Snow Day

After a strong night’s sleep I woke around 7:30am and snuck downstairs to start coffee and exercise. I was careful not to make too much noise fearing that I might wake the children. Yet as quiet as I was, Rocky & Bella still woke and joined me downstairs. Rocky did some push-ups along side me. He was eager to walk Ykraps too. There was a trace of fresh snow on some of the outdoor furniture and the temperature was quite cold – about 20 degrees.

 After walking Ykraps, I got Bella and Rocky together with cereal. The minute I heard the first coo from Landon I slipped upstairs to fetch him. My goal was to allow Mindy an opportunity to sleep in. I changed Landon’s diaper then took him downstairs to be with the others. He wanted cereal too. The only difference was that I served his dry. The kids ate and played fairly nicely.

 Mindy joined us after 8:30am or so. It started snowing early on, and it continued through the entire morning, including during my run. I must’ve left for a run around 10am. I didn’t rush myself whatsoever. Because of the snow, I decided it best to keep my run contained to the subdivision. It went really well. 

Funny thing, I’ve never seen Mindy more eager to go grocery shopping. She showered up and readied herself to depart around noon. Soon after she left, I got the three older kids dressed for fun in the snow. We still had less than an inch on the ground so I didn’t bother getting them in snow pants but did requirecoats, gloves and hats. Around 12:45pm I took Landon upstairs for a nap. He whined only a little before falling fast asleep. 

The kids had a couple minor snow emergencies, and Rocky & Bella both had cold feet. A glance outdoors revealed mounting snow. They were out there snow boarding and doing pretty well, all three of them. After new socks and different shoes Bella headed back out. I spent a little time fooling with the dysfunctional garage door that often fails to close in cold temps. I’ve noticed that this year it is much worse. Used to be, it would only fail when temps dipped below zero. Nowadays anything below about 30 degrees we start having problems. Oh boy! Something new to deal with. 

Mindy stayed gone for about three hours. I helped carry in the groceries. The kids mounted a full assault on her haul. They didn’t even let her get everything put away before they were eating. That frustrates me, but it’s something Mindy allows. And with four it’s only exacerbated. From my perch, they’ve been eating something or other since sunrise – breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, … 

Somewhere along the line I finally got a shower. I needed one bad. Meanwhile, the kids coaxed Mindy into getting them dressed for another bout in the snow. By then we had much more – probably about two inches. She got them all into snow pants and boots. They played outdoors for another hour, easy. Observing Jacob, I was most impressed with his eagerness to snow board. He worked on it for over an hour, even when the other kids stopped. I appreciated the demonstrated determination, because that is what it takes. Not only that, but this is the first winter where the kids are staying out for any length of time. Used to be we’d no sooner get them bundled for the weather then they’d come right back in. No more.

 Landon was up around 4pm after a long three-hour nap. Mindy got busy making hamburgers for dinner. I tried napping a little but couldn’t fully fall asleep. I tried to keep Landon entertained through the evening, too. Around 5:30pm I took Ykraps on his evening walk. 

We ate dinner around 6pm. And if I’m not mistaken, we watched the SEC championship game – Florida versus Alabama. Later, we watched the Big 12 championship – Oklahoma versus Missouri. Both games played a pivotal role in determining the BCS championship game.

 We needed to be up early for the Wright family breakfast. Mindy called brother Bob around 9pm to confirm his family’s attendance. Said they’d be there at 9am. Mindy went to bed before me. I stayed up watching more of the football game.