I’m sitting at my desk staring out of the window as the soft white snowflakes continue to blanket the landscape. My little plot in Minnesota has amassed over 18-inches of snow in the last 24 hours, and there is no sign of it stopping. I usually love snowstorms as there’s a quiet peace about them, but not today (or yesterday, for that matter). It’s April now. Minnesotan’s have already endured a long winter, and we are ready to get outside without requiring snowshoes or having to bundle our kids in 752 layers – think Ralphie’s brother in the movie A Christmas Story.
April has been most unusual with multiple snowstorms and cold temperatures (today the temperature is 25F when the average is 60F) this year. The daffodils and tulips should be emerging from the ground, and my husband and I should have our greenhouse up by now (last year it went up in mid-March).
Instead, we have two feet of snow on top of the still-frozen ground. My son should be starting his spring soccer practices, but the outdoor fields are obviously not playable, and the indoor dome that my son has been practicing in collapsed last night due to the weight of the snow. This has been an April that we won’t soon forget. In fact, this weather is reminding me of the cold and snowy winter of 2014.
The winter of 2014 was paralyzing. Getting outside when the snow piles up and the temperatures are cold enough to freeze the comb off of our rooster (yep, that happened) is hard to do with two small children. I remember feeling trapped as a stay-at-home mother, and the kids had cabin fever too. We needed to get out, so we decided to borrow my parent’s camper and head south – all the way to the southern tip of Texas. We loaded up the camper, made our camping reservations, chose our stopping points on the way down and back, mapped our driving routes, and prepared to head south – except another big snow and ice storm hit.
The storm that ravaged our area in mid-February was so bad that the state shut down many of the highways and freeways in Minnesota – something that is virtually unheard of in this hardy state. Ice glazed the roadways, the temperatures were too cold for chemicals to melt the ice, snow piled up, and the wind continued to blow the light snow over roadways making the streets extra dangerous. Consequently, we had to delay our trip by a few days, because who wants to pull a camper on treacherous roads?
After snow removal, canceling of a reservation, and waiting out the storm, we departed three days late. We left our home at 5 a.m. with temperatures dipping well-below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In 24 hours we would smell the salty ocean air and feel the relief of southern temperatures.
In the next couple of weeks I will share the adventures of our 3,300-mile road trip, and how we managed a fun and fuss-free trip with two young children and a dog. Get ready for first ocean experiences, wildlife adventures, and grapefruit the size of your head!
Please join my family and me for a road trip from Minnesota to Texas and back again. In the meantime, I hope the spring returns to Minnesota; otherwise, I’m going to dig out that camper and head south again.
Looking forward to the adventures! (And REALLY looking forward to the end of the snow!)
Me too! Thanks, Angela. Looking forward to reminiscing over some “warm” memories.
😊 Erin I think we’re all feeling the way you are😯 heres to warm sunny days And getting are hands in the dirt again 👩🌾 and seeing those beautiful Tulips emerging from the ground🌷 Will bring smiles to all our faces again 😁 thanks for the wonderful blogging enjoying a cup of coffee and a good story to start my day ☕️ I’m ready for your next blog here’s to spring 💐
Celeste
Gosh, I’m so excited to start gardening again. As I look outside gardening looks to be so far off, but hopefully we get a huge warm-up soon to melt all of this crazy snow. I’m glad you’re ready for the next post – I’m so excited to share it! Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment. 🙂
I love that your kids have snow shovels just their size! And I’m sure you’re ready to burn them this spring. It has been a doozy. My extended family in Buffalo, New York, keep posting snow photos. No snow here in Maryland, but we’re only in the 40s, which is cold for us. I’m still in soup-making mode. (Today it’s navy bean with a huge ham bone I was given.) Hope you can enjoy your day! I’m looking forward to your next posts of your journey.
Hi, Rebecca! It’s funny you mention soup because that’s what my son requested today, so we’re having homemade tomato soup here. Enjoy your navy bean soup. I love soups with ham flavor, but navy bean is one I’ve never tried. I’m guessing it’s delicious.
Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment! I’m glad you’re sticking around for our adventures in Texas – it was almost three weeks of fun without snow. Hopefully warm weather is on its way to you too!
We had more than enough snow here this year as well. Each time it shut the school down I couldn’t help thinking the lack of snow was the reason my parents relocated us from Rochester in the first place.
Tolerating the long winters gets harder for me every year. I love cross-country skiing, snowstorms (for the most part), and occasionally sledding and building snowmen with the kids, but this much snow and cold into April is too much. However, I think I would miss it if I moved to a snow-less area. I don’t know – I guess I will just have to see what the future holds. 🙂
Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment, Allie!
I look forward to hearing the adventures!
Thanks, Ritu! The next post is about ready. 🙂
That is some grapefruit! At first glance I did think it was a potato though 🤣 a bit tired today
A potato that size would be amazing too! 🙂 The Texas grapefruit are some of the best though – so juicy and sweet. Mmm… I could go for one right now.
Thanks for your comment, Orla!
Have fun! Looking forward to your posts 😊That snow looks amazing!
Thanks, Debbie! The snow was absolutely amazing, and beautiful. I’m happy to say that it has almost melted down to nothing. We need our daffodils and grape hyacinths to bloom now. 🙂
This weather! Down here, temperatures should be going down to the 50s-50s F (if I’ve done my conversions right) but we’re still in the 90s! But the snow looks incredible. Not something I ever get to experience.
The snow was beautiful, and so deep. Everything was white! Yes, it seems as though the whole world has been dealing with interesting weather patterns. Nineties is definitely hot! We only get that a few days out of the year here.
Thanks so much for your comment, Amelia! 🙂
It was dry and warm here in Colorado which hurt our ski season but it snowed yesterday!!!
I saw that, Susie! I have a friend who was hiking in Estes Park yesterday, and she posted some snowy pictures, so I wrote to her: “FINALLY! It’s snowing there and warm and sunny here.”
I was just cross-country skiing on Tuesday, but there is very little snow left now. Bring on spring!
Thanks for your comment, Susie!
I do hope it warms up in Minnesota soon. It seems to have been a long winter in many parts of the world this year.
Amazingly, the temperatures rose just days after Mother Nature dumped 18″ of snow on us. The snow is almost completely gone, and the spring bulbs are poking their heads out of the ground. I think you’re right – the whole world seems to have been experiencing weather extremes this year.
Thanks for your comment, Brigid!
Very nice post and as always beautiful pictures. My my!! that dog is just so beautiful^^ …<3
I’ll be sure to let Brook know. 🙂 She is the best dog – loyal, sweet, and patient with the children. I take her to work with me as she is my not-so-little shadow. We love her so very much.
Thanks so much for your kind comment!
Nice name ^^. I ve got 3 dogs with me, I love them so much too , they re good companions and chores ^^