Outdoor Adventures of the Best Kind

It has been an odd winter for Minnesota. Last year we got more than we could have hoped for, and this year, not nearly enough. This week we've had a few flurries and lovely 30-ish temperatures, so we have been trying to get out and enjoy it as much as possible before we're dancing in the tulips.
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Yesterday after it had snowed 3 inches, I picked the kids up from school and headed to a new (to them) snow hill on the Minnehaha Parkway. It is a tucked away little place in a neighborhood that you might miss if you weren't paying attention, and not well travelled. We were the only ones sledding on the tree-lined hill, but were later joined in the woods by a group of 10-year old boys with nerf guns. Ahh... to be a kid in the Minnesota winter!
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We sledded and threw sticks for the dog until she couldn't run anymore, then took off on a hike into the snowy woods, along the creek, until we found a magical little hollow. There were two giant oak trees that were lying on their sides, begging to be walked upon. Louise and I busied ourselves playing in the nearby kid-made stick forts while the boys made up stories about knights and tomptes that play there at night. The temperature must have spiked while we were there, as suddenly the snow flakes turned to rain.
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We left in our sleds, pulling the kids through the woods, drenched and happy.

Over the weekend we visited Centennial Lakes park and met some dear friends for a kid ice skating party. It was the first time that Louise actually liked going ice skating and was able to gain some confidence.