Snowmageddon 2021

Well, for once when the forecast said snow in Texas, it wasn't exaggerating. Last week was crazy on so many levels! We woke up on Valentine's Day to a dusting. The snow continued to fall and the temps continued to drop...

Our pool area looked like this Sunday night ...

And like this Monday morning ...

The snow was beautiful! The girls were thrilled! But the state was in an uproar. We don't have vehicles or tools or insulation or plows or - you name it - equipped for this weather. Although it gets cold here, it hadn't been as cold as it was last week in more than 30 years. And snow usually lasts a matter of hours, a day at most. We were in store for an entire week of it!

Emma had to try a snow ice cream recipe. Sara liked it, Emma just liked making it.

Jim didn't know what to think! It took some getting used to, but he ended up really enjoying the snow. It was cute to watch him pounce and then sink, or stick his nose in it and come up eating some. Everytime the girls came in from outside, he ate the ice chunks off their gloves and hats.

There was real concern everywhere about pipes bursting, pools freezing over, etc. We were so lucky to maintain power the entire time (we think we must be on the same grid as the nearby fire station), so our pool pump was able to function throughout the freeze. We had lots of ice on the pool (several inches thick), but never a complete freeze-over since we could keep it running. We did NOT polar plunge.

Although it was super cold (we're talking hovering around zero degrees at times), we had some sunny days and the girls went out multiple times a day to play. We realized we have a great driveway for sledding!

Snow Angels

This guy. Steve shoveled him a little track back to the side yard where he potties. He loved running his track!

Steve spent lots of time breaking up the pool ice.

While we were stuck at home, living off the groceries we'd thankfully stocked up on, Emma decided she wanted Sloppy Joe's. I told her to add it to my list, and she ended up writing "Slopy Jose's" - we all laughed and laughed and now these sandwiches have a new name in our house!

Although we never lost power, we had several days without internet and cable. Besides playing outside, the girls stayed busy making bracelets, playing cards, and baking.

We made many delicacies from scratch, which is something we don't normally take the time to do.

I loved the look of our house in the snow! Our own little winter wonderland ... it will probably be many years before we have a week like this again.

I had to compare these pics - our 2015 March snowfall (we got a bunch but it only lasted a day or two) versus 2021.

A week off of school, lots of family time (which quarantine had prepared us for very well), and a yard full of snow ... plus the luck of having power and water consistently ... made for a very memorable, fun snowmageddon!

Life Recently

I know I have said this before, but life right now is SO busy and SO crazy that I feel like I'm forever relying on being able to totally catch up on the weekends. Between long work hours, sports most evenings and weekends, and life responsibilities in general, there's not a lot of down time. It seems like our house is always in some state of crazy - whether it's piles of laundry, an empty fridge ... you name it. The hours and days just fly by. BUT, today we're out of school unexpectedly due to weather (no snow - lots of icy roads), so I have the gift of a catch-up day! I already caught up on some real work, and now I can catch up on the fun work.

Lots of random pics in my phone worth keeping here, at least for my own memory. Here's a rare sweet moment recently when the girls weren't fighting. Had to be documented.

Steve and I snuck away for a quick drink a couple weekends ago. Sara made dinner for Emma - waffles with ice cream. Whatever works. I'm just happy to have a built-in babysitter!

In an experience unfamiliar to Emma and some friends, her basketball team has lost every game this season. It's their first season playing - they are improving a lot, having fun, and realizing that while they've been busy playing soccer and softball, other girls have been playing basketball. Their last game for the season is this Saturday; hoping for a win! It's been fun to watch Emma. Only one spectator per play is allowed per game, so Steve and I have only each seen a handful of games. She's made baskets in almost all of them!

The girls and I had a Friday night girls night a few weeks ago - Taverna Rossa, ice cream, and Clue!

Sara has been really into making necklaces and bracelets. She spends hours with her tools and beads!

After lots of cancellations, we were thrilled that her cheer team was finally able to start competition season! They are non-building this year, so no stunts - just tumbling and dance. It was the safe route for keeping everyone healthy, and it has worked.

I'm so proud of Sara's progress and her dedication to cheer. Looking forward to a couple more competitions this spring!

And ... all these photos were in my phone. I couldn't not keep them.

I feel caught up! Whew! We have food cooking, the fire roaring, and a puzzle going - so I think it's going to be a great, cozy "snow" day! 

Fabulous 40!

 My 40th birthday celebration went on and on and it was so much fun! I don't usually make a big deal about my birthday, but the people in my life had other ideas. The weekend before my birthday, I took Sara to a cheer competition and came home to amazing decorations!

The four of us went for fajitas and margs, and I was totally satisfied with that celebration ... but then it continued.  On my birthday, I walked into my office - wrapped from floor to ceiling! 

My staff went all out to make me feel so special. They all wore black, showered me with treats and gifts, and even involved the community. 

The kids wore black, made me cards, and even celebrated me in carpool. It was so humbling. I love my job and love serving my school community. As hard as it is (and has been especially this year), I feel like the luckiest.

My custodian's wife made this beautiful cake that the staff enjoyed!

On the evening of my birthday, both girls had practice, so we had a quick dinner afterwards. Nothing fancy, but a great end to a wonderful few days, and with my favorite people.

The fun wasn't over, though. When I got home from work on Friday, my sister was here! She had planned the surprise, discussed it with Steve, and showed up on a plane. I was shocked! Best surprise ever. We had a relaxing weekend of eating, drinking, a little shopping, and a lot of laughing.

This is the only pic I managed to get of us - we were so excited, we headed straight to Katy Trail for drinks and gossip!

And I finally had a reason to try Union Bear. Awesome food, drinks, and atmosphere. The weather last weekend was beautiful - nice days, cool nights.

We spent Saturday night trying out the Solo Firepit that we had gotten Steve for his birthday (but it arrived a couple of weeks later). It was a fun night around the fire!

I am so thankful to have made it to this milestone, and could not have begun to ask for a better series of celebrations. What a great way to start my new year!

Celebrations

 Better late than never - I'm finally getting to a post on our celebrations from the last month! Somehow, timely blogging has become a thing of the past for me. Not a big deal since I don't think there's a large audience out there waiting for updates (ha!), but I still like to get these memories "on paper" for my girls to hopefully enjoy someday. 

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Brittains. Lots of good food, drinks, and laughter - and this is the only picture I have to show for it!

Christmas morning started bright and early (although not as early as some years - I think this year was close to 7:30), and was full of fun! 

We had a lowkey winter break. Lots of games, movies, walks, puzzles, trips to the park ... late nights, sleeping in, too many snacks, etc. The girls went through a little Rootbeer Float phase over the break!

Here's one of the puzzles we finished over the break, in time for the Cyclones Fiesta Bowl win!

On New Years Eve, we went bowling. Steve and I each had a high game, and left sort after three straight hours of bowling. New Years Eve was cold and rainy here, so it was a perfect socially-distanced indoor celebratory activity! At home, we did poppers and watched the ball drop.

Shortly after winter break, we celebrated birthdays for Steve and Jim! Steve said Jim looked at the fireplace all day long, anxious to get into his gifts. 

Jim had figured out presents at Christmas, and his birthday was the icing on the cake. I'm pretty sure it was his best day ever.

It was steak and ice cream cake for this 40-year-old! Hard to believe. Steve and I have now celebrated twenty birthdays together. Here's to many, many more.

Sunday SNOW Day

All week, the forecast showed potential snow in North Texas today. We've seen that forecast before, though, and didn't get our hopes up since snow in North Texas means it could be a lot somewhere but none here. So when I glanced out the window just before noon and saw a couple of flakes coming down, I was so excited!

The girls headed straight outside. If you look closely, you can see a few flakes in this picture. 

They went into the backyard and brought Jim outside with them, and the snow started to pick up a bit.

Jim wasn't sure what to think, but he had fun chasing the girls around and eating it!

Look at those big flakes! After multiple years in a row of snow days, it's now been years since we've seen this much.

There was some decent accumulation on the greenbelt out back and at the park.

The girls decided to give their sleds a try. We ordered these five or six years ago during a winter when we had multiple snowfalls, and they've just been waiting patiently for more use.

Headed to the park. They were out in the snow for a solid two and half hours before coming home wet, cold, and happy!

There are still some flakes coming down. Nothing that will stick around long, but it sure made for a beautiful - and exciting - Sunday!