The End of the Season

Just as quickly as you could register two fairly significant March snowstorms, the month turned towards spring in a major hurry this week. Warm temperatures and quite a bit of rain. I think our house has the most snow left in the immediate area, but it is going fast. Not sure I've ever seen such a fast melt. Snowbanks that were several feet high 10 days ago are now bare grass. Hopefully the flooding won't be too bad, but it sure seems like some of the low lying areas could be in for some adventure in the next couple of weeks.

Those conditions probably mean that our ski season has come to an abrupt finish. We took the kids out on Saturday (along with their grandparents and Uncle Steve). It was good to get out one more time, but I suspect that Ty and Ally have pretty much had enough for this year, and they showed it by being ready to retire after about four runs. That was also a byproduct of wanting some quality time with their grandparents, but I was happy to see them finish strong and end their season on a happy note. The passion for skiing wasn't there for the kids the past couple of weeks, and I have a strong feeling they are ready to move on to spring activities. It's all good with me -- they learned a ton this season, enjoyed almost every day on the hill and I suspect will be looking forward to next season soon enough.

So spring is getting here quickly and the kids seem ready to embrace it. We've enrolled them in a really cool course at Shelburne Farms called 'Spring Adventures'. It's a 3 hour class where they get to visit with the animals at the farm, spend some time exploring outside and make some new friends. Perhaps the best part will be that it's a chance for them to spend some time in a classroom away from home and mom & dad... not that we don't want them around, but it's good preparation for preschool in the fall. So far they are really enjoying it. Last week they planted beans and marigolds -- fun stuff!

I think Lauren and I are starting to look forward to some warmer weather, too, and as such, just signed up for the Big Lake half-marathon in May. That means we've got some training to do in the next few weeks! I'm looking forward to re-establishing some fitness goals, as I've let the beers and wings of apres' ski accumulate a little bit more this year than last, and sense that it is time to get moving again. As someone who still doesn't consider himself a *runner*, it still strikes me as odd to say this, but running a half-marathon in a few weeks will be a lot of *fun* and I'm really excited for the race. Wow. What a difference a few years makes. :-)