Vida. Risa. Amor.

On New Years morning I was the first one up, (well, not really, Chemo was already at work), and before the kids even rolled out of bed, I already had the Christmas tree packed away.  If that wasn't depressing enough, the Rose parade was already over and I guessed that I was probably facing another day filled with Wii noises in the background mixed with Wow-wow-wubzy while doing more laundry and dishes....(coo-ky).  Well that obviously didn't sound too appealing, so I decided instead I was going to do whatever it took to spend the first day of the year outside. 

There's snow in Arizona, and it's only 2 hours away.  Snow.  I've been thinking of it all Christmas break, and since it was probably the last free Saturday we'd have before games filled up our weekends until July, I decided we just had to go see it...before it melted away.  The view we have of Four Peaks mountain with snow on it's, well, peaks, was proof enough for me that snow still continues to fall in the world...but I wanted to see it up close. I wanted to smell the coldness again!

There's a certain beauty to winter and snow and I miss it.  The last winter I had was back in 2003 when we still lived in Illinois, when Aydan was just a newborn baby.  One of my favorite things to do was get out and shovel a layer off the driveway every other hour or so when the snowstorms would come at night.  I can specifically remember one night being the only one outside in my neighborhood, with nothing but the moon shining on the snow.  I just stood there listening to the quiet snow falling around me...I think I was even inspired to sing a few verses of Silent Night.

As a kid, my Dad would help us make forts out of the snow, (and not the wimpy kind either...he went into serious castle making mode, a slide with stairs even), and it would entertain us for hours with my sisters and brother.  We'd play until we were soaking wet and only came back in to switch out our mittens for dry ones and then would go back out again.  Those were the days when we didn't joke around about snowsuits and scarves...and it didn't matter if your mittens matched, they just needed to keep your hands warm.  Moon boots, earmuffs and freezy-freakies came in pretty handy back then too.

So once my kids knew I was serious to take them to see real snow, we were out the door in 20 minutes.  Snow always equals wet clothes, so we were prepared with extra stuff to change into...and some DVD's for the road.  (Despicable me is hilarious by the way).

Just the drive itself to Payson is amazing and beautiful and about a half hour before you get to the town, you can start to see the snow along the highway.  Families from the valley pulled off at the first gas station to let their kids sled down the first hill they came to, but since I was determined to find something a little off the main highway, we found a park only 5 minutes into town that had perfect hills for sledding.

We had a great day and I was so glad I decided to go.  I discovered that I still miss the snow, but not so much the cold, and so it didn't feel so bad driving away from the slush.  I also forgot what it feels like to slip on the ice with cold toes.  It is also impossible to sled down a hill without smiling the whole way down. 

I'm so glad I spent the first day of the year being reminded of how much I love nature and being outside and having fun with my kids.  I also hope I will continue to find new ways to get my family out of the house to explore something new in Arizona each month...or atleast any chance we can get.