Snowpocalypse

I live in Texas and it snows about once a year. Last winter, my kids missed two days of school and had a 2 hour delay one day. These were spread out in December and January. This winter, we were nearing the end of January and now snow had fallen yet. I thought to myself, "I guess we aren't going to get any snow this year." I did not share this thought with anyone. I just kept it to myself. The meteorologists had predicted snow, but it never fell when they had it in the forecast. When they predict snow, my motto is, "I'll believe it when I see it." I lived in Ohio until I was about 12 or 13. Then we moved to Texas. I missed the snow. So, I adopted that motto so I wouldn't get my hopes up just to be let down.

It is quite humorous when it snows in Texas! EVERYTHING shuts down! It is like the world is coming to an end because snow is falling from the sky. The road crews do not put salt on the road like they do up north so people can continue to drive on them and live life. 

Well, we finally got our snow...On January 31, it started snowing in the evening. When I woke up, I checked to see if there was school...nope, no school. So I went back to bed until my kids woke up. They were exited when I told them to look out the window and they saw snow!

Here is what it looked like looking down our street. Under all that snow, is our street. 

And if you turn your head and look down our street the other way, this is what it looked like. I don't know if you can tell where the curb is, but you can see on the edge of the street where it is ice. Under all that snow was a very thick layer of ice. It started out raining the night before and then turned into a wintry mix which then turned to snow.

This is our house and front yard all covered in about 4 inches of snow!

From the time the boys saw the snow outside they begged to go out and play in it. We made them eat breakfast first, then they ventured out. Watch as they go out, Finn and Seven leave foot prints and Rilian just leaves two trails. I guess the snow was too deep for him to pick his feet up high enough. Piper had an ear infection so she didn't feel like going out and playing in it. We weren't really prepared for snow as far as snow gear goes. We let them go out with what hats, coats, and rain boots they had. We didn't have enough mitten/gloves for everyone to wear. 

Watch Finn make a snow angel. And listen to how exited Seven is about the snow!!! And yes, those were gardening gloves that Finn picks up at the end...we live in Texas...it doesn't snow but once a year, twice if we're lucky...we made do with what we had!

There is Finn's snow angel.

Finn wearing gardening gloves...I love how you can see the snow still falling! Does he look cold to you?

I think the snow on Seven's lip is neat! It wasn't melting, it just stayed!

Seven attempts to make a snow angel. He cracks me up! I'm sure he will crack you up in this video, too! Watch and listen!

Seven is pointing at his snow angel.

After Seven and Finn got too cold, they came inside and tried to get warm.

Poor Rilian! His hands were so cold, they hurt. I tried to put them in my hands so they could get warm faster, but he didn't want me to touch them. He didn't want me to wrap them up in the blanket. He just kept holding them and crying. 

Later, Piper's ear felt better and she went outside to enjoy some snow. I don't remember if it was that day, or the next day...the schools were closed for FOUR DAYS IN A ROW!!! People were calling it a snowpocalypse. It was crazy! Tuesday through Friday, the schools were closed! I went to the mall on Saturday to get some stuff for Rilian's birthday party and the mall was packed! Almost every parking space was taken, it was worse than the Christmas holidays!!!

Seven once again humors me...And if you've ever played the game Angry Birds, or have heard the song for it, this will be really funny! It is Jeremy's ringtone...

When your kids have four snow days in a row, the days start to run together and you don't remember which day what happened. So, I have to apologize, but think you will understand, that I don't remember which of the four days this was. I think it was the second one. The kids were getting cabin fever, but we couldn't really go anywhere. For one, the roads were iced up and covered in snow and well, the whole town was shut down...the mall even closed!!! So, we are lucky in that Granny lives about a mile away. We dressed everyone in our warmest clothes and drove very slowly over to Granny's house. The change in scenery seemed to help, some. That night, Finn and Seven had a snowball fight! Jeremy and I made our way to Walmart and bought hats and mittens for our four kiddos. Now they had the proper accessories for the snow!

I'm very glad that Fitia was at Granny's house. She was more than happy to go outside with our kids in the snow! It was a little too cold for me. Does it surprise you that Rilian found a ball and played with it? He LOVES balls! When I saw him through the window playing with the ball, the motto of the mailman went through my mind..."Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"...That is how much Rilian LOVES balls. Nothing, not even snow, is going to keep him from playing with a ball. 

And that, my friends, is what our snowpocalypse was like.