Over the break, Kei and I tried our best to get the boys out of the house each day for some sort of physical activity. Sometimes it happened and we wore them out enough for them to sleep well but other days saw us barely getting out of our pajamas. When it’s dark and cold in Portland, the thought of getting dressed can sometimes seem like just too much effort.

On this day, we braved freezing temperatures to ride our bikes to the grocery store and then onto a relatively new playground near our house. Nothing too thrilling, but family time nonetheless and a reminder than we don’t need to hike a mountain to get out and have fun with the kids. The playground was built to be accessible by kids with disabilities and the boys just loved it. I can’t believe it took us so long to try it out. My favorite part? The fake grass that looked and felt almost real but came without a side of mud. I’m tempted to lay some in our backyard.

Oh, and I know for a fact that we were braving freezing temperatures because it started snowing while we were at the playground. Not a blizzard, but a few tiny little flakes. Still, I live in Portland so calls of “it’s snowing!” soon rang across the playground – most of them coming from the adults. Those calls faded when the flakes stopped falling about 3 minutes later.

Samuel struck a pose for this next photo. Watch out America’s Next Top Model.

I asked him to let me take a photo of his pink cheeks and nose.

Getting to know the locals.

This adventure marked the first time that Thomas rode his own bike on the road. Kei rode up front with Samuel in the bike trailer and then I brought up the rear. We took the back streets but it was still a little terrifying to know that my baby could drift into the street at any moment. I may have sounded a little frantic at times as I reminded him to watch the road (not me) and look out for parked cars and keep to the right. Still, he did a great job and only complained that his legs were tired for the last 15 minutes or so.

So proud of him, although I needed to find a little zen of my own after the stressful bike ride.