Sunday Snowflakes

We got a surprise yesterday, coming out of church. People walking down the hall would come around the corner, look out through the doors, and squeal, "It's snowing!" It's not like we never get snow here, but it has been a while. (Last year I think we got about fifteen minutes in November, and it didn't stick.) The kids were so excited. Kate and her friend Haley were out on the sidewalk, holding their hands up to the sky, and checking out the flakes in each other's hair. I had to get some pics when we got home.



The holly tree makes a good backdrop!



Girl with stick.

Tavah came out, and Kate was having a blast playing with her, so I told her she could stay out and come in for lunch when she felt like it. She hasn't had a lot of playing-in-the-snow experience. Maybe we should get a sled to have on hand, just in case.

They announced a two-hour delay for the kids' schools. By this morning it was raining and slushy, but they couldn't take it back at that point, so we had a leisurely morning getting ready. We slipped a bit off schedule during the break, and I was not looking forward to getting people up. As it was we still had the mad dash getting ready, after goofing off for two hours. I'll enjoy having a little time at home to myself and maybe getting a few other things done before the next round of Opera painting.

Snowy Sunday

We got snow! While much of the rest of the country has been buried, we have been persistently snow-less. (We did get a little bit back in November.)  We saw some pictures of  the snow in Portland, and by Saturday night it had made it up to our area.  Looked like about three inches total.



Kate was so excited. We have church at 9:00 this year, but she had about half an hour to play before getting ready. And of course I had to go out and get some pictures.



It started raining by that afternoon, and we were pretty much back to normal the next day.  No school closure this time.  Church was rather sparsely attended, though!

ice storm

Our snow turned into more snow and then freezing rain. Kate was off school Monday and Tuesday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and then a waiver day (not sure exactly what that is), and then we had three snow days in a row. So we were pretty much holed up for the entire week.




I've seen ice storms before, but not since we've been in Washington.  They are quite spectacular.  And very destructive. 




I took these over by Fred Meyer. Poor trees! A lot of the trees around our complex had to have limbs removed, too.



A lot of people in the area lost power, but ours fortunately stayed on, so we stayed nice and warm.

I saw some crocuses coming up at the church the week before. I'll bet they were hating it.

snow pants and snowball

We finally got our snow! Kate has been having fun playing in it. (She went out for a little bit before church on Sunday, and then we were in a hurry to get ready.)

I had the idea for this layout last year, but never got it done.  (It's a quote from Little Bear.)  Credits here.



I got a snowball started for Kate, and then she rolled it around for a while. She hasn't had many chances to do this sort of thing!




A girl and her snowball.  After this she rolled it down the hill and it broke, so she turned it into a snow cave for her rubber dragon. 

The snow pants are hand-me-downs from Glory and Sky.  She wore them last year and we were pleased to find that they still fit just fine.  She's got pink pants, a pink hat, pink boots, and pink mittens. 



I crocheted this scarf--also pink, but it doesn't really match.

Doug has been teaching Kate how to stomp the snow off her boots before she comes in, and how to take off her things just inside the door.  He says, "If you don't grow up in snow country you don't know these things!"

It was pretty good packing snow but now it's all crusty.  We're supposed to get some more--maybe a lot more--tonight or tomorrow.

Snowfall

The snow started on Sunday (the 21st) while we were in church. We didn't think it was going to stick, but it kept coming down, and a few hours later we realized that the ground was turning white. I bundled the kids up as it was starting to get dark, and we went out to enjoy the snow.



Andy's not crazy about his hat, but he does okay once it's on!










The snow stopped overnight, but the next morning it started up again about an hour before Kate left for school. By 11:00 it looked like this. It was only a couple of inches, but a lot more than we got last year. When Kate got home from school she went out and played in the snow for a good long time with Glory and Sky.



The roads were icy, so school was canceled Tuesday and Wednesday. (Wednesday was supposed to be a half day, anyway.) Kate had a great time playing outside, all bundled up in her pink snowpants. She's pink all over. (She's been wearing my scarf, which is not pink, but I am crocheting a pink scarf for her.)





Last winter was so mild (and the summer was pretty mild too), but I have a feeling we'll be getting more snow this year. The schools have already scheduled makeup days for the two they missed, so I'm not sure how they'll handle that.

a light dusting

Our snow on Sunday. It didn't last long!

The Snows of March

This is what we woke up to this morning.

It's been snowing quite a lot the past couple of weeks. Not so much in volume but in frequency. A lot for this area, anyway. It snows and melts and snows and melts. The neighborhood kids have been congregating outside on any day that's remotely warm enough, despite the fact that the ground is often very muddy.

This morning I was up at 6:30 to take a shower, and I could see shadows drifting past the high, frosted shower window. When I got out I took a better look and saw the big, fluffy flakes falling, and the ground and trees dusted white. I went in and told Doug, "It's snowing again!"



Kate wanted to go out and make footprints in the snow, so we got her ready for church first (with her boots on) and then Doug took her outside with him while he brushed off the car. By this point it was turning to rain. I finished getting Andy and myself ready and we waded out to the car in a sea of slush.

It rained harder during church, but when we came out the sun was shining.

Back at home, I got a couple of pictures of Kate before my battery died.




Later we had hail! Such exciting weather today. This last Friday was positively balmy--we could use some more days like that.

Brrrrr!

We don't get a lot of snow around here. When we do, it usually doesn't last long. But now we're going on a week of the white stuff. These were taken on Thursday:





The forecast snow storm began this afternoon. We were out in it picking up our Christmas tree (yes, nothing like leaving things till the last minute). I was disappointed about the ward party being canceled, but it looks like it was for the best. In fact, we just got the word that they've canceled church tomorrow, too.

The snow is coming down but it's not particularly windy, so maybe we'll get lucky and the power will stay on. We've got some wood, just in case. We do have a fireplace but we've never used it.

Stay warm!

How to make a snow angel

We had snow on Monday! We've had some flurries (even some rather heavy flurries) but this was the most snow we've had this winter. It didn't last long!



Doug's morning classes were canceled, and the kids in the complex were on a two-hour delay. (I guess the roads were slippery.) We got Kate all bundled up and went out to play in the snow. She got to use her cute pink boots that she got for her birthday.











The snow on the trees was so pretty!








Kate and Daddy made a snowman. Err... snow bunny.



Some of the neighbor kids (Oleg, Tram, and Carol) were out playing, too, and riding Oleg's disk sled down the hill by the Seventh-Day Adventist church right behind our complex. Kate got to ride on Oleg's sled, too.




The kids made snow angels in the (very empty) church parking lot. Kate was admiring the snow angels and wanted to make one too, so Doug helped her. I made this layout of the pictures:



(Credits here)

It was pretty sunny while we were out and the snow was starting to melt already. By the next day it was raining and the snow was all gone. It was fun while it lasted!