Snow Day

It's been 2 years since our school has had a snow day.  We still had to endure the cold, frigid weather of the past few winters.  Just not the snow.  Which, technically, I'm okay with because I hate driving on icy roads.  It seems only fair, though, that if we have to put up with all the elements of winter, we deserve a snow day now and then.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to be snowed in with my (sweet, adorable and wonderful) kids for a long period of time or anything.  But a day of not having to get Casey out the door by 8:10 then Emily off to school at 9:00 with backpacks and lunch packed, shoes tied, and hair brushed is a treat.  It's what a snow day is supposed to be all about.  So when school was called off Wednesday because of a late winter snowfall, it was a long time coming.

There's not a lot to write about because the day was pretty uneventful here.  It started with me sitting down in the toy room to play with the girls, but I got the cleaning bug pretty quickly and soon the girls got it, too.  We purged and organized so many toys that don't get played with anymore and I still can't believe how much the girls got into it.  Dare I say it was kind of fun even? 

After lunch we were ready to play in the snow!  Casey is old enough to get her self all geared up and was out the door in a flash.  Emily still needs help getting most things on, but, dear Lord, gloves are the worst.  Next Fall I'm going to schedule like 5 occupational therapy appointments dedicated to just putting on gloves if she doesn't have it by then.  I was getting my coat and gloves on when I looked outside and saw Emily standing in the snow crying with a face full of snow.  It turns out Casey threw a snowball and it landed right smack in the middle of Emily's face.  Maybe my first reaction should have been to get upset at Casey for poor judgement (or aim), but, instead, I just laughed.  We all (including Casey) are very protective of Emily.  It has been second nature for the three of us to make sure she is safe on stairs and any where she can fall or get hurt.  But sometimes it's nice to see Casey just forget that and treat her like another sibling and make her take a snowball in the face.  I also think it's good for Emily so that she can learn to stand up for herself when she gets it dished to her, so I didn't stop her later when I saw her coming up behind Casey with a shovel of snow to dump on her head.  It's good for Casey, too.  Basically, rubbing snow in each other's faces is good for everyone.  Except me.  I don't like it and I get to put someone in timeout if they do. 

This snowfall was the good snow.  Fluffy, sticking to tree limbs to make everything outside look like a winter wonderland (in March).  And it's the good-for-packing snow!  We decided to make snow forts and have a little snowball fight.  My fort was way better than Casey's.  And, yes, I just bragged about my fort being better than an 8 year old's. :)  Emily was a little clueless to the competition going on but Casey and I wore ourselves out throwing snowballs at each other.

The next day after school there was enough snow on the ground yet for them to play in it again. I decided to watch from inside this time because they were in the front yard and I could watch them safely. I think it's important for the girls to be able to play outside sometimes without me hovering over Emily. There was no more snow being shoved up any one's nose. It was just two sisters playing outside in the snow after school. And it was a view I soaked up from inside. Camera in hand, of course.