Our First Snow Storm!

For the last few days we've been seeing weather predictions about a coming snow storm and feeling just a bit skeptical.  Each of our winters here we've had snow, but never very much.  A Snow Storm sounds so Dramatic.  I picture Pa Ingalls clinging to the rope strung from the house to the barn, unable to see his hand in front of his face.  Well, Pa could definitely see his hands in our snow storm, not to mention the barn, house, and trees, but there is quite a satisfactory quantity of snow coming down.

(This is what it looks like now.  Only not quite so blurry.)

(See!  Pa could even just see the distant beacon of light from the corner store window, in case he thought it would be more fun to buy MoonPies and Dr. Pepper than milk those everlasting cows.  Again.) 

And a tour of our snowy yard would be incomplete without this... the birdy hot tub!  Bird seed has been going fast here all day, but the real draw is the water, still liquid despite the chilly air, which is heated with a special little heater given to us a couple years ago by my old college roommate, Darcy (Dr. Darcy now!).  It really does beat the socks off prying out a big chunk of ice and traipsing in and out of the house slopping water from the pitcher all over the place.

So, we have snow.  Of course, the kids didn't believe it would last more than a couple hours and couldn't wait to go out and slide around.  Their normally razor sharp focus on learning was, in fact, so dulled by the thought of snow that I gave up and let them go early.

There wasn't much snow when they first went out.  Not enough to make a snow man, but the perfect amount to make a snow demon.  (You can't see in the picture, but its eyes are red -- quite terrifying!)

Then they collected enough snow to fill the wheel barrow.  The rake is to get down all the snow off the garage roof so it can be put in with the rest of the collection.  I don't explain, I just report.

Then they found the snow shovel that Ed bought today.  The man at the hardware store told him that he had not sold any shovels for four or five years, but he sold four today.  I told Ed to save the receipt, but I guess it is too late now.  Travis scraped the snow off the top of the van with the shovel until I saw him and explained that that wasn't a good idea.  Then Katie clonked Travis on the head with it, probably accidentally.  Winter fun.

Then Ed took the kids across the street to slide down the (small) hill.  I claimed the "I did it last year" exemption, but Ed is smart.  He drove over and sat in the car while the kids played.  Which meant that they stayed out long enough to turn red as lobsters and were satisfied (and chilled) enough not to want to go out again today.

And then we got them dried and defrosted and gave them hot cocoa.  We didn't check off all our assignments today (though I make no promises that we won't tomorrow!), but it was still very good.

And have I mentioned that Katie has become a reader of romances? 

She has been reading These Happy Golden Years, and comes to read the most exciting, romantic bits aloud to me.  I love being read to!