SNOW!

We had record breaking snowfall here this week and some of us are pretty excited!

Sledding

There aren't very many hills out here in the Midwest, let alone sledding hills. Fortunately for us, there is a small hill just down the street at one of our favorite parks, the perfect size for kids. Since we got a foot of snow this weekend, we decided to make the most of it and take the family out sledding. We have a nice big sled (Caleb's primary transportation these days to and from school) for us to enjoy. Kelsie and Brandon tested the hill and packed down the snow for a good run which set the stage for the next hour and a half of fun. The snow was deep and soft, the perfect kind for sledding and having a nice big snow fight--which is what Brandon decided was a lot more fun to do than waiting his turn to slide down the hill. This was also Caleb's first real sledding experience, and we were really impressed with his innate abilites to the sport. He liked going down the regular old sled until our friends showed up and brought their pizza pan. After that, it was all about the metal pan, or not at all. He's a pretty tough 1 year old, if I do say so myself. Don't believe me? Watch the video:

Snow Day

We have had a ton of snow over the last couple of days. We've been hearing snow blowers all day cleaning up the sidewalks, only to have them covered again in an hour. After we got jobs done this morning, the kids and I went out to play. Kelsie and Brandon built a snow fort, while Caleb (waist-deep in snow) did his best to move around and through all the white stuff. We also tried to build our own hill, but it didn't work out as well as we had thought it would. We're planning on going sledding later this afternoon and just having fun. I really like the snow when it's light and powdery like it is today. It's when it get hard and frozen when it's just a pain. We're supposed to get an "arctic blast" this next week, so we will be staying inside as much as possible. But, for now, we're enjoying our snow day.

By the way, Caleb liked the snow fort, I think by the time I ran in to get the camera, he decided that he was done with it.

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

We have lived in a lot of snowy places: Idaho, Utah, and Pennsylvania to name a few. It did snow a few times in Washington, but I haven't decided if the snow we got there really deserves to be put in the same category. In the one winter we were there, we probably got 3 inches of snow. Total. But, I guess, snow is snow. Come to find out that in Illinois, snow is here too and LOTS of it! We got dumped on the last day and a half with over 10 inches of snow and although that means lots of shoveling, unless you have a handy snow blower or a husband who isn't lazy, and a lot of fun for a couple of kids to play in. We are just glad that it finally warmed up from the frigid temperatures we were having so it could snow!

I took Caleb out this morning to give him the wonderful experience of snow. He wasn't quite sure of how he felt about it. I sat him down in it and he just sat there. I'm sure it's hard to move around in a huge snow suit anyway, but he just didn't know what else to do. When he fell over and laid down, he didn't like that at all. That was the only thing he was absolutely sure of.

Brandon, on the other hand, can't get enough of the white stuff! All suited up, he charged on out to see just how deep the snow really was. He was amazed to find that it was knee-deep (to him, it came up to my calves) and that he had to push his way through it. He helped me shovel for a little while, deciding that the grass, trees, and bushes also needed to be cleared off. He finally decided that jumping off the "mountains" of snow we made could be a lot more fun and rolling around was even better.

Kelsie had pajama day at school, so she trudged off into the winter wonderland with Wally this morning in her pj's and boots (no, we didn't forget the coat, hat, and gloves). She appeared to have been fine when we picked her up from school this afternoon in the same get-up and walked through the unplowed streets to get home. What a trooper!

Wally, unfortunately, was unable to bike into work today and since our car was covered with snow, ended up walking. He has yet to come home, but since he has such a special person in his life (who is NOT lazy I might add) shovel the sidewalk, at least he will have an easy walk once he gets close to home.

I really don't mind the snow. I love it when it snows a lot and it just seems peaceful outside. It really is a beautiful thing. The best part after a cold day out in the elements is coming inside to a nice warm cup of hot chocolate that really hits the spot.



Unless you don't have any.





And you can't go anywhere because there is 10 inches of snow outside.