This past week was quite unusual for those of us living in Georgia. At the end of the previous week everyone started talking about how we were supposed to get snow Sunday night and/or Monday and that temperatures would be very low. Terry and I kept checking the weather channel application on our phones to see if anything had changed. The snow prediction for Monday went from 70% possible to 90% to 100%. The snow was predicted to start some time between 9 and 11 pm Sunday night. Schools were cancelled Sunday evening as there was no doubt this snow storm was coming. I was watching tv about 10:30 Sunday night when I got a facebook message from my friend and coworker asking if we had any snow in our area yet. I hadn't looked outside since before we put the boys to bed so I looked out our back door so I could report back to her. I thought I would see some snow falling, but was surprised to see our backyard completely covered in snow and quite a bit of it! It continued to fall off and on through out the night and by morning we had 3-4 inches. The boys (Isaac especially) was excited to see the snow the next morning and immediately wanted to know when we could go play in it. It is funny that what was such a normal occurrence throughout the winter when I was growing up is a rare treat for our kids. Since it was barely light out I decided to hold him off for a little while. Once we had some breakfast and Terry got up we bundled them up and Terry went in the backyard with them. Hayden had never seen so much snow and wasn't thrilled with it because he could barely walk in it. There was like a sheet of ice on top of the snow that made it very difficult to walk. They played for a little while, but then came in. I had the idea the day before that it would be fun to build a fire in our fireplace since it was going to be so cold and this was something we rarely do. Maybe I should say we hardly ever do. I don't think we had built a fire since before Isaac was born. I had also mentioned to Isaac that we should have some hot chocolate after playing in the snow. So, as much as he enjoyed the snow he was almost as excited about drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the fire. Since I didn't go outside with the boys that morning I wanted to go out that afternoon. Terry and I talked about the possibility of letting the boys sled down the hill in our backyard, but Terry pointed out that there was a creek at the bottom and that it might not be a good idea. So, I thought about the small slope between our house and our neighbor's house and thought that might be fun for them. Since it rarely snows here and when it does it is not very much we have never bought a sled. So, Terry found the box that his flat screen tv came in and we decided to use that as our sled. I think Isaac liked the little slide down our side slope, but I wasn't satisfied. I commented that I wished we had a better place for them to sled and Terry said that we could try our big hill and he would be at the bottom to make sure no one went in the creek. I have a lot of fun memories of sledding from when I was a kid and so I think I was as or more excited then they were. We first went to one side of the hill and Isaac and I sled down. We didn't go super fast or far, but it was fun and Isaac immediately wanted to do it again and again. Hayden went down with me as well, but wasn't super excited about the whole experience. He couldn't walk on his own, was cold, and probably not that comfortable all bundled up in everything. So, Hayden and I went in and Terry and Isaac continued sledding for a little while longer. When they came in they told us how they eventually picked up speed and distance and there was one instance where Isaac went close to the creek, but Terry stopped him. Monday night's weather prediction was for very low temperatures and freezing rain so schools were cancelled for Tuesday. Tuesday Terry and Isaac did some more sledding, but I stayed inside with Hayden since I knew he wouldn't have much fun out there.
No more snow or rain was predicted for the rest of the week, but the temperatures were supposed to remain low until Friday. By Tuesday afternoon Terry and I got word once again that GACS and Hall County schools would be closed for Wednesday. We couldn't believe that we were going to have 3 snow days in a row. While we were enjoying the time off work and just being together I was ready to get out of the house even for a short while. I am used to going out of the house more than once a day whether it be for work or to take Isaac to school, run errands, etc. While I often complain about being busy I like to stay busy. So, I was thinking that it would be fun to take the boys to a movie. We have talked about taking Isaac to his first movie for a while now and just haven't done it. Wednesday morning I called around and couldn't get a hold of a movie theater. Besides schools being closed, a lot of businesses were closed as well. With the temperatures remaining so low and the lack of salt trucks that we have in the South, many roads were icy. So, I called Chick-fil-a and the man I talked to said they would be open at 11am. I also called Target and they confirmed that they were open. So, I suggested that we take the boys to Chick-fil-a where we could eat and they could play and then we could look around at Target (I had a xmas gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket). When we got to Chick-fil-a we found out that only the drive thru was open. Maybe they didn't have a lot of workers that could come in and/or maybe they didn't want people to fall on the ice in their parking lot. So, we decided to try Panera and were happy to see that they were open. We then looked around Target (I didn't spend my gift card) and stopped by Walmart to get a couple things. We were only gone for a few hours, but it felt great to get out. There were more people out on the roads then I thought there would be and the road conditions were better than I thought they would be. There were definitely icy areas, but a lot of areas were clear. That afternoon after putting Hayden down for a nap Terry, Isaac, and I headed for the hill. This time we decided to try a different part of the hill. It seemed a little steeper and turned out to be just a better area. We had a blast. We decided to bring the video camera and get some of this on tape. At one point Isaac wanted to go down by himself from the top of the hill (sometimes we would just start him from half way down). Terry went to the top with him and I stayed at the bottom to video tape. Terry gave him a little push and then started jogging down the hill with him to make sure he didn't hit any trees. Terry noticed that he was picking up speed so he started running after Isaac and it was a good thing he did because Isaac just kept going and going right towards the creek. Terry leaped for him and caught him just in time as Isaac was hanging over the cardboard about to fall in the creek. It gave us both a good scare and we decided that we would never let that happen again. The temperatures remained low so the ice and snow weren't going anywhere and school was quickly called off again for the next day. Thursday we made snow ice cream which the boys enjoyed. Isaac's first comment was "It's better then I thought it would be!" Although temperatures were supposed to get into the low 40s on Friday it wouldn't be until the afternoon so school was called off once again. We couldn't believe that we had a whole week off work and on top of that Monday was a holiday - Martin Luther King Day.
We had a lot of fun this past week. In addition to sledding we played XBox Kinect video games together (bowling is our favorite right now), made snow ice cream, and just hung out. I did get a little stir crazy at times, but the fun times and the memories that we made far overshadow the few times that I just wanted to get out of the house and go somewhere. I am very thankful for the time we had together. I feel like we got the best of both worlds this winter. We got to do a lot of traveling during our Christmas break and see both sides of our family and we got a week to just be home and relax and play together. I can't say enough what a fun, family week this was. I am very thankful for Terry and our two boys and the fun we have together!
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