Snoweek

Sunnyside caught the edge of the enormous snowstorm that pounded the northern and western parts of Washington last week. The first day of school in 2022 was a snow day at home, and there only ended up being one day that week where school kept regular hours--we had 2 snow days and 2 two hour delay days in the first week of January! That kind of uncertainty made it hard to get into a daily routine, but we enjoyed our first big snowfall of the year with snowmen and lots of hot chocolate, and even managed to do some much-needed household chores on the side.

We actually had two snowfalls. The first was a relatively light one of about two inches on Sunday night, which closed schools on Monday, January 3rd and gave us a two hour delay on Tuesday. The second snowfall began on Wednesday afternoon and continued all night long, cancelling school on Thursday and causing another two hour delay for school on Friday. 

On Monday, I went for a run in the snow which was fun in the moment but ended up not making my injured upper leg happy, and I had to take the rest of the week off from running. Even though it hurt, I enjoyed getting out in the fresh snow and seeing how the world looked decked out in quiet fresh white. Before Jay took his tuba back to school, we all had to give it a try. Playing the tuba takes an incredible amount of air and diaphragm strength! I got just two good squawks out of the beast before my lips were sore and I was out of breath. Jeff impressed us all by resurrecting his long-dormant tuba skills and playing one of his high school marching band classics that seemed to shake our entire little house. Jeff also taught Jay how to make lower notes on the tuba.

Two hour delays feel so long. On Tuesday morning, Rose and Amber were all ready for school at the usual time, but then there were two more hours before the bus came. While waiting around the house  for the school bus to come, I needed a productive task that could handle lots of interruptions and wouldn't be too hard to do. So I organized our spice cabinet, refilling empty spice jars, consolidating duplicate spices, and labeling lids. It ended up taking MUCH longer than I intended, and there is still a yellowish spot on the counter where I spilled some turmeric, but I finally did finish about an hour after the girls boarded the school bus. 

On Wednesday morning I braved the slick streets (snow plows are only for the mountain passes in Washington) and drove Rose to get her new glasses in Grandview before school started at the normal time. It's official: my daughter is more fashionable than me! Haha. Wednesday afternoon, the snow began, and Wednesday night, Jay had a sledding activity in the park with his group from church. He caught a ride to the activity in our neighbor's four wheel drive Jeep, because the roads were already getting slick. We love our neighbors.

The second snow was wet and heavy-- too deep and sticky for good sledding on our shallow hill as we quickly discovered, but perfect for snowmen. Rose and I stayed outside the longest together on Thursday morning, building three sizable snowmen, which we named Lady Liberty, Medusa, and Biker Boy based on their various scrounged and invented accessories. It was a positive morning of conflict-free play with my Rose-girl (an increasingly rare treasure), and we both enjoyed it immensely.

The temperature rose above freezing for the first time in nearly three weeks on Thursday night, melting our snowmen into crumpled heaps and allowing the kids to go to school on a two hour delay Friday morning. 

Snazzy new glasses for Rosie!

Foggy glasses on my snowy run.

Tuba time! Our cheeks puffed out nice and round, just like cartoon tuba players.

I didn't get pictures of everyone trying Jay's tuba, but Amber looked so cute behind that massive instrument!

Ho hum, another two hour delay.

My mom mailed us the fluffy wearable blanket that she gave us while we were at her house for Christmas, and everyone wanted a turn with it. This thing is so warm!

A very warm two headed amoeba!

I'm so glad the spice organizing is done. Going through my spices was like opening a time capsule! I saved baby food jars from Jay's babyhood to put bulk spices in, and a few of our spice jars date back to college before Jeff and I were even married! Good ole Food Lion store brand from the only grocery store in Buena Vista, VA.

It still doesn't look super uniform or amazing, and I'm still using that ancient family pack chicken ramen noodle box for the second-shelf spice jars, but trust me, the spice cabinet looks way better than it did before. (and yes, I keep a jar of pens and Sharpies with my spices because I always need pens and markers in the kitchen and this was the easiest spot for it.)

Check out this fuzzy bovine! I went on a walk in the snow one day and visited this group of young bulls about a mile down the canal road from our house. I got pretty close to this heifer and took a portrait mode picture while he gazed at me hopefully. 

Soon all of his friends were crowding the fence looking for a snack that I did not have.

Thursday morning sledding! The hill behind our house is pretty shallow, so we didn't last long out there. All Jay wanted to do was throw snow at his sisters, but I reminded him that both sides have to agree to a snowball fight. Rose does not handle flying snow. At all. Thankfully Jay listened and the potential meltdown was averted.

Poor Amber managed to fill her boots with snow (it was pretty deep snow and I think it just went over the top of her boots), so her feet started freezing. She was in pain from the cold, so Jeff took her inside to warm up.

Our house doesn't have rain gutters, so we had a beautiful fringe of icicles hanging all the way around the roof's edge. Since our house is little, I was able to reach up and pull off any icicle I wanted, and Rose was able to reach the longer ones.

Amber's little face peeked out of the window while Rose and I built snowmen. Amby felt left out, but her feet were so cold that even her love of snow and nature couldn't get her to come back outside.

We used icicles for our snowmen's arms. Lady Liberty had an icicle crown, Medusa had a tangle of pine branches for her hair, and Biker Boy had a bike helmet on his head.

I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it was pretty in the snow.

We built the snowmen in the side yard (to the left of our house, not really visible in this picture), so our front yard was still pristine and untouched when we went inside.

Selfies with Amber.

I swear I cut her bangs evenly, but when it curls up, it always looks uneven because some of the curls are tighter and others are looser.

On Friday I managed a short sloppy jog on the wet melty roads. Water squished between my toes by the end.

There was lots of loud teasing, tackling, squealing, and laughing with all the extra time at home.

On Saturday, we moved the computers from the basement back up to the main floor, into the tiny art room. Somehow we kept the art table set up next to Jay's computer. It's a tight squeeze! The pile of toys and blankets in the middle of this picture has been put away, so it looks a little better now. The basement near the garage door is cold and drafty in the winter, and the kids kept freezing during screen time. Plus, we wanted the computers in a more high-traffic area.

I tied my biggest fuzzy scarf over my head for a trip to the mailbox one day and turns out Russian babushkas know what they're talking about! It was so warm, I didn't want to take it off.

My mom sent me this picture and it made me laugh. I actually would totally wear that outfit.