What happens when a Minnesotan and a Coloradan get married?
Besides a bunch of teasing about whose homeland is colder (I definitely win that argument), you also get a couple of weather skeptics who are constantly poking fun at the hype that the weather receives here in the DC area. When forecasters started predicting that a big snowstorm may be coming that could leave us with 5-10 inches of snow, it was hard not to get excited first, then leery about whether this one would be yet another dud storm where the temps would hover just above freezing and bring us nothing but another rainstorm.
They seemed to have a little more confidence in this storm than usual, but after a whole lot of false alarms over the past few years, we have gotten used to only expecting the lower end of storm totals, if anything at all.
So when we woke up this morning to an entire foot of snow (even more than was predicted), there was elation in our house….from the kids that there was no school yet again and from Glen and I that we could all have a day at home together. Although we haven't even had a full week of school since Christmas break, Glen always still has to work, so it ruins the fun a bit.
Here's a little glimpse of how we've spent this first real deal snow day we've had in about four years….
Adam decided he really wanted a bird to land in his hands, so he's spent over an hour motionless out on the deck with birdseed in his hands. He has had a few little wrens and a dark-eyed junco land near him and this little one who looked like he was trying to make friends, but thus far none have ventured into his hands. We always enjoy how many more birds we get at our feeders after a snowstorm!
Cami, as always, had to find something cute she could wear outside in the snow….
Ellie spent 10 minutes explaining to me exactly how little girls in the "olden days" stayed warm out in the snow (with lots of layers underneath their dresses), so I shouldn't have been too surprised when she put on her fanciest dress and refused to wear snowpants as she play outside. In the end, she came back in soaking wet from head-to-toe and hopefully convinced that modern winter wear is a good thing to embrace.
Glen says that there's no way that he can miss another day of work tomorrow, so eventually we assembled the shoveling brigade to dig our driveway out before the rain made everything too soggy and even heavier to lift…
It took nearly three hours, even with the whole family out helping….
but eventually we got our driveway all cleared out...
Based on neighbors' reports about road conditions, I still don't think we're going anywhere anytime today, but now at least we can drink our hot chocolate in peace knowing we did our part to clear out!
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Besides a bunch of teasing about whose homeland is colder (I definitely win that argument), you also get a couple of weather skeptics who are constantly poking fun at the hype that the weather receives here in the DC area. When forecasters started predicting that a big snowstorm may be coming that could leave us with 5-10 inches of snow, it was hard not to get excited first, then leery about whether this one would be yet another dud storm where the temps would hover just above freezing and bring us nothing but another rainstorm.
They seemed to have a little more confidence in this storm than usual, but after a whole lot of false alarms over the past few years, we have gotten used to only expecting the lower end of storm totals, if anything at all.
So when we woke up this morning to an entire foot of snow (even more than was predicted), there was elation in our house….from the kids that there was no school yet again and from Glen and I that we could all have a day at home together. Although we haven't even had a full week of school since Christmas break, Glen always still has to work, so it ruins the fun a bit.
With the roads looking like this though, there was no way Glen was going anywhere today! Yay!
Here's a little glimpse of how we've spent this first real deal snow day we've had in about four years….
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Cami, as always, had to find something cute she could wear outside in the snow….
the hand-me-down boots from Adam, however, were an unexpected addition to her fashionable ensemble.
Ellie spent 10 minutes explaining to me exactly how little girls in the "olden days" stayed warm out in the snow (with lots of layers underneath their dresses), so I shouldn't have been too surprised when she put on her fanciest dress and refused to wear snowpants as she play outside. In the end, she came back in soaking wet from head-to-toe and hopefully convinced that modern winter wear is a good thing to embrace.
It took nearly three hours, even with the whole family out helping….
but eventually we got our driveway all cleared out...
and cleared a path to the mailbox.
Now it's time to sled, sit on the back deck some more, blog, bake cupcakes, and do laundry...
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