Snow Day 2015

We experienced some rare North Carolina "snow," this week!

Of course, Katy wanted to go out and play!

Twenty layers later and Lil' Miss was out running around, playing and eating ice with Daddy.

"Ugga Mugga!" We love SNOW!!

Snowmageddon 2014

"Bring on the SNOW!!!"

"Another winter storm hit the Carolinas and we got at least six inches, as of 2/12/14, 6PM, with more on the way...!"

"No, this isn't a blurry picture.... it's just a lot of snowflakes falling!"

"Daddy built Olaf, from Frozen.... 'cute little baby unicorn'..."

"Snow angel time!"

"Catching snowflakes on my tongue!"

"Snowflake tasting with my Daddy." :-)

"Let It Go" (Snow Day in NC)

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight

Not a footprint to be seen..."

 "...The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside..."

"...Let it go, let it go..."

"...Let it go, let it go..."

"...Here I stand in the light of day..."

"...Let the storm rage on..."

"...The cold never bothered me anyway..."

(Lyrics from Katy's current favorite movie, Frozen)

The weatherman was right because yesterday, we got SNOW!About an inch, to be exact. So, today is a snow day from school and Lil' Miss had fun playing in the white fluffy stuff. It was cold and we were out early, but she had a blast! It's not every day that it snows in NC, after all....

Wordless Wednesday- Just a Little Chilly...

Sentence of the Day- Big Red

This afternoon, Katy suggested that we fly her kite from Grandma and Pop-Pop Tinkey. We told her that it was such a nice day outside but just not windy enough to fly a kite. Ted even went so far as to point out the trees and say, "See how the trees aren't moving? That means that there isn't any wind."

She responded in kind with, "Well, we could get the fan and plug it in and then it would be windy enough to fly a kite!"

Gotta admit that's some pretty good logic for a three year old.... ;-)

Stormy Weather

Timber!

Bad day to be a tree...

Anybody need firewood?

A bad storm ripped through town, last night. I was in the midst of cooking dinner, waiting for Ted to get home from work, when all of a sudden, the sky turned black and it started pouring. I looked out the window (to the back yard) only to see one of our patio chairs fly into the potted herb garden and the tree branches flying horizontal to the ground. Yikes! (I later read that 70mph winds ripped through the area, causing widespread power outages and many downed trees).

Then, I heard a funny sound from the front yard and I went to investigate. It was a very large  limb from the tree in our front yard falling into the street (effectively blocking the road). Of course, at this point, it was still pretty bad weather-wise (thunder, rain, lightening), so there was no way I was going out in that storm to try and attempt to move it from the street to the yard! (Not that I could have really done much since it was a very large branch- pretty much half of the tree!)

After Ted got home and after the storm had subsided, a group of about eight of our male neighbors went from house to house helping each other clear the tree limbs from off of houses, cars and the street. Our poor neighbors across the street were on vacation and their tree fell onto their next door neighbor's house.

When I walked outside after the storm and looked down our street, it seriously looked like a hurricane (the real kind, not the figurative "my child is a mess" kind) had ripped through our neighborhood. About every other house either lost some tree limbs or bushes. Random trash littered  yards and the street (because, of course, Friday is trash day). It was definitely a bit surreal.

Everything is fine, now, and we were safe throughout the storm itself. The best thing we learned from the ordeal, though, is that we have some really great neighbors! Neighbors that pitch in and help out- we really do love our new neighborhood. :-)

Easter 2013 with the Cousins- Snow Day

We spent the week preceding Easter with my sister in Pittsburgh. Words do not adequately describe the "adventures" that we encountered along the drive up (Snow storm! Ice! Rock Slide!), or while we were there (Five children, four and under... enough said!), or the drive home (95 car pile up on I-77 causing an unexpected stay in the mountains of VA!). 

So, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the first of several posts about our Easter 2013 Adventure!

It snowed the first day we got to Pittsburgh....

So, we bundled up the kids and played in the snow!

Molly Dolly in the snow.

A little snowy yoga...

All bundled up and barely able to move!

Katy, Molly and Luke playing in the snow (Rather, in Luke's case, just sitting and eating the snow).

Katy and Molly "work together" to build their first snowman!

Snowman photo bomb!

*If you would like to see other pictures of our week, please refer to Easter 2013 with the Cousins.*

Sentence of the Day- Snow Day

When I informed Lil' Miss that it might snow tonight/tomorrow here in the Carolinas, she excitedly replied, "I'm going to throw up!"

Me, "Oh no! Do you feel sick, Katy?"

Katy, "No. I'm going to throw up! You know, make balls. And build a snowman. And run around. NO coat!"

Ahhhh, so I guess "throw up" translates to "throw snowballs."

I'm fluent in a second language- Katy-speak ;-P

Back To Nature- Reedy Creek Nature Center

"Look, Mom! This is called a stick. And the leaves and trees behind me are called 'Nature.'"

Run, Katy, run!

Today was one of the few Saturdays in October where we didn't have anything planned- no birthday parties, no company, no places to be, things to do. So, we decided to be "spontaneous" (or, as spur-of-the-moment as you can be with a two-year old) and enjoy a crisp, cool, fall day at the Reedy Creek Nature Center.

Ted donned his flannel, we packed an eco-friendly lunch (in reusable lunch sacks and reusable water bottles), I grabbed an address to put into Garmin and we were on our way! Once we (finally!) parked, we decided to take the one mile "Dragonfly Pond" path. After a little coaxing, Katy got down and ran free along the path. She enjoyed picking up leaves and sticks and not being required to hold a parent's hand. She liked throwing leaves and pebbles into the pond. It took us about an hour to finish the loop (remember, we were walking with a toddler- her path tends to be a bit circuitous and not very direct). 

After our walk, we enjoyed the Nature Center where Katy got to explore the exhibits and "Kids Corner." Then, after she tired of that, we found a picnic table and ate our lunch.

It was a perfect Fall Day!

"I'm singin' in the rain... "

"Just singin' in the rain"

"What a glorious feelin'..."

"I'm happy again!"

All bundled up!

Looking cute in her winter hat!

Cooler weather has officially arrived in the Carolinas!

A Walk In the Park

Group Walk on the Greenway.

Elizabeth LOVES to push Katy in the stroller.

Flying high!
Molly's first time on the swing- she loved it!

Molly had more fun playing with the toys attached to the stroller.

Playing House

Walking Girl!

Fun times at the park!

The weather was BEAUTIFUL, today, so we decided to take a walk on the Concord Greenway. We packed up all three girls and took a walk to the park. We enjoyed the swings, slides, climbing wall and house at the park. Fun!

"The Weather Outside is Frightful..."

Yesterday, we received five inches of snow here in Concord- a record snowfall! Daddy got a call at 5:45 AM from his boss saying that he had a snow day- no work! So, we put on a crock pot of chili and stayed toasty roasty inside!

Today, the roads are icy!! Daddy said he skated to work. All of the area schools are closed due to hazardous road conditions and the Governor has declared a state of emergency. Family and friends up north would laugh at all of the chaos this snow has caused but here in the South, it's a big deal!

Mommy's Girl

Mommy in the Snow, circa 1983

Katy in the Snow December 2010

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas..."

Winter Wonder

All Bundled Up!

Who needs a hat?!

We had a White Christmas, this year! Of course we had to bundle you up and take you out in the snow. I'm sure it took us longer to get you ready, than it did for us to actually "play" in the snow.

"Oh Tannenbaum... Oh Christmas Tree"

Snowy Jones Family Portrait

Snowsuit, mittens, boots, hat... check, check, check, check... but can the baby MOVE?

Katy's first snowfall!
Daddy Daughter Snow Dance

Katy found her perfect Christmas Tree!

42 Weeks, December 4, 2010

Oh, the things we do for a Christmas Tree!

Today, we met the Keys family at the Shady Rest Tree Farm http://www.shadyresttreefarm.com/ for our annual Christmas Tree adventure- oh, what an adventure it was! After getting checked in, we went out to the field and selected our trees. We found a very nice, full eight foot high Fraser Fir tree. The weather was snowy and cold- the perfect tree picking weather. We waited for the trees to be chopped down and bailed and then we were on our way down the mountain so that we could enjoy a nice lunch together. We drove through snow, sleet, hail and rain and what should have been a 25 minute drive turned into an hour and forty-five minutes down the mountain due to the treacherous driving conditions. At one point, we were at a stand-still for about an hour. Luckily, Katy, you fell asleep for an hour and you were in perfect form once we FINALLY got to the restaurant for an enjoyable (late) lunch with friends.