Dreaming of Sand and Sun

There was a bit of a snowfall yesterday.  The morning came on rather quietly, with a heavy gray sky, and by 10:30 it was snowing lightly.  It continued into the afternoon, and I left early for Clara Anne's ballet class since yesterday was a first for me...riding bike in the snow!  I made it fine on the way there; the streets were still only wet.  But on the way home the wind was in my face and I absolutely could not see because of the snow driving into my eyes!  Clara Anne had taken along a small pink umbrella (she was obviously smarter than me) and I had to swipe it from her in order to see properly.  Yikes!  I was thankful when we were home safely again.

At this moment, the girls and John are out playing in the fast-melting snow and I am dreaming of sandy, sunny, warm places.  Places like this:

And this:

Where I can do this:

And the girls can do this:

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen anytime soon.  What IS happening soon, though, is that Clara Anne and I get to attend a home schooling conference in sunny, warm, delightful, lime-and-coconut-scented Thailand.  We will leave on Sunday the 20th and come back (already!) on Friday the 25th.  We won't be in a beach location, but the place where the conference is being held is at a resort where there is lots of fresh air, sunshine, a pool, and areas for kids to play.  Best yet, the conference has free time scheduled from 3-5 each afternoon (then with a session in the evening) so that we can take full advantage of that pool!  We are very excited! 

[Side note...we were warned that the resort "has hot water for showers...sometimes" so I think we'll have another good reason to hit the pool everyday!  Some pools in Thailand also have an outdoor shower, so if necessary we can always bring a bit of shampoo with us to shower up after our swim time.  It's best to be prepared for anything!]

So, though John has to stay home with Chloe and Christin, he is glad for me that I get to go.  Clara Anne has been talking about our trip and asking questions non-stop.  It'll be lovely!  There won't be any sand this time, but I'm ready for a few days in the sunny south!