Snow Day

Back when I scheduled it, I thought 7:45 am was a perfect time for Hyrum's annual check up. I could take him before school, then drop him off on the way home. It was also Matthew's day off, so I wouldn't need to take all the kids with me. As luck would have it though, Albuquerque's skies opened up for what will likely be our only snow of the year, school was cancelled, and we still had to get up and out of our pajamas much earlier than we would have liked to considering the circumstances. At first I thought it was ridiculous to cancel school and close Sandia for barely an inch of snow, but as soon as I got out on the road I understood the logic. The streets were pure ice, since it had rained for hours before it got cold enough for water to freeze. It took us more than twice as long to get to the doctor's office and we saw a lot of slipping, sliding, and several near accidents. We made it there and back safely though, and our oldest child is well and healthy.

The kids were all itching to get outside and play. Since it really does only snow here once or twice a year, and any that sticks is usually melted by noon, we haven't invested in snow gear as the kids have grown. We scrounged together what we could though. Luckily Hyrum is a little guy and our biggest pair of snow pants was only an inch or two too short. Mercy and Abraham had bibs that fit, but only Mercy had snow boots. We opted for grocery sacks over canvas shoes for Hyrum, but Abraham decided he was fine in just his sneakers. Abraham had also misplaced his warm winter coat, so we had to layer multiple shirts under his jacket. Abraham had mittens, Hyrum wore a pair of my cheapo cotton gloves, and Mercy went bare handed with the promise not to touch the snow. 

  

The boys remember playing in mountains of snow in Indiana, but this was the first time Mercy has been old enough to really be aware of the weather. She was adorably in awe of the white stuff and, until the boys started throwing snowballs, was perfectly content to skip around making tracks. The boys were eager to jump on the trampoline and go down the slide, which occupied them for quite a while. They are boys though and eventually started throwing snow and wrestling each other in it. Mercy is not one to be left out, but about 45 seconds after first sticking her bare hands in the cold, wet stuff she was done and asked to come inside. The boys stayed out a while longer, and all in all their time outside lasted about an hour.