Ugh, The Winter Weather

Let me just first say, I can't stand the winter. Nope, not at all. Can't find one redeeming quality. John says I'll like it when I learn to ski, but until then, I'll just have to take his word for it. The coldness, the dry skin and nasal passages (yes, I'm getting old, thank you), the coldness, the bundling up kids and jamming huge coats into car seats, the buckling of those car seats with brittle icicles for fingers, the dirty boot drippings all over the car, and did I mention the bitter coldness?

It doesn't help that we just moved either. I'd love a nice, warm play date/mom chit-chat time. Instead, I feel couped up and stir crazy!!! Yet somehow, I choose to stay inside, slowly going insane, rather than wrestle my big belly and two kids through the snow and ice.

Oh, do I need to mention that I've been cranky and a little pessimistic lately?

Whatever, here are some pics of our winter thus far:
The first slide show is of our house in the "big snow" and the one day it all melted. Don't worry though, the water went down and was completely replaced by a new coating of snow overnight. We still haven't seen grass yet.

This slideshow is just a few pics of us on a day the family went sledding, Nat and daddy walked out on the ice of Pymatuning and we found a swing-set to play on.
Upon seeing the swing set, Nat was uncharacteristically sedate
Daddy: "whadda ya think?"
Nat: "about what?"
Daddy: "the swing set. Do you see the swings."
Nat: sadly, "yeah, but they're somebody's"
Daddy: "No, it's a park."
Nat: "A park? They're not anybody's?"
Daddy: "No, you can swing on 'em"
She was elated and ran. Upon Julsie and I catching up, she said, "Mom, look at these swings! And they aren't anybody's, this is a park!"
I figure she is so used to Hershey, where she would see lots of swing sets on our walks that she would have to pass up because they were in people's yards. =)