Snow.

I am used to snow. A lot of it. I grew up in the mountains after all. But what I'm not used to is a lot of snow here, in Mac. Fun at first, especially for the kids, but now after 6+ days of what the news people have termed 'Arctic Blast 2008', I am done. D-O-N-E. I am sick of the inside of my house! Why, you ask? Because I have essentially been here since last Monday, which, as it turned out, was the first of 5 canceled days of school! Five! In a row! Snow wasn't the only culprit. We had snow, we had rain, we had bitter below freezing temperatures, and now we are having the worst of the worse--freezing rain. The light, fluffy, fun to play in snow that we did have over half a foot of is now covered with a layer of ice. Solid ice. And you probably don't need me to tell you that solid ice is not fun to play in (on) unless it's a rink and you have skates. And the ice pellets raining down from the sky? Those aren't fun either. So now not only are we stuck at home, but we're truly stuck inside! And my arsenal of fun is running low! We've played games, made playdough, baked cookies, savored hot cocoa, and watched movies. I'm not saying that any of it has been bad--we've actually had quite a lot of fun--but you know the saying "everything in moderation"? Well 6+ days, I believe, surpasses moderation! The days we could, we played in the snow. That was fun, at first. But even that got old. Again, it goes back to the idea of 'moderation'. To me, once a day out in the snow is enough. I don't love it that much. But Grayson would just as soon live out there! I can't even count the number of times that I've traipsed up and down the stairs to retrieve snow clothes from the dryer. And suiting up a 5 and 2 year-old to go outside in the snow? It gets old! Truthfully, it has made me think about my elementary school teachers. When I was in school, it was just common place to take ALL of your snow gear to school every day in the winter. Bibs, boots, hats, gloves, etc... I hope for the sake of my teachers that recess was 45 minutes long because can you imagine how long it must have taken for a class of say 20 first graders to get ready to go outside?!?! Eek.

**edited to add** Hours after I typed this, the freezing rain gave way to snow once again. And again my Grayson was eager to get out in it. 2+ hours he spent outside! In the dark! I tell you, he must have Idaho blood running thru him. Not mine. (I was born in Oregon. Ha!) But surely his Daddy's.

Notice that the pictures were taken from inside the house. I told you that I am D-O-N-E.

If you look closely, you can see icicles hanging from the swing.