Snow and After Snow

Feb 6 - more snow.  G. made a couple of snow forts planning for a big snow ball fight.  This particular part had a personal sledding hill.

One fort, in progress.  The kids helped out.

It included a really cool hole.

The ruler says almost ten inches of snow.

Just liked the way the slide looked with the dent underneath where no snow collected.

Finishing touches. There is a fort to the right and one to the left with a "no man's land" in between. The "escape hole" is on the left.

Let the games begin.

C., B. and J. throwing snow balls back.

Neighbor N. brings reinforcements.

N. and H. from their fortified position.

The battle is over.

J. the next day.

My J. the next day.

B. the next day.

There were lots more photos of the snow ball fight but it seemed redundant to put that many photos of flying snowball up.  But it was lots of fun.  Thanks to G. for making the great forts!

Late January Snow

There are so many snow storms this year we have to label them.  This is the January 30 Snow Storm.

The view from our window.

G. fixed a hardy breakfast of french toast before we ventured out into the cold.

A. one of the breakfast eaters.

B. getting ready to go out.

J. getting ready to go out.

A. ready to go out.

A.s dad getting ready to go out.

Impressive amount of snow.

Waffle snow.

A.'s big brother J. in the snow.

J. not too sure about the snow.

B. loving the snow.

More.

Porch

Rocking horse.

Relaxing after playing in the snow.

More Snow

Sunday morning there was sunshine.  This is the view from our window.

A view of the street with the fire plug.

The front door from the outside before it was shovelled.

After it was shovelled.

 

A snow angel.

That bench almost disappeared during the snow storm.

Snow!

We went up to Washington, D.C. the weekend of  December 19th and got caught in a big snowstorm. The "Blizzard of 2009" brought 16 1/2 inches to Dulles International Airport which was near to where we were.

We went up Thursday and stopped in at the Green Valley Book Fair (I love books!), then proceeded to the Manassas Battlefield to brush up on a little of our Civil War history.  Then we went to see and stay with our friends the B. Family in Gainsville, VA.  We left home on Thursday afternoon with a 30% chance of snow. The weatherman said, the night before, if the storm tracked more easterly there would not be much snow, if it tracked more westerly it would bring a lot of snow.  By the time we checked in with our friends, there was a 100% chance of snow by Friday night and a lot of it.

We did our Friday morning appointment in Fairfax - had lunch at a lovely restaurant in Burke called Aladin's Eatery.  We all had Pitzas. - the girls had cheese and cheese with chicken.  I had a Ali Baba Pitza - pita bread with "Pureed eggplant sliced tomatoes, feta cheese, char-grilled slices of eggplant, slivered calamata olives and sprinkled with oregano."  Yum!

I took a wrong turn coming back so we were delayed on the beltway, then 66 going back to Gainsville. Everyone and their brother were trying to get home and/or do one last thing before the storm got there.  The weathermen were predicting arrival around 9 pm.

I got the girls back to the B. Family's house and decided to take the opportunity to go to the Washington, D.C. temple. The ward trip was officially canceled but since I was there I thought I might as well go, if I can - so I did.   It took my 2 1/2 hours to take a normally 1 1/4 hour trip.  One hour of it was between the Maryland State Line and Connecticut Avenue.  No accidents just too many cars and too many people trying to get some place at the same time.   When I finished it was about 8:30 pm so I took a quick look at the beautiful lights at the Visitor's Center and the Nativity Scene and went back to the B. Family's house to hunker down until the storm was passed. 

The news had a great time with the whole thing.  We just sort of sat back and watched the snow fall.  I left Kensington about 8:30pm and by the time I got to route 66 - 9 pm - it was snowing and sticking to the ground.  I was very glad to get to the B.'s house.

The front door Friday night.

The back door Friday night.

The snow continued most of the next day.  The girls kept themselves busy.

Here is B. beading.  J. also helped. These were sets that belonged to the B. Family daughters who have since grown up and have homes of their own.

The girls relaxed and watched TV....

in this interesting rocker.

We did finally go outside and play in the snow. Clearing the sidewalks, after the snow stopped, later that afternoon, was a priority as well as clearing the snow off the cars.

D. made fun patterns on the snow blown off a car.  The wind made little overhangs of the snow and D. made patterns in it.

This shows how deep the snow was on the girls.

I didn't have snow boots or other snow clothes for the girls but I did make sure they had their coats, hats and mittens. We made do with plastic bags on their feet over their shoes.