Dreaming of summer

The temps outside here in Iowa are above freezing, and 80% of the snow has melted. I'm not a big fan of this in-between weather. I love the snow-covered days when the town looks like it was built on the surface of the moon, and I love 70-degree weather when I can have fun outside without getting hot. So, I look forward to the days of shorts and sandals.

These photos were taken on a trip to southern New Mexico when my sister graduated from college in May of 2004. We stopped at White Sands National Monument to play in the sand. Like Iowa in the winter, White Sands looks like the surface of the moon. Whiteness as far as the eye can see. And with a beautiful late spring day, a 6-year-old Sophie felt the bliss of sand in her toes and sun in her hair.