Winter Storm Harper!

I obviously haven't experienced a true winter in a while because I didn't even realize that winter storms had names! I thought they only did that for hurricanes. We had been following the weather news last week, knowing that there was a chance of a good snowfall on its way. When I looked online Wednesday afternoon, I did a double-take. There in bold print was my daughter's name, associated with a major snowstorm. What?! I called the kids over to the computer to see what I was seeing, and they both said, "That's crazy!" Harper thought it was great to have a snowstorm "named after her", and she started planning everything she wanted to do once the snow arrived. Snowball fights, snowman building, sledding, and hot chocolate topped her list. I still couldn't get over the fact that Harper's first true snow experience was being brought by a storm with her same name. So strange!

Since the storm wouldn't begin until late Saturday afternoon, we took advantage of the earlier part of the day to get some things done. We dropped Garcia off to get groomed (which was way overdue!) and headed to a local microbrewery for lunch. The food was delicious, but what I thought was even more enjoyable was the four of us going out to eat together...we hadn't done that in months! After lunch we picked up some last minute groceries since we figured we'd be snowed in for a couple of days. Then we headed back home for a little while before Andrew went back out to pick up Garcia. By the time we were all back home again a light snow had started falling. Winter Storm Harper was on her way!

Garcia came home smelling wonderfully clean and sporting a paw print bandana! Harper had a hard time remembering the word 'handkerchief' and kept saying 'hanky chiffer' instead. She would laugh and say, "That's not right, is it? What is it called again?" 😂

You would have thought Sunday morning was Christmas again. Harper woke us up sometime in the 5:00 hour to see if she could go outside to see the snow. Ha! We told her to go back to bed for a little while because it at least needed to be light out before she could go outside and play. Several hours later, once we had all woken up and eaten breakfast, we bundled up and headed outside to check out the snow. We didn't stay outside for long because the snow had changed to freezing rain, but the kids had a chance to try out their saucers on the 9 or 10 inches of crunchy snow that had fallen overnight. After lunch we tried again, and although it was bitter cold, it was much more enjoyable to be outside and not be getting soaked! I watched Andrew and the kids play on the saucers for a little while, and then we all went inside to warm up by the fire while Andrew made homemade hot chocolate--yum!

ice-covered trees

Pops and Grann gave each of the grandkids a saucer for Christmas this year, and we're keeping Maisie's here for whenever she comes up to visit. Andrew borrowed hers for a couple of trips down the icy slope, and when we sent everyone a picture, she noticed right away that Uncle Andrew was using her saucer! Thanks for sharing, Maisie girl! 😍

fun on the saucers! 

making a snow angel? or just worn out? 

I took this slow-motion video one morning while we waited for the school bus. 😊

The kids already had Monday off for MLK Jr. Day, and Andrew got to stay home with us because of the sub-zero temperatures and extreme wind chill. When we woke up the wind chill was something like -30, and the high for the day was 5. Brrr! Ryder and Harper ventured out for a little while in the afternoon to sled, and poor Andrew spent some time chipping away at the ice that covered my car. I stayed inside and watched through the window; everything outside was one huge sheet of ice, and Andrew didn't want me to risk falling. No arguments here! I tended the fire and made a pot of chili for dinner. While the kids enjoyed this first big snowstorm, I hope the next one brings some fluffier snow and warmer temperatures. We still need to build a snowman! ⛄