Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

In keeping with the joys of living where we do, snow is just a part of winter here. I firmly believe that snow should only fall on December 24th and then disappear by December 26th, but alas the weathermen don't find my philosophy workable and continue to put snow in the forecast through April most of the time. This year, at least until the past two weeks, we were actually under our normal snowfall amounts and I was thrilled, hoping that it might mean an early spring. I was even contemplating the idea of baking some cookies for those normally obnoxious weathermen as a thank you. But then they had to go and blow it all.

Our local weathermen/women are a unique bunch. On one channel they are so laid back it is hard to tell that they even care about the weather although their weekend weather woman has a nice personality even if she has a size minus 2 waist. Then we have the channel where the weatherman has been there so long he's more of a fixture at the station than the bricks. And he's one of those laid back, don't get your feathers all in a bunch, kind of guys. To make matters even worse, he has all kinds of weird sayings that make you just want to roll your eyes when you watch him. Then there is what we fondly refer to as the 'jumping weatherman' on another channel. He usually forgoes his suit jacket, rolls up his sleeves and even removes his tie so it doesn't get in the way of his jumping, stooping and dancing in front of the green screen as he dodges weather fronts. Yeah, he's unique. And finally, we have the gleeful weatherman. The one that only really gets excited when the weather is at its worst. He loves to forecast the worst case scenarios, and gets a thrill from all of the headaches such a thing will cause. I am sure he even sleeps at the station when the biggies are coming in just because he likes them so much he doesn't want to miss it. And, he tends to interrupt regular programming when anything out of the ordinary happens. I think he might be a bit hyper. But he's lovable just the same so he's generally our pick to watch. We just take his forecasts down a notch or two and we know we're probably right on the money.

Last week, our excitable weatherman was in his element. We had several days of snow, the most so far this season, and he was gleefully rubbing his hands together as he shared what he thought would be the worst storm of the season. Uh... he was wrong. He should have waited a week. Over the weekend everyone started reporting that some snow was coming but they really didn't know how much. As Monday neared, a winter storm warning was called and we were told to expect 4 - 8 inches overall. By Tuesday morning, we were well on our way to that and today, it is still falling. And falling. And falling some more. Even he missed it by a mile. If HE can't even get it right when he exaggerates it, what is the world coming to???

But our house is not full of a bunch of curmudgeons. No, just two. The two who have to get out and get to work or run errands in it all. The rest of the household LOVES the snow. Gets great joy out of it, even. Laura, who has only been able to watch from afar because she was either medically fragile or unable to play in the snow due to casts and so on, found that she was in just the right place at just the right time to experience her first snow fall. The boys on the other hand find this type of heavy snowfall great for building forts, snowboarding down the slope of the yard, and in general having wonderfully cold fun. So, with a nod to those who tolerate the snow, the kids headed out to explore. Here are some pictures from the past two days.

Laura exploring the snow for the first time - ever!


Her first snow angel!!


Matthew, the Muscle Man clearing the driveway.


Jonathan helping do his part.


The boys, taking a break in the snow.