Snow Day, Day Three

Today's activities included cross-country skiing right from the front door, a sled ride to see a giant igloo, and lots and lots of sledding on our nearby Greenlake hill. Oh, and some hot chocolate, a movie, and a nice long soak in the tub!
My helpful girl cleared the steps:
I gave her a ride to see the igloo:
Lifeguard on duty. No swimmers, though (or so we thought):
Lots of people and cameras:
The igloo:
Heading in to check it out:
Nice view!
Nice and toasty inside, too.
Spoke too soon. This dude stripped down and went for a swim. Here he's getting his clothes back on.
Our own private winter sports resort. We saw sledding, skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, snowshoeing, and all kinds of fun.

Snow Day!

Mom, I'm boiling!

Mush, mush!

Busy finding decorations for the snow angel.

The happy sledder. (Video below!)

Adelaide might have had more of a Blair Witch problem with the running with video camera, but she screamed less than me going down the hill, so I think we're even.

New Year's Day Snowshoeing

Cold and sunny weather kept us moving at a steady pace up the trail, but we managed to pause for a few photos in the sunnier places along the way.

Happy New Year!

A New (Snow) Day

Well, it is Seattle after all, so this little snowfall and freezing temperature combo closed school again today. Adelaide and I headed out on the sled (well, one of us was pulling it) to beef up her winter gear (last year's snow pants are now "snow shorts" as Adelaide dubbed them). We had a nice walk/slide to the department store, and on our return, I decided to get a jump on tomorrow's food prep by baking an apple pie.

Snow Day, Part Two

Sledding!

Snow Day, Part One

Given yesterday's snow and today's frigid temperatures, school is closed today. So far we are staying indoors and just talking about all the outdoor activities we want to do if the temperature goes above the current 20 degrees.

Breakfast was round egg sandwiches:
The snow bunny is excited!

First Snow of the Winter

Lots of excitement before school today as we got ready to get out in the snow. Adelaide and I bundled up and she cleaned off the car for us. It's a fun day to be at school!

Spring Snow

This morning we had snowflakes the size of small pancakes.

Since we've no place to go

By the way, this video was NOT created with Flip4Mac trial, because it sucks, but of course they embed that irritating ad which only becomes visible long after I've jumped through hoops to get sound in my video. Great camera, lousy software. So ignore the product placement and enjoy the show!

Streetless in Seattle

It has continued to snow this week, with snow on Thursday all day, and Saturday afternoon and night. This morning there were about 6 inches piled up with a thin ice crust over the top. We set out to attempt to clear the walk (not owning a snow shovel, we had to use the hoe, garden shovel and broom for our tools) and ended up spending more than 2 hours out working and playing with the snow. After a warm-up and a little lunch, Adelaide is headed out with her dad for some sledding at the park in the snow that is falling again now.It's a relief today that the weather has warmed up enough to have a young child outside. The adults have been fine walking long distances to get out and lessen the cabin fever, but the 20 degree weather combined with icy roads has been very restrictive for our little one. I am a bit concerned about the next few days, especially given our need to get to the airport to pick up Grandma tomorrow. But I'm going to work hard to let my worries go and live in the moment. I certainly was able to do so for a while this morning, when igloo construction took priority over everything else. At least now we have more than one house in which to be housebound!

sNOw Day

School Superintendent's Checklist for School Closure due to Inclement Weather

Schools Shall be Closed in the Event of the Following:

* Snow accumulation of 1 - 2 inches, visible on bumper of Superintendent's SUV parked in driveway.

Exception: School shall not be closed if lots of parents have called and complained last year about too many school closures. Must keep parent satisfaction numbers high enough to have levy passed.

* Ice on front steps of Superintendent's home, noted when Superintendent checks for the newspaper at 4:00 a.m., only to be disappointed that it has not yet been delivered.

Exception: In the event that the paper is early, Superintendent shall declare schools open and on time, as sufficient reading time is available.

* Road conditions too dangerous for school busses, including black ice, fallen trees, and unplowed snow.

Exception: In the event of a birthday among administrative offices staff, school will have a 1.5 hour late start to allow for pick-up of the Costco cake and on-time party.

* Weather Forecast includes the possibility of snow. Or sun. Or anything sort of unusual or interesting.

Exception: Superintendent doesn't feel like getting up at 4:00 to start calling people about closing school. She can just call in sick later.

* Other districts are closing.

Exception: Superintendent laid out her "I am a rebel" pantsuit the night before, and doesn't feel like picking out a different outfit.

First Snow

One advantage to having a child who is a morning person is that there are days when it is nice to be the first ones up. This morning a very excited four year old rushed into my room to announce: "There is snow outside, and it is covering everything!"

Our street did look very magical in the pre-dawn light, so we quickly threw on some warm layers and boots and headed out. Adelaide started with some snow snacks.
I tried to capture the Seattleite's view of snow. The fact that we get out the camera and rush outside to document in is telling in itself, but it is rare enough here that it feels very exciting.
We didn't see much activity in the neighborhood with the exception of a few running fanatics (Shorts, really? As you tromp through icy puddles?) and over-confident drivers (note to self, no car trips today). Adelaide did some tracking of what she decided was a deer, and I headed to some of my favorite trees in the neighborhood to see them decorated with snow.Next we found a spot in the park to build our snowman. The snow was not very cooperative, so we kept the figure simple and got creative with the adornments. We were lucky to have a hawk circling above us as we worked.
After about an hour in the snow, we were cold and ready to come home for cocoa and Christmas cookies.

I'm grateful to the snow for bringing us out in the early morning. Being under the trees while the light changes to day, breathing cold clean air and hearing only the crunch of snow and ice under our boots and the delight of a child in fresh snow will serve as my most magical gift this holiday season.