Welcome to NY...Grab a shovel!

I'm not sure where we got these kids. They may look like us, but they are definitely nothing like their dad and me when it comes to cold-weather, outdoor activities. In other words, we HATE to be cold! Even as a kid, I was the one sitting in the middle of the ice rink crying and begging to go home while my sister and three brothers whizzed past me. At the first sight of those soft, downy, goose feathers floating down from the sky, they don their coats and boots and run for the door! "Put on a hat and mittens!", I yell to no avail. There's nothing on the ground but they just leap across the yard and spin and squeal as they try to catch them. The kids and I have an ongoing contest 8 months out of the year. They try to wish snow upon our lawn and I try my best to will it away! As we live only 10 minutes south of Lake Ontario, they usually win. But Mama still tries! We have a monster of a silver maple, smack in the middle of our already tiny back yard and every year it's the last tree to bloom and the last to shed. Therefore we usually still have leaf piles to be bagged when the first of many, many snowflakes hit. The lawn was totally covered in white this morning. The kiddos cheered, "We're winning!" I just heard them exclaim as they passed by the window, "Oh No! Mom's winning, she made the sun come out!" I wish I had that kind of power, but of course I don't let on! Happy Shoveling! :)