we had a snow event.
well that's what they call it here in the pacific nw. you see, we don't get a lot of snow-- oh, the mountains get a lOt of snow but down here in the lowlands not so much. so when we do, it is 'an event'. for days, the weather forecasters were talking about the impending snow, what area the convergence zone would hit, the approximate timing, the amount of accumulation, the possible wind... power outages, how to prepare for the snow and on, and on, and on. we locals are quite used to these 'reports' and 'potential forecasts' so you take it all with a grain of salt. but this time, the weather forecasters were right-- our region had a winter storm and it did in fact include snow.
here are a few photos from snow-pa-looza 2012...
Day 1 :: Sunday, January 15th
we woke up to this....
the beginning of snow. the kids were at grandma's house in olympia which received enough snow they were already out playing in it.
Day 2 :: Monday, January 16th
back in gig harbor, this was the MLK holiday so our kids were home from school. just perfect for building gigantic snowballs and playing all day!
Day 3 :: Tuesday, January 17th
the kids returned to school with a two hour delayed start. at this point, we only had a few inches of snow which melted off a bit mid-day. but, all afternoon school activities were canceled, for more snow was on the way. here are the kids walking home from the bus, alex up front and ally waaay in the back.
Day 4 :: Wednesday, January 18th
the kids woke up eaRLY because when they went to bed that night, the snow had started again. here is the early morning view...
yes, school was canceled and as you can imagine the kids were chomping at the bit to do this... the first ones out to sled!
as for me, i was still waking up. so i stayed inside sipping coffee, but took a few more photos of the backyard and watched the beautiful snow fall so quiet and serene....
but eventually we were all outside, sledding aLL afternoon...
here's a video clip taken with craig's iphone...
alex taking a break to rehydrate before more sledding. the kids were outside the entire day and into the evening. they slept so well!
Day 5 :: Thursday, January 19th
yep, another snow day, school canceled and more sledding. we woke up to more snow and freezing rain all day long. this made for icy slick conditions - even better for sledding. today was all about climbing higher, longer runs and speed! ** note: they are now wearing ski helmets!
and only at the davidsons' would there be night sledding...
craig rigged up a shop light to the upper story window to illuminate the sledding slope. so after dinner the kids were back outside to sled more runs with their friends. it's hard to see but there was a good 2 inch layer of crusted ice from all the freezing rain. the kids just fleW done the hillside with whoas, ahhhs, and even some girlie squeals. thankfully everyone stayed in one piece. and did i say, the kids slept reaLLy weLL!
Day 6 :: Friday, January 20th
again school was canceled and the kids were home for more sledding. we woke up to incredibly icy conditions-- ice every where and power outages all around the area but thankfully not our home.
i was a bit worried about these lovely birch trees in our backyard. you see, those branches are not supposed to touch the ground. these trees stand a good fifteen feet tall. if you scroll back up to day 4 in the fifth image you can see them standing upright. we watched these all day and were about to light duraflame logs underneath to melt the ice. but eventually, the freezing rain turned to just plain ol' rain and unbelievably they slowly, slowly lifted from the ground. phew.
in addition to this icy weather the state patrol closed the tacoma narrows bridge down for a good six hour stretch and craig got caught on the other side. he had to wait in tacoma until 6:30pm before he could come home eventually arriving at 7:30pm -- not the best day for commuting.
Day 7 and 8 :: January 21st, January 22nd
well the kids were still home as it was now the weekend. at this point, the snow began to melt but it was a slow process. we were a bit stir crazy from being homebound for a week so we all went to the local YMCA. we couldn't believe how packed it was-- apparently we weren't the only ones with this idea. we also baked snowball cookies, watched several movies and the kids conducted science experiments in the garage with tubing, funnels, dry ice and liquid detergent. did that pique your curiosity? (that story will have to be written on a separate post-- stay tuned for another video) craig also took the kids skiing on sunday but only got three runs in before they headed home. there was a lOt of snow and a lOt of wind-- not a fun combination for the kids.
Day 9 :: Monday, January 23rd
the kids finally returned to school but they had a two hour delayed start. apparently over night the temperature dropped to freezing and the roads were frozen sheets. craig said the morning commute was slow going with many car accidents. but, thankfully by midday it had warmed back up and snow-pa-looza had officially ended.
yep, this 9 day stretch of winter weather was definitely 'an event' and it was definitely full of fun memories!
i'm participating in a photography project this year-- taking one photograph each week representing a theme.
having a word to focus on inspires my creativity... each week, my wheels start turning as i try to figure out a way to represent the theme through an image. i'm also hoping this project will inspire my photography too-- pushing me to stretch n' practice my skills. so we'll see?!?!
here is my photograph for the second theme :: cold
she stayed home. the day before, she came home from school describing that she was too cold for recess (she aLways goes out to recess) and kept getting the chills. sure enough she had a fever. so when you have a cold and you're feeling cold the best is to snuggle up in a big bed with some morning cartoons. her eyes just say it all.
******
yep, had to go another direction with cold-- since our winter has been so mild. warm temperatures and very little rain in december. although today as i'm posting this image it is now snowing here, wouldn't you know it.
as for this image... i was really drawn to the shadows n' dark colors to help convey the story. also how her face is just peeking out. i'm glad she still looks small in our bed.
about craig.
so, i wrote him a letter today. a love letter.
you see, tomorrow is january 11th.
we met each other 22 years ago on june 11th. then, we were married two years later on july 11th. and in just six short months, we will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on the 11th. so, you see, i've been thinking about the 11th...
and, i've been thinkin' about our upcoming anniversary.
so today i read all our love letters. when we were dating and newly engaged, craig worked on fishing boats in alaska for months at a time. he was gone, in the middle of the bering sea, with only a few visits to port. we wrote letters to each other - to stay in touch. and when he was in port he would mail his letters to me and receive all of mine. i have saved this stack of letters. and today i read the set dated january 1992.
i loved reading craig's words and the emotion conveyed. it immediately sent me back in time to those days of early love. my favorite letter contained the words i spoke in response to his proposal. i have a very strong visual memory of our engagement where we ate dinner, what i wore, where we were seated, champagne brought to the table, people watching us in the restaurant and all the emotions i was feeling at the time. although trying to recall my response is just a blur. but he wrote them down verbatum. i'm so happy they are preserved within this letter for i could not remember my exact words--- except that of course i said 'yes!'
so today i spent time reflecting on january 1992. i spent time thinking of craig. i spent time thinking about us. all day. it felt good. i need to do this more often. as parents, our time is filled with the kids and happily so. but it is also good to spend time on us. so, i'm hatching a bit of a plan and...
it begins with a love letter written to craig that he will receive on the 11th.
it's a new year and i'm still continuing with my kitchen challenge.... you may remember, last year i decided to work on my cooking skills- that is, to actually do more cooking and to try new recipes. you can read more about it here on this blog post.
so in this month of january, 2012 i tried a new recipe for vegetable soup. it turned out pretty good-- wasn't our favorite soup but craig really liked it, so there you go.
but folks i'd like to point out that green leafy vegetable up there in the photo-- that would be kale. i cooked with kale. i had to review a youtube video to learn how to cut kale... but folks i cooked kale and that would also be a butternut squash in the background. kale AND butternut squash.
just sayin'.
or craziness?!?! you decide.
this is craig dressed for his pacific nw bike ride -- the first of the new year.
yep, he really likes cycling.
as for me, i'm happy to sip my coffee and play with the kids while he takes his bike ride.
i'm gonna wait for warmer days.
i'm participating in a photography project this year-- taking one photograph each week representing a theme.
having a word to focus on inspires my creativity... each week, my wheels start turning as i try to figure out a way to represent the theme through an image. i'm also hoping this project will inspire my photography too-- pushing me to stretch n' practice my skills. so we'll see?!?!
here is my photograph for the first theme :: newness
a new day.
to start again
to take a breath
new moments to be had, new adventures ahead
and there are those days that you just want to start over,
to try it again
so you wake up to a new day
each day a gift
this photo was taken after an evening of horrible wind, lashing rain and an early morning power outage. but the skies cleared and there was this amazing light streaming through all the windows all day long. everything washed clean. had to take a picture of the sky as the sun was moving lower on the horizon. a close to the day with the promise of tomorrow.
