Happy Spring...No Wait....Still Winter...

The first day of spring holds so much promise... Especially in Canada. I have eagerly waited for the arrival of spring, since Christmas was over. If you've read my blog at all, you know, we've had a L-O-N-G winter. It got cold and snowed in November, and really, has just stayed with us. Now another thing I have to say, is that being a Canadian gal, I'm no stup... Spring DOES NOT happen in March around these here parts. We're lucky if it's looking springy by May. (Seriously, our planting season is about 4 months long, if we're lucky) But it doesn't mean we're not optimistic. Of course we are! Who knows, with global warming and all, maybe spring WILL begin earlier than we're used to. To tell you the truth, it was actually looking that way this year. On Thursday, March 19th, I saw people outside walking w/o their coats on, and I actually thought, "PEOPLE, C'MON.... It's sunny yes, but NOT Springy...." And then I got out of my vehicle, I thought "Holy cow.... It is pleasant out". (Keep in mind as well that where I live, anything above 5°Celsius is down right tropical). So I too removed my coat and felt alive and free. The sun actually begins to feel warmer at this time of year. [The past 4 years, we've been in Arizona at this time of year, soaking up some sunshine down south, visiting our snowbirds.] Imagine if you, will my shock when I actually had to open my car window and turn the A/C on. It was positively joyous.

Friday as it turned out, was exactly the same. Mace was off school for parent teacher interviews and the start of Spring Break. We spent a little bit of time 'brainstorming' a list of things to do over the next week. Most of them are outdoor activities... Seriously, we're delirious about getting outside. We spent the entire afternoon in the backyard. We blew bubbles, the kids played in their fort, they named their fort, even they let me join the new club they formed. Such fun. There was even talk about running through the sprinklers... Which is funny, because if you look at the pictures, there's still snow, and lots of it, but it was WARM...Here's what the day looked like in pictures...

Bubbles of course, is a sure sign of spring...

Mason sporting his new spring shirt, which he was so proud to wear the first day of spring!

This kid is the best big brother a little girl could hope for. As long as she sits on that swing, he'll push her. You'd be amazed at how long she sat there getting pushed.

Then came Saturday. The morning started out great. I went out first thing, in nothing but a jean jacket, no gloves or anything! How risque.... The sun was warm, the ice and snow was melting. What a great weekend ahead of us!

By 1 pm, there was a shift in the weather. The arctic wind began to blow. The clouds began to roll in (or were they whipping in?). We'd gone out for the afternoon/evening and didn't notice the snow begin to fall. (Yes, there was a storm warning... But we'd seen that mean sky and whipping arctic wind all day, what do the weather people know any way?) We had to come home, on the highway, at night, where traffic crept along at a 40km/hr pace (which felt fast...) and Mason said "It feels just like we were in cyber space". Great. Just what you want... To feel like you're in cyber space, at 40km/hr on a 100km/hr highway, 1/2 an hour away from the city. But alas, we made it home, and woke up this morning to this...

Ahhh, there's my snow angel, ensuring the neighbors walks are all taken care of.

That's a LOT of snow on that vehicle!

(It takes me a half hour to get them ready and outside, and usually lasts about 15 minutes before coming back in rosy cheeked)

So, we had a taste, or a tease, or a glimpse of what we have to look forward to. For now, our spring break plans need to be altered, as we won't find any crocuses, or go on any nature hikes. We won't be blowing bubbles any time soon, on our deck, or having little deck picnics. No... We got a day and a 1/2 of nice. Enough to whet our appetite, and wish we were somewhere warmer! Wondering why we didn't throw caution to the wind, and go to Mexico with our friends. You guys are missing some great weather! We can only hope that it melts once again... And that our spring will come. Eventually.