It started Friday night about the same time the Olympic opening ceremonies did. We turned on our backyard lights, opened the blinds and enjoyed the flakes. The kids kept asking, "Is it still snowing?" and Carl would stare out the window and just gasp, "It is falling!" The weather report (a winter storm advisory for us) said it would snow all night and stop around 5am. I got up at 5:09 am to pee and sure enough, no flakes falling, but everything was covered in white!
I don't know who was more excited. We ate a protein filled breakfast and headed outside soon after. How cool to get to wear all of our snow gear again!! We figure, most of the kids here don't own boots and snow pants. The neighbor kids we could see weren't as prepared as our NY born kids were. You have to remember, there are 9 year olds here who have never seen this kind of play. Yeah, we get dustings, but it is hard to make a snowman out of a dusting. I once heard that this area gets snow once every 8 years, but I feel that isn't correct. We have spent a total of 5 winters here between our two times living here and we have now seen 4 snowfalls. Of course, this was the biggest by far. We probably have gotten an inch on the other times. The evening news had lots of pictures of people's snowmen. they interviewed one guy who was about our age. He considered himself a snowman expert (and yes, his was pretty good... complete with bikini) - he told the interviewer, "I make a snowman every time it snows. I've made about 6 of them in my lifetime!"
My camera club friends put up a fun "snow way!" album for us to share pictures - these people got in their cars, let me tell you. See, that is the issue with southerners who get snow once every 10 years. They don't know how to drive in it. We stayed put. But, they got some glorious shots of local places covered magically in the white snow. I got glorious shots of my own backyard covered magically in the white snow. It was beautiful. I started my day in the living room, opening windows and shooting out of them. As the day progressed, the weight of the snow and the light wind blew much of it down. But, nothing melted. It was about 34* when we came inside for lunch. When we came in, we brought in a big bowl of snow for the cats - and for Gretchen's doll Erica (named for her cousin who gave her the doll). Both cats enjoyed sniffing it and tasting it. Erica seemed to enjoy having her hand thrust into it. Gretchen enjoyed sharing the experience with her. See, she was feeling bad that Erica couldn't accompany us outside. (Her body is cloth) She did bring her out plastic doll named "New Baby" (yeah, there was a time there where I worried Gretchen lacked creativity... new doll = New Baby. I feel she has passed that and I'm comfortable with her creativity level and love of crafting now.) You will see photos of New Baby "enjoying" herself in the snow.
Yes... we had "provisions". Not because I panicked and ran out to buy them, but because we keep food in the house. But, you know the classic (panic) provisions are milk, eggs and bread. So, of course - we had French toast for lunch! It's required, isn't it?
OK, here they are. I can't limit myself, you'll have to sit through a gazillion shots. And, really, I didn't shoot the whole day. I set the camera down a lot for playing, helping with the snowmen and snow cat, snow angels, a snowball fight and just wandering around the yard and street smiling. As a displaced New Yorker, five inches of snow is good for the soul!!
When we do move back to NY, I will need a pond in my backyard just for days like this...
Before we even left the deck, we snapped a timer photo!
The men hold a snowman consult. Carl has declared that head is too small.
Carl spent some time just, well, snacking. Oh well.
I brought out extra noses because I knew Gretchen would want to snack as well.
These shots are from after lunch and nap. Surprisingly, they took a very short nap. That was good, though - we even started it early so we'd have plenty of time to play after.
Do you like the hats she added to the snowmen? Now, the engineer of the family made these... if you look carefully, you will notice, they are not near the middle of the backyard - and therefore, not visible from the kitchen windows! Sigh. 
But, she and I made a snow cat right outside the window. The kitty is still intact today!
Lew was making them snowballs and they were hoarding them on tables.
The bubbles worked so well in the cold! They were actually hard to pop. Several of them landed on the roof or table and stayed for quite some time. Some deflated, rather than popped. Carl was having a ball.
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