New license plate design coming in 2018 (Des Moines, Colo: agriculture, transportation, designs)

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by BlessedLife

Newcomer to Iowa here.

Welcome to Iowa, Blessed Life! If you aren't from the Midwest, keep your eyes open for winter gear. It should be hitting the stores soon. You'll find the best selection if you shop early.

Added: I see you're originally from MN by way of the NC Triangle, so you'll probably need new gear. It's not as cold here, but the winds can certainly howl, so if you spend any time outside at all, consider a full-length parka. I've held off because I usually wear "active" thermo underwear bottoms from December - March, but a full-length parka greatly helps if I'm walking outside for any length of time in January.

[BlessedLife]

Originally Posted by Meemur

Welcome to Iowa, Blessed Life! If you aren't from the Midwest, keep your eyes open for winter gear. It should be hitting the stores soon. You'll find the best selection if you shop early.

Added: I see you're originally from MN by way of the NC Triangle, so you'll probably need new gear. It's not as cold here, but the winds can certainly howl, so if you spend any time outside at all, consider a full-length parka. I've held off because I usually wear "active" thermo underwear bottoms from December - March, but a full-length parka greatly helps if I'm walking outside for any length of time in January.

Thanks, Meemur! Yes, I plan to stock up early -- I do have some stuff and will need some more, but my kiddos will be new to daily cold weather so I've got to get them all set up. I plan to have them play outside nearly every day it's physically possible (just like I did as a kid in MN).

Also, thanks for the parka suggestion. I'm really enjoying being able to walk my dog outside on most of these summer nights without melting and would like to do the same in the winter without freezing!

I know the cold weather season will be an adjustment for all of us, but I'm especially curious how I will feel about it, as my experience with what I consider "real" winter in the past has been relatively extreme compared to most folks' experience. One thing is for sure -- we're all looking forward to having a white Christmas!

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by BlessedLife

One thing is for sure -- we're all looking forward to having a white Christmas!

For your sake, I hope there is one, but last winter was exceptionally mild in the Metro, in terms of snow. I only shoveled 4 times, as I recall, not once a week, as I was doing during my first winter here.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by BlessedLife

Thanks, Meemur! Yes, I plan to stock up early -- I do have some stuff and will need some more, but my kiddos will be new to daily cold weather so I've got to get them all set up. I plan to have them play outside nearly every day it's physically possible (just like I did as a kid in MN).

Don't assume they will like it just because you did it! I never liked playing outside when it was cold. Even as a young kid I wanted nothing to do with it and was always jealous of kids on TV that lived in year round warm places. Making snowmen was never something I enjoyed or wanted any part of!

If I had to do it over again, I would have gone to a college someplace warm and stayed there after graduation.

[smpliving]

This is funny. I lived for more than half my life in southern California. As a kid, I dreamed of a white Christmas and was so sick of the same old boring sunny weather all year long, especially at Christmas. Having rain and cloudy days was a treat. I remember in winter around Christmas, my parents would drive us kids up to mountains a couple hours from our home so we could enjoy sledding and then skiing as we got older. I still remember how excited when I saw that first patch of snow as we drove higher in elevation. But now that I'm a senior, I look forward to moving to a warmer climate again.

[Meemur]

It builds character to participate in winter activities!

[fezzador]

Eh, to each their own. I personally like having four seasons. Having 6 straight months of 85+ degree heat and 95+ humidity gets old fast.

[BlessedLife]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Don't assume they will like it just because you did it! I never liked playing outside when it was cold. Even as a young kid I wanted nothing to do with it and was always jealous of kids on TV that lived in year round warm places. Making snowmen was never something I enjoyed or wanted any part of!

If I had to do it over again, I would have gone to a college someplace warm and stayed there after graduation.

Haha, thanks for the... ummm... advice? I promise not to cruelly turn my children out into the cold and let them freeze. In reality, I suspect I'm going to have a hard time getting them to come inside, if their reactions to the few snowfalls we had in NC are any indication. I think we come from hardy stocky. Honestly, part of the reason why my kids love playing outside in the cold is because, until we moved here, winter time was the only time one of my children could predictably play outside without having significant breathing/asthma issues. Spring, summer, and fall were absolutely miserable for him in the southeast -- and because of that, I began to dread it too. It's really hard to hear your kid struggling to breathe after playing outside, waking up to the sound of their coughing and wheezing night after night. We moved here and that problem changed, literally, almost overnight. He's loved playing outside nearly every day this summer and I've loved having this long of a stretch of full nights of sleep and no urgent care/ER/doctor's office visits!

So whatever the cold weather keeps away from here, whether it's the mold spores or some specific plants or both... I'm grateful for it. We didn't come here for the "wonderful" climate but it has been, indeed, an unexpectedly wonderful benefit for our family so far. As someone else said... each to his/her own, in his/her own time!

(Also my sincere apologies for the huge diversion of this thread. Back to the license plate design! Woo hoo!)

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by BlessedLife

(Also my sincere apologies for the huge diversion of this thread. Back to the license plate design! Woo hoo!)

No worries! Thread drift "R" us!

I wonder what design did "win"? I'll have to watch the local news tonight for updates.

[iNviNciBL3]

Lol welcome to the internet

anyways all 3 of them are pretty cool and its cool to see Iowa change their plate design like (most) of its neighbors.