Today was the kind of day Minnesotans wait all winter for. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperature felt warm enough to lay on a beach somewhere. (Not really, but it felt like it.)

When it gets warm like this, Minnesotans pour out of their houses like ants out of a crushed ant hill. We saw our neighbors riding bikes, on motorcycles, walking dogs, jogging in shorts and T-shirts. It’s like everyone knows—instinctively—that another winter is behind us, but you best enjoy the weather, because another one will come (eventually).

We took Scout and Eller down to the lake for the first time since late fall, and they had a blast. Eller especially. It was like he had an extra little “spring” in his step.

The lake is still frozen, but it’s slushy and mushy. (And still totally safe to walk on close to the beach.)

They ran and scampered and slid.

And Eller posed for me, the big, sweet boy.

Once they were sufficiently tired (and my shoes were sufficiently soaked from the melting ice) we came back to house to unload the dogs and change before driving over to our new neighborhood. Our new house is in a subdivision that is surrounded by lots of parks and trails, so thought it would be fun to go on a long walk over there to get to know the area a little better.

We walked around the subdivision and looked closer at all the houses. (I was specifically trying to figure out what kind of window treatments our neighbors have!) We walked from our front porch to the dog park, and it only took 7.5 minutes. Definitely close enough for pre-work trips over there in the mornings on weekdays. (But maybe with just me and Scout. We’ll see if we can rouse anyone else early in the mornings.)

We are so ready and excited to move. Only 3 more weeks!