I may have mentioned before that I am a native Floridian. Lived my whole life there. So going to a place where snow lays all around and you can't sit around in your underwear is like travelling to a foreign land. It is magical and exciting. In my youth I would fantasize about living in such a winter wonderland. I would go skiing every day and go trecking across snow covered mountains.

This was a beautiful fantasy that the Goddess (my wife) and I shared. And when children arrived we expanded our dreams of snow dusted bliss to include them. Then we brought them to Colorado in December.

Instead of travelling in a one horse open sleigh and strolling down a quaint Main Street we are experiencing the joys of perpetually running noses and attempting to bundle sqirming creatures into multiple layers of bulky clothing, and then subsequently load them into a filthy minivan while trying not to track muddy snow inside.

Don't get me wrong, it is still amazing up here but adding kids to the equation definitely changes the result. To all those who have raised children in these frigid climes, I raise my mug of hot chocolate to you and your indomitable spirit!