Snow Day!

It's very, very rare for us to get snow here. Throughout the winter, we either experience 70-degree weather; or get a major meteorologist report warning us of a big snowstorm coming in overnight, and then wake up to another 70-degree day! So when every news channel was warning us about a major snowstorm approaching, I thought we may get a light powdered sugar-like dusting with all evidence gone by morning. And boy was I wrong!

The snow started late in the afternoon on Tuesday and it just kept falling...and falling! I was tempted to wake the boys up from their naps for fear they would miss it it all if I didn't; but when it started to stick, I decided they could sleep. But I was excited and I couldn't wait for them to see! By the next morning, the amount of snow on the ground was unbelievable! It was a beautiful sight to see! We couldn't wait to get bundled up and go outside to play!

All bundled up and ready to go.

Jaden and Elijah braving the snow! They loved it so much and didn't want to come back inside. Jaden was ready to bring out every toy from the playroom

Jaden made a snow angel.

My adorable snow babies having fun in the snow!

Snowball fight!! Jaden's favorite part of the day! (I'm not sure if Elijah was the thrower or receiver in the picture below, but either way, he was a good sport about it!).

Snow castles, tractors, and tunnels are also fun in the snow! The boys had "snow" much fun (corny, but I wouldn't be a preschool teacher if I didn't say it - haha!).
The upside to the snow, other than us actually having some, was that we had three days off of school! The downside to all of this snow was that our little city practically shut down! Apparrently I'm not the only one who didn't believe the meteorologist reports - the entire city was unprepared! There were blackouts galore, water shortages, and busted pipes all over the city. When we finally left the house on Friday to go to a restaurant, the waitress kindly informed us that they were expecting a rolling blackout to hit in twenty minutes. Kids...eat fast!

The water fountain outside the restaurant was completely frozen. Jaden was anxious to get a closer look. Doesn't it look neat!

We ended our snow filled week with a movie night and ice cold ice cream! And there was enough snow still on the ground to play again tomorrow!

Snow on the Organs

Snowballs...To Throw or Not to Throw?

If you read my previous post, then you know that we got snow in Las Cruces (yes, in Las Cruces)!! Well, here's a funny story that came about due to the snow...

On the day of our "huge" snowstorm, school was canceled, so I got to stay home and enjoy the snow with the boys! Sam stayed home for a little bit in the morning, hoping that the road to his work would be closed and he wouldn't have to go in either, but no such luck! He did get to stay home and play in the snow with the boys for a little bit, but unfortunately he did miss most of the fun. While he was gone to work, Jaden and I played in the snow for a lot of the afternoon. We made snow angels, I pushed him across the snow in our little sand sled, and we tried making a snowman, but the snow was too soft. He even found a sponge in the backyard and decided it was the perfect opportunity to clean his Radioflyer car.

Later that day when Sam got home from work, he was excited to hear about our snow day, and was terribly disappointed that he missed out on all the fun! He mentioned that he had talked to his dad on the phone and his dad wondered how the boys liked the snow, and if he and Jaden had a snowball fight. Sam then proceeded to tell me the explanation he gave his dad about why he didn't think it was appropriate to teach Jaden to have a snowball fight. It went something like this... "We don't want Jaden throwing snowballs because he is still too little to be able to separate the appropriateness of throwing a snowball at someone versus throwing a ball/rock/toy, etc. at someone..." I listened very intently to Sam's explanation, which felt like a role reversal for a minute there, sounding like something I would typically be telling him while he was letting Jaden throw rocks in the yard or something.

And then, I asked Sam if he wanted to see the pictures I took of us playing in the snow that day. Here's some of what he saw.....

Oops! Bad mommy! But you can't have your first snow day, and not have a snowball fight, right?? I guess we should have had the "No throwing snowballs!" discussion before Sam went to work. Oh well, I'll file that rule away for the next time we have snow (mabye when Elijah's two)!

SNOW...In Las Cruces!!

Snow is an extremely rare occurrence around here! And when it does happen, it is hugely exciting! Even the tiniest flurry is worthy of a celebration! The last time I remember there being a notable amount of snow was January 18, 2007 -- the day I was in the hospital delivering Jaden! It's been a while!! So when we got snow twice in one week, right at the beginning of December, it was obviously EXCITING! I think every store in town rushed to remove the bathing suits from their shelves in exchange for winter gear; while every person in town rushed out to the stores to clear their shelves of every last coat, scarf, glove, and hat (seeing how the temperature was nearly up in the 70s just the week before!)! And while most other places would cancel school due to serious snow storms, blizzards, and freezing...we didn't want to take a chance! A couple inches was worthy of a snow day for us! And I'm not complaining one bit! It was so much fun getting to enjoy the snow at home with the boys. Jaden could have played outside in it all day long, and Elijah didn't mind it too much either! We definitely enjoyed it while it lasted, because we may not see it again for another few years! (Please bear with the 500 pictures - did I mention how EXCITING it was??).

The night the snow started...

And the morning after...