SNOW!

ACPS called me at 5:30 AM to let me know my first class would be at 1 PM.

My initial reaction wasn't favorable. 

Once I woke up I realized it meant I got to spend 90 less minutes on zoom. That brightened my outlook!

There wasn't much action to look at to start.

We saw some slight accumulations during breakfast.

Carrie introduced the kittens to it, but they decided they'd rather be inside! 

We haven't been letting them out much lately due to a pair of hawks that likes to lurk nearby.

Shane was eager to go out before there was enough snow to do anything in. I wanted to finish horse chores before it became a mess.

Meanwhile, Carrie opened up the Lego puzzle.

I was annoyed. I'd just convinced Shane to try the 500 piece puzzle yesterday. Why did we need to break out a second, more difficult puzzle when he had nothing but snow on the brain?

Unfortunately, the deed was done. Shane was interested for a little bit, because Carrie was. But his desire for snow couldn't be tamped down. He was the first one outside and threw snowballs at the door to summon us!

I helped with the puzzle for a bit, because I like puzzles and was afraid Carrie would try to do the whole thing without us. Someone needed to take care of the horses, though, and guess who it was?

Not Shane. I wanted him to enjoy his snow day. It was a disappointing amount to me, but his attitude was all joy and I didn't want to squash that!

He followed me around while I did barn chores carrying a giant snowball. He must've gathered up all the snow from the cars and deck combined!

Shane would've been able to avoid horse chores, but he tipped over a full bucket of poop. He pouted when I asked him to pick it up. He wasn't careful and knocked it over more and did a rage squeal, so he was officially enlisted (Whining always makes things worse).

Why had Shane been around poop if he wasn't helping? It seems he was trying to pull a Home Alone style prank. We'd watched the movie the other day (it's seasonal!) and he'd put poop on the mower seat. 

It was terrible timing for a prank. I might have laughed if I wasn't already mad at his hissy fit. Instead, I made him clean it off and put him to work!

My suspicions were proved true when we got inside. Carrie hadn't moved and the puzzle showed progress.

I should have started to prep for my classes, but I was annoyed and didn't want to miss out. I wanted to include Shane, too, since it was his present. I'd pass him pieces with hints and praise him whenever they clicked in. 

Carrie was a bit grumpy. Shane made constant sound effects or hummed incessantly. She wasn't feeling well for some reason and she likes to focus on something to take her mind off it when that happens.

Morale of the story: Puzzles are a better gift for Carrie and I than Shane. It's hit or miss if Carrie will start, but if she does she won't stop!

Sadly, the snow tapered off, but Shane and I both enjoyed our abbreviated days. Winter break wasn't far and snow days didn't go the way of the dodo with virtual school after all!