Snow Decemeber 2009

We were enjoying a wonderful Friday evening as a family in mid-December last year, when we got a nice surprise. All four of us were enjoying "movie night", and as soon as the movie was over, we looked outside to find it snowing. Of course Drew and Mikayla (and mommy and daddy, too) had to get their coats on and head outside to play. It was a beautiful end to a wonderful evening!

Snow Days 2 & 3, 2009

Mikayla poses with her daddy (she was also wearing one of his pullovers)!

Drew gets ready to throw a snowball at his daddy!

Craig watches Drew and Mikayla play in the backyard. I like this picture because you can really see how much snow we got!!

I know it sounds weird to be discussing snow days when it has been so hot here lately - tomorrow it is supposed to reach 98 degrees. But, I'm that far behind in my posting. I thought about just starting here and moving forward - it's not like there wouldn't be enough to post about that way, but then thought differently. This blog is for our family and friends but also ultimately for Drew and Mikayla. This blog, along with baby and family scrapbooks will allow our children to look back at their childhood one day. That being said, I didn't want to leave anything out!!(Well with the exception of times I forgot my camera - like hanging out and eating dinner at Traci's and Mike's at the end of January, and hanging out and eating dinner at Nanda's and Jim's on Valentine's Day - I sure wish I had pictures!!)

OK, so back to the "snow days". On Sunday night, March 1st, Craig, Drew, Mikayla, and I went to the church for Drew's Upward Basketball banquet. It was different this year from in years past. Instead of being held in the sanctuary, it was held in the gym and Gina and Paul had arranged for some college cheerleaders and basketball players to be there. The weather forecasters had been calling for snow to start that evening, so Craig had been keeping a close eye on the weather from the door. Right in the middle of the college basketball players' shootout, my friend Nanda got a text from WSPA saying that Spartanburg District 2 schools (that's us) would be closed on Monday. After hearing that, Craig decided that he better check outside again - he knew from the previous times that he had checked that it had already started sleeting and snowing. He comes back to where I'm sitting and says "we probably need to go, the parking lot is covered". In the meantime, Nanda had gotten a text from her husband, who was home with a sick Breanna, telling her she probably needed to head out too. Since it was just Nanda and Bryson, Craig and I decided to follow her home first to make sure she didn't have any trouble. By the time we made it home, the grass was completely covered!! The kids and I were super excited about not having to go to school the next day, and Craig was wondering if he would work. It worked out that he didn't have to go to work on Monday, either, because the warehouse had lost power. We spent the day playing in the snow and relaxing as a family. Craig even brought Molly in after playing in the snow the first time and gave her a bath!! He is such a sweetie!

After warming up and resting awhile, Poppi, Aunt Jennie, Uncle Jonathan, and BJ came over. Drew and Mikayla always call their Poppi to come over when we have snow so they can build a snowman. Since they had all been sledding, daddy had gathered some "clean" snow and made three snowballs already. He transported them to our house and helped Drew and Mikayla stack the snowballs to make a snowman. We had so much fun playing in the snow with our family, and Drew, Mikayla, and I enjoyed two "snow days". I LOVE snow days!!

Uncle Jonathan helps Drew add a snowball to one of the snow people!

Mikayla and Drew work together to make sure that the first snowball is snugly packed. BJ helps build snow people too! Drew and Mikayla also had a ball sledding. One snowman just would not do. We had to have the snow family!! Poppi adds the snowballs to the snow people. Drew is heading off to begin making another snowball.

Uncle Jonathan and Daddy take a break as Poppi helps Drew and Mikayla with their sleds.

Snow Day!!!

On Tuesday, January 20th, Drew and Mikayla woke me up before my alarm clock went off to tell me that the ground was white. I immediately turned on the news to check for school closings. I was surprised to find that the two districts in our county that normally close before the others were on a 2 hour delay (we are in one of those districts), while the other 5 districts were closed. I told Drew and Mikayla that they might want to go back to bed just in case we had school. Mikayla took heed to the warning, however, Drew did not. I was not surprised about an hour later to see that our school district had closed as well. We didn't have much snow, but it was enough to cover the ground and our road. I thought I might get to go back to sleep for awhile since Mikayla had, but Drew had other plans. He was determined to get out in the snow to play. It wasn't all his fault I must admit - when it comes to snow I'm like a big kid. Drew, Mikayla, and I went out to play for about an hour after getting all bundled up. After coming in to warm up for awhile, Drew decided that he wanted his Poppi to come over and play in the snow with him. He called his Poppi, and not surprisingly he came directly over. (I'm not so sure why it is so hard for my daddy to tell my children "no" - he sure didn't have a hard time using that word when I was a kid!) Drew and Mikayla had so much fun playing with their Poppi and me in the snow - they didn't want to come in when it was time. Poppi reminded them that we needed to warm up, and I told them I needed to give Molly (our cocker spaniel) a bath. I think they were mostly sad because the snow was already beginning to melt. Drew and Mikayla (and mommy too!) is hoping for many more snow days this year!!

Drew and Mikayla were so excited to see the ground covered with this fluffy white stuff!!

Mikayla makes her first snow angel of the year - too bad there wasn't much snow.

Drew begins to make his first snow angel of the year. Because there wasn't much snow, they were both in the dirt by the time they finished.Poppi comes over to have a snowball fight with Drew and Mikayla!

Mikayla loves swinging on her swing set in the snow...

While Drew was determined to build a snowman - no matter how small!

Snowball Fights, Snow People, Fun, Oh My!

Poppi and Aunt Jennie came over to play in the snow with us. Drew and Mikayla laughed as they threw snowballs at Jennie and Poppi. I even caught several snowballs myself.

Drew and Mikayla loved dropping snow on Poppi's head, and Poppi did the same to them!

Jennie, Drew, and Mikayla laugh as they play in the snow. Your never too old to love snow!!
Poppi, and Drew laugh as Drew snowball just barely missed me. Mikayla was busy rolling a ball for a snowman.
The finished "snow people". Drew and Mikayla loved rolling the balls so much, we had enough to make two.

Poppi, Drew, and Mikayla pose with the "snow people" after Poppi added these hats for Drew!!

First Snow 2008!

Beautiful snow as it fell last night!
Drew and Mikayla LOVE snow, and I'm so glad that we get to play in it this year!
Drew and Mikayla having a snowball fight!
Last night about 9:00, we noticed the first snow flurries. Drew was so excited to finally see SNOW!! Mikayla was asleep, but she sure was excited to see the ground white this morning. We are all extremely happy to have a SNOW DAY!!

Snow Day!!

Today was the first snow we have seen this year! Both Drew and Mikayla have both seen/played in snow before, but since we live in an area with usually mild winters, we don't see it very often! Unlike the north, when we get snow here people don't leave their houses unless it's absolutely necessary! Everyone takes care of needed supplies and such days before forecasters are calling for any type of wintry precipitation to arrive! It is a big deal because we've gone years before without seeing snow. When we woke Drew and Mikayla up this morning (we got to sleep later because we didn't have school) we told them to look out the front door to see a surprise! They both started jumping and screaming SNOW, SNOW, SNOW! Immediately they were ready to put their warm clothes on and head outside. I got some cute pictures before coming back in to warm up. I was glad I got pictures this morning because it wasn't long after this that it changed to freezing rain and then just rain and the little bit of snow we had melted quickly.

Drew and Mikayla were so excited to see snow covering our front year when they woke up this morning! Can you tell?
They LOVED throwing snowballs at mommy and daddy!

Drew made beautiful snow angels!

He even taught "sissy" how to make them! She did a beautiful job making her first ever snow angels!

Daddy helps Drew and Mikayla build a snowman - they are getting a good start!

Putting on the finishing touches! It was a very small snowman because we had a very small amount of snow - we were lucky to get a snowman at all!

All finished!

Snow!!!

This morning as we were leaving for church Drew, Mikayla, and I were surprised to see it snowing!! Craig had already left for work and we were leaving for church just in time, so I didn't think to grab the camera and get a picture. It sure was beautiful; the flakes were big and there were a lot of them. It snowed on us all the way to church. Of course when we got out of church it had stopped and the sun was shinning. I'm not sure how long it snowed, but it wasn't long enough because it didn't stick to the ground. We were all hoping it would!! Even if there is no snow on the ground to play in, it sure was a pretty sight to see this morning as it fell from the sky. At least we can say we saw snow this year!!

Please snow...

On the way home this afternoon it started to rain. Since the temperature is close to freezing, there were also a few snowflakes and sleet mixed in. By the time we were headed home, Drew and Mikayla (and I must admit Mommy too!) were so excited about this. They kept watching out the windows and were chanting snow, snow, snow. Once we got home, they were still on the look out. I'm not sure that we are going to get snow tonight (at least none that sticks), but they sure have had fun watching for it!!

Power Finally!!

We are all home from school, and Craig is home from work again today. The roads are clear and passable, however power has been out almost everywhere. I shouldn't have said anything about us having power yesterday!! When I posted it was around 8:00 am, and right after 9:00 we lost power! So, we packed the kids up and headed over to my mom and dad's house. They still had power at 9, however, when we arrived there a little after 10:00, they had lost their power as well! The good news is they have 2 fireplaces, so we could at least stay warm. About 4:00, Craig and Daddy went to get pizza! After calling Little Ceasars and Pizza Hut and finding out they didn't have power either, they were finally able to order at Dominos. When daddy called, there was a 2 hour wait for delivery. Daddy told them that he would come get it, so it was only a 30 minute wait. When they got back from getting pizza, they said Dominos, Applebees, Walmart, and Lowes were packed. I guess with so many people without power, they were getting out of the house. About 6:00, we decided we would take the kids to get more batteries since it had gotten dark and they were getting a little bored. By this time, all that was open was Lowes. Dominos, Applebees, and Walmart had all lost power. So we went and got batteries from Lowes, and then we just rode around for awhile. I was amazed at the number of houses/businesses without power. The only things open were Zaxby's, Macdonald's, Race Trak, Corner Store, and a few houses around those businesses. Everywhere else we went was dark! When we got home, we found out that all Spartanburg County schools would be closed again today. So, we talked, listened to a little music (thanks to my sister's battery-powered radio), played a little (all by candlelight) and then went to sleep a little after 10! This gave us a small glimpse of what life must've been like before power. This morning, we called our house and were soooooo excited when our answering machine picked up! WE HAVE POWER!!!! Mom and dad still are without! If they don't have power by tonight, they may be sleeping over with us!

Snow Day!

Today we are all home from school thanks to an ice storm. We would rather have snow since it is more fun, but we are enjoying our morning at home!! So far we still have power, though the lights have flickered a couple of times! We are counting our blessings, as there are about 41,000 outages in the upstate!

We will spend the day playing, wrapping presents, and straightening the house! I will be taking pictures, especially when we go outside later to get some icycles! I will add those later.