The Blizzard of 2013

After two years of very little snow, the kids were SO excited to hear that we were getting a blizzard.  It started snowing early Friday morning, and at least once an hour Zach would run to the window and say, "Is it the blizzard yet??"  It snowed steadily all day, but only accumulated about 7 inches by the time Ahren and I went to bed.  The winds were whipping, so we notched up the heat, and prayed we would still have power in the morning.

I was very glad to wake up to the banging of the heat this morning at 6am.  Shortly thereafter the kids hopped out of bed and wanted to go check out the snow.  At 7am it was still snowing quite a bit and we already had 2 feet!  After a hearty breakfast, we got suited up and made our way out.  WOW!!  It seemed like a lot from the windows, but it was really much more impressive once we got out in it.  I almost got stuck in the street when I went out to take some pictures.  As I started to make my way back to the house, my leg went so far into the snow, I could barely get it out!

This quickly became the trend with the kids as well.  They would play around happily for about 10 minutes before we would hear cries of "HELP!  I'm stuck!!" and one of us would have to go pull them out of the snow.

Sadly, the snow blower wouldn't run, so Ahren and I spent about two hours shoveling.  We're not quite done yet, but we're hoping to borrow the neighbor's snow blower to finish up later.  It took me a solid hour just to clear off my car, and get a path all the way around it.

It's been a very exciting couple of days so far.  Ahren promised to bring the kids to the playground to sled once the plows are all gone.  That could actually be tomorrow.  There was a 24 hour driving ban, and even with that the plows have had a hard time keeping up.  Our street is completely impassable at the moment.

The sun in starting to break through, and we'll be cleaning up (and playing) for awhile.  The Blizzard of 2013 has certainly been one to remember!!

My car, half buried by the snow.

This is the only way Zach could get around in the snow.  It was up to his head in many parts!

Lexi shows off the pile on our deck.

Zach shows off the pile at the bottom of the stairs.

The yard.  The snow almost covered the picnic table!

Harold Street.

The snow at the end of the driveway is at least as high as my waist.  I almost got stuck on the street!

The drifting made for some very interesting snow piles!

Dude, where's my car??

Harold Street

Ahren made a path to the garage to get the snow blower.  Sadly, it wouldn't run.  :(

Lexi found a stage.

Attempting to take a picture of Lexi, I almost got stuck in the yard.

Lexi got to sled off the hood of my car.

Later this afternoon, we finally got to go sledding!!

On our way to the hill!

There was a beautiful sunset!

Zach wipes out!

Lexi has a blast!!

A Good Friend

Zachary has two new friends in his preschool class this week.  They are Russian twins who, between the two of them, do not speak a word of English.  Zachary has been very welcoming to them, and even sat with them at lunch on Tuesday.  He tried to carry on a conversation with them, but reported that he couldn't understand anything they said. 
This morning I reminded him that they would be in class again today.  He was thoughtful for a moment and said, "Mom, the girl one (he has a hard time with their names) can't sleep at nap time without crying a lot.  So, maybe today if she is crying again, I will give her one of my stuffed animals to sleep with."
My son has such an amazing heart.  I'm so proud of him.

Nana's House

Nana's house has been getting a little make over between tenants this month. Last week I got to drop by and see it. It never ceases to amaze me that it still smells like Nana's house. And it's nice to know that the record of all the growing Amy and I did there is still intact.

A lot of growing was done in this house

Lexi at the fireplace - hand built by Nanoe.

Martin Luther King Jr Day

Both Lexi and Zachary have been very interested in Martin Luther King Jr. this year. Last night Lexi told me her favorite MLK quote from a book she read last Friday was, "Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." She quoted it perfectly. I had to look it up three times to remember it correctly to post it here.
In preschool, Zachary drew this picture of his dream.

"I have a dream that I could help sick people."  ~Zach

Snow Days!!

My kids love to play in the snow. We didn't get much last year, so when we got a few inches of the really great sticky kind, they were out until after dark playing around in it. They had a blast!!



Zachary, proud of his snowman.

Lexi with her happy snowman

Zach takes a face plant into the snow.

Lexi made a fort by sticking tree branches into the snow.

People Aren't Like Cats

Zachary has been going through a "killing the bad guys" phase lately, and talks a lot about the different ways he would kill a bad guy if he needed to.  This evening, on our way home from swimming, he had gone on long enough.  I needed him to understand what all of this meant.  So I said to him, "You know, Zachary, we don't ever want to kill someone.  If you kill someone it means you make them die, and once someone is dead, that's permanent.  They will never be able to come back.  Once you're dead you're dead for good."  Lexi, always one to want to help explain the concepts, chimes in, "Yea, because people are not like cats."  Confused I said, "What do you mean, Lexi?  Once cats are dead, they are dead too.  They don't come back."  She replied, "Really??  Well then why do they say that cats have nine lives?"

I am SO glad we had this conversation before one of our cats dies!!

He Gets It...

Zach: "Mom, I'm going to help you, because I notice that when we listen we get more chocolate and Mommy hugs, and less time outs." The kid is catching on!!

This was after both kids helped me by emptying all of the wastebaskets around the house, and bringing the recycling to the bin outside.  Proud Mama.