Southdale where most people where fur coats rather than sledding gear!

Today, I didn't really get to enjoy the snow, but I do love the crunchy noise it makes under your feet. What we did do instead of play in the snow is volunteer at Creekside to serve ice cream for after the meal and to sing Christmas carols. This was the resulting service project from our small group's 40 Days of Community study. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about it, but I ended up having a blast. The boys weren't too sure about it either, but after a while, they really warmed up to the microphones and had fun singing carols on the stage.

Afterwards, I headed to the club for a run. I hope I get used to running on a treadmill or else it is going to be a VERY long winter!!! Maybe it is time to get some running snow shoes and to give that a try! I do want to try cross country skiing. I hear that Hyland lights up their cross country trails - that should be a lot of fun. Maybe we will try it this weekend!

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