SNOW!!

Finally!! We have been waiting for a good snow, and finally we got one yesterday. It started off just as rain, and a lot of people didn't take the threat of an actual storm very seriously! I, however, am a faithful follower of the Capital Weather Gang ever since we had all those big storms last February, and they said snow would begin falling between 3:00 and 4:00, and that we would have significant accumulation, although it would differ by region. Well, starting a little before 3:00, it began sleeting, and in another hour, the snow started coming down very heavily--a couple inches an hour. It was the worst time for a storm, right as rush hour started, and tons of people spent hours and hours--I've heard as many as 12 hours to get from downtown out to Leesburg--trying to get home. Our good friend Tim P. left his office at 4:30, and by 10:00 he had made it one mile. So he turned around and drove on side streets back to his office (took half an hour), where he spent the night on the floor of his office. You can read his first hand account (and see all his awesome photography) on his blog here. Bob is TDY this week, however, so he did not have to deal with the commute! I was so happy about that! We all enjoyed the sight of all the snow falling while eating chocolate chip banana bread fresh from the oven! We went out last night after dinner to shovel the driveway, since the snow was very wet and heavy. We measured with a ruler, and we had 9 inches!

This morning everyone was so excited about playing in the snow! We did a little bit of school (amazing how much more motivated everyone is to finish in a timely manner when there is fresh snow to play in), and then they suited up. I am very pleased that 5/7 kids can get themselves completely dressed for snow all by themselves! Very nice!

My goal for Faith was to have her spend at least as much time outside as it took to get her dressed. We ended up being out there 45 minutes, so she was much happier about snow and snow clothes than she was last year!

The boys and Anna spent most of the day sledding at the end of the cul-de-sac with our neighbors. Caleb is looking happy here, but this afternoon he flipped his sled, hit a tree, and now has a lovely goose-egg on the back of his head.




Faith and I took a little walk around the neighborhood, with me pulling her on the sled. Nathan gave her a quick spin as well.

Here is the aftermath . . . tons of wet suits, jackets, gloves, and boots. My friend Kim gave me this great hint last winter--put a felt-lined plastic tablecloth on the floor to catch all the wet stuff. It's a great idea!

Everyone is totally tired and will sleep well tonight!