Snow day!

SSSNNnnooooOOOOooOOOoowWWW!

We've had church cancelled twice now. That's the same as the number of days of school cancelled!

I'd rather go to church than school. At least we should get Monday off. There was plenty of snow!

The city is doing a much better job of clearing the roads after that debacle several years ago.

We have our snow day routine: Sledding with Rah, Silas, and Zora!

The snow had a more ice-like feel. It was warmer than expected, so it could have been part melted.

Made for some fast runs and some rough landings when we built the ramp!

There wasn't enough snow to build anything really dangerous....which is probably a good thing, because I would have been tempted. Shane is on the cusp of doing all sorts of things that start hitting my interest level, but he's not there yet....

But for now, Shane was happy to push snow down a grate as I shoveled it from the street. We each did something we liked.

If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow some. Snow is fun!

First School Snow Day!

It was a winter wonderland when I looked out the window!

Shane and I did our first round of shoveling early.

I left the snow on the truck for now. It helps show how much fell!

We get early morning sun, so it's imperative to expose asphalt and concrete early.

Shane was useful. Maybe for the first time? He followed some directions and shoveled with me some before the focus faded. I was happy with what I got out of him.

I was surprised to see a snow plow roll through later in the afternoon.

Last time there was a major snowstorm, it took days for a small plow to show up. We were out of school for the whole week.

It wasn't a bang-up job, but it was a start. There was exposed blacktop. Will and I had nothing better to do while the kids played, so we shoveled a ton.

I started to work on uncovering the bug while Shane, Raheem, and Henry goofed around the back yard. My original thought was, "I'll keep shoveling until someone gets cold and wants to go inside."

The boys didn't get cold and they certainly didn't want to go inside. It was above freezing and they played for hours. They were sledding on the side of Henry's house when Will and I largely called it quits.

Like I said, we shoveled A LOT. Between the sun and the temperature, the road was cleaning up the bits and pieces we missed nicely.

Will must be in better shape than I am, because he had more energy to spend on the kids sledding.

I switched to photo-documenter and hype-man.

No one sledded so fast they plunged into the creek, so that was nice!

Shane wasn't really listening at the end and doing what he wanted, so I called it quits. I wanted the break and him sending down the sled empty and out of turn was a good excuse to go in after two hours out.

It's not like we stayed inside forever, either. We went for Round 2 of sledding with Raheem, Silas, and Zora near 3 PM.

I wish we still had our sleds. One broke and someone stole the other out of the yard last year. I'm thankful Silas is happy to share his with everyone!

Everything was about setting a record. The boys would hoot, hollar, and cheer after every run!

If someone went farther, the other boy would immediately want to try and one-up them. Standard, winter fun!

Shane pioneered a penguin slide. He liked to go down on his belly. Rah tried it some, but he wasn't as enamored.

I got some video, but the sun was in a bad spot. I'm going to hold off and post videos tomorrow. There's no way we're going to be back in school!

I don't think we'll be out of school for too many days, though. The roads, where exposed, were clearing too nicely. I got annoyed with Shane when he started to shovel snow back onto the road and made him clean it up ("Didn't you see us clearing the road? Why would you undo everyone's work?")

It's not that I wanted the roads clear so we could go back to school sooner. I wanted the road cleared, so we wouldn't be trapped if we did want to go anywhere. I hope we have more days off and delayed openings ahead!

Snow Storm

The forecast was all over the place. Last weekend, it was "historic." Tuesday, it was a "historic miss." Wednesday brought it up to "Maybe an inch," but Thursday dropped it down to a "miss" again.

Trust me, I checked every day. I checked morning, afternoon, and night. I think it was "1-3 inches" on Saturday when I checked last.

Sunday morning, there was nothing. We all went as a family to Wegmans for milk and muffins. Carrie had tried to go by Costco Saturday for groceries, but the place was packed.

Shane and I geared up for church as it started to flurry. I realized church was closed when the parking lot was empty! We returned to a surprised, sick mommy.

The flurries picked up and the snow started to stick an hour later. This is what the street looked like at 12:22 PM.

A couple of hours later, the snow was deep enough to play in!

Shane and I geared up to investigate.

We were both on cloud nine. Shane's exuberance was less reserved than mine.

We met Silas, Monica, and Zora down the street.

The husband of the friendly Rottweiler couple (I forget his name) was doing a public service with a snowblower (which Shane loved).

We met up with Rah and marched up the street for some winter storm sledding.

Zora hasn't forgotten or forgiven the sled.

She's a little tamer about it this year, though.

We stayed on the hill for about half an hour.

I took a quick video.....not that I remember what's in it off the top of my head.

The snow and wind in everyone's faces cut down a little on stamina. Besides, the thickest snow and best sledding would be later!

Mid-air snowball capture! We bumped into a few other neighbors at the bottom of the hill and talked on the way in.

There's a hill next to our street which was a scene all day. People with 4WD could make it up the hill. People without 4WD couldn't. They were forced to turn around and find a flatter grade.

There's no way there's going to be school on Monday!

SNOOOOOOoooOOOOOOoooOOOOWWW!!!!

Thank you, Jesus! A snow day!

I needed a day off!

I was up early out of excitement. Shane woke next. Mommy slept on.

Shane worked on a Lego present from Kim and Ryan while she slept.

Carrie cooked french toast when she did wake up. It was a beautiful, slow morning.

I took Shane out at noon. The snow was already half melted and perfect for packing.

We met up with Silas, Monica, and Zora for some fun. Silas started to one-up Shane by rolling a larger snowball than him.

It became something special. The snow begged to bond with itself. Rolling the snowball ripped up and exposed the grass underneath.

Eventually, the snowball was so large it required Silas and I to roll it. We had to shed layers to combat the heat from the exertion.

We made a massive snowman. 

I brought out the step ladder, so that Silas could mount the head. He figured it weighed at least 70 lbs.

The hope is that he's still standing through all of spring break.

We walked up the hill to sled next.

Zora got really into it. Too into it.

Silas had to tell her to chill out (She listened).

Silas and Monica left so that Silas could get back to work. He was working from home, so there was no snow day for him. Shane refused to head home, so he rolled around and ate snow for a while. I sat on the hill and watched.

I coaxed him into going home later.

Though he stopped every few steps to check on how the snow melt flowed down the street.

We found Henry and his family out when we entered the circle. Our 'challenge' was accepted!

They built a prettier snowman than us in the median, but it couldn't compare for size!

I had wanted to go in, but Shane was re-energized with a new playmate.

We went in eventually. The snow continued to melt.

I saw one of the neighbors come out and take a picture next to our massive snowman! Mikaela contributed a carrot nose.

I also some some kids I didn't recognize and what I assumed where there parents come up with the street with a bunch of shovels. I assumed they were looking for work shoveling. They gaped at the snowmen. I saw one of the kids pick up our sled (Henry had used it on the small hill near the big snowman).

I don't mind kids playing with stuff left out, but I didn't expect them to steal it. I wouldn't put it past kids, but with parents around? Maybe the couple was older teenage siblings? It's a dented sled that's several years old and we're out of snow, but that's still annoying.

Raheem knocked on our porch after Shane and I had dressed down and showered. He'd missed out on all the fun.

Shane wanted to go out again. It was warm enough he didn't need a ton of gear. I went out in my pajama bottoms.

If it was up to me, we would have been warm and inside. However, I didn't want Raheem to miss out on all the fun and/or Shane to miss out on an opportunity to play with a friend. It was a snow day! And the snow was not about to last!

I sucked it up and shivered on the porch while the boys had a snowball fight. I asked Shane later, "Why do you think I sat on the porch in the cold if I would have rather been in side?"

"Because you love me?" Shane asked.

"Ding ding, kid. It let us be a blessing to Raheem and he had a fun time, too."

It was a very well timed snow day. When the "2-hour delayed opening Thursday" alert popped up on my phone it got even better.