Yesterday we went away on one of our few spontaneous family outings together. Of course I say the word “spontaneous” loosely, for as anyone knows who’s gone to the snow there is a lot of gear and oh are we wearing enough layers? talk. But we were up at Lake Mountain a little before 9.30am, raring to toboggan!

Not happy, not happy at all

Well, Riley wasn’t. No, he did not like his gloves and when he took them off discovered he did not like the cold and wet any better. So he sulked inside, until he had a little snack.

And look what a little blood sugar spike can do:

Well maybe it's not so bad

Yes, in the end he was the one who needed prising off the slopes while Keira skulked at my side asking, can we go home yet? In her defence, her socks were wet and it would’ve been uncomfortable.

Here are the obligatory action shots:

Keira on toboggan

Keira and Adam

Riley and Adam

Snow bunny me

All in all an enjoyable – but thoroughly tiring – day.

karen andrews

Karen Andrews is the creator of this website, one of the most established and well-respected parenting blogs in the country. She is also an author, award-winning writer, poet, editor and publisher at Miscellaneous Press. Her latest book is Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity