The never ending Winter

I have a new word in my vocabulary and it's a word that I invented (so you know it's gonna be a good one).  Let me first just say, that every place I have lived in (well, besides California), the people always say this phrase in regard to the unpredictable weather: "well, that's _______ weather for ya" (you could use any of these states to fill in the blank: Texas, Ohio, Idaho, and probably several others that I haven't lived in, but that I am sure are associated with this commonly used phrase).  Snowing one day and sunny the next?  Well, that's Texas weather for ya.  Crazy tornadoes on Friday and swimming pool weather on Saturday?  Well, that's Ohio weather for ya.  You get the picture.
Well people, this place that I live in has taken miserable weather to a whole notha level!  Dark skies in the morning with freezing winds, sunny in the afternoon with HUGE snowflakes.  We have even had a few warm sunny days paired with freezing snowy days too.  SO, here's my new word (are you ready for this?): Netherweather.  Rather than type out a definition, I will let this pie chart do all the explaining:

Last week, we had like 5 days in a row where it was really warm and I got irrationally optimistic.  That means I have a WHOLE SLICE of winter left before that little green slice of Spring.  Meanwhile, all I REALLY want to get to is that yellow slice of summer.  Yesterday, it was sunny and warmer.  Warmer as in "i could ride my bike without the gears freezing up" kind of warmer.  Today?  HUGE snowflakes and frigid winds.  Definitely a "Ryan, take the tram/bus/metro combo to get to your client so I can take the kids to and from school in the car" kind of day.  Needless to say, we are all ready for some warmer temps.  Here are some pics of our winter fun in the netherweather over the past few months…

The first snow - back when it was still exciting.

Cold enough for a coat, but warm enough for ice cream!

Taking advantage of the sunny dry day by strolling at the zoo.

Spring chicks in snow clothes…loving the indoor zoo exhibits!

A wise dad - keeping his gloves on while building a sandcastle…that sand might as well have been snow because it was COLD!

Another zoo day, chatting with the lion.  It was at least warm enough to walk/scooter to the zoo that day.

I tried to get our twinners to squeeze into that pouch together, but Els was too cold to get out of the stroller.  

So, while the netherweather persists, I have still managed to hold out hope that our Easter weekend trip to Denmark will feel a little springy.  We have big plans to visit Legoland in Billund and wander around Copenhagen, and I am sure hoping for SUN.
In other news, my sister had her new baby and luckily seeing pictures of him and his perfectly tiny cuteness totally WARMS my heart...

Hudson Steven Abraham