Let it snow!

I think it was good luck putting out my "Let It Snow" garden flag last week because since doing so, we've had more snow here than all of last year.   Despite the weatherman's prediction that the snow was done accumulating, we awoke to yet another 1"-1 1/2" of frozen flaky fun today.    Taking advantage of the time we had before the sun came out and the snow started to melt, this morning we went outside to play...

Need to do some shoveling...

A little fog added to the snow...the plows haven't been by yet.

This is a little closer to a blanket and less like a powdering...

Damien making a snow angel before the shoveling begins.

Damien's snow angel.

The fog and snow combo sure is pretty!

I really think this is one of the most lovely neighborhoods we have lived in...there's so much character, all year round!

Time to work!  Damien shoveled the driveway (at least what Carl didn't do this morning, Damien finished).

Nate piled up the snow...giving us a bounty to play with.

Sierra LOVES snowballs...she thinks they're cookies.

"Oh please, oh please, oh please.... can I have some snow?"

"I got me some snow!"

"I don't care if I smell like wet dog for a week...I LOVE to lay in this cold stuff!"

"Yum!  Snow treats!"

Damien making the base for a snowman.

St. Francis looks a little frosty.

Don't know why this bush wants to form a rosebud in this weather.

Snowball baseball...He swings...

...and he hits it!

Nothing says "FUN" like catching snowballs on your face.

I'm not sure if it's more fun for Damien or for those watching.  :-)

Nate gets into the act...

You'll notice Mom did not get into the act.

It's starting to look more like a snowbird than a snow man.

Our new mascot, Santa Snowbird.    

The view of the backyard.  We did not have to shovel here.

It's a White Christmas: Snow much fun!!!

We got our white Christmas...though it was a little late in coming.  The snow did not begin to fall until 4 p.m. on Christmas Night.  But, since we are still in the octave of Christmas, it's still a white Christmas after all!  The boys and I took a walk around the neighborhood on this Boxing Day morning to check out the cold stuff.

Just outside our house...we like the cold stuff...we really, really do.

Ice swirls on the hood of our Blazer.

The view down the street out of the cul du sac.

Though only 3/4" to an inch deep, the snow was still deep enough
to make crunchy sounds when we walked through it.

More views out of the neighborhood pod.

The street back towards our house.

Baby pinecones and pine branches blanketed in snow.  Well, not really blanketed...

Cold enough to see your breath.

Hey, I have an unusual snow "ball" in my hand...

It's the rare "snow diamond"...actually it's a little cutout of snow that Nate's shoe left behind.  

Saturday was snow fun!

My youngest and most exuberant son, Damien, woke me up from a toasty and cozy slumber to announce that the world was blanked in white.  Well, that wasn't exactly what he said...it was more like "Mom, mom, maaaaahhhhhhm, MOM!  Wake up!  It SNOWED!!!!"  Any other time I would not have been exactly thrilled to be roused out of a restful slumber on the only day I get to sleep in.  But, he did indeed say that magical word...SNOW!  I jumped out of bed to see what present had been left for us the night before, and though it wasn't the most picturesque of wintery scenes, I was not disappointed.

The landscape looked more like someone with a very large shaker sprinkled powdered sugar all over the place, however, we were giddily THRILLED!

Here are some pics...

Backyard...still kinda dark at 8:30 a.m. but it showed as frosty as it would get during the day.

All that white dusting in the front yard kinda makes me hungry for a
powdered sugar donut right about now.

A little, teensy, tiny bit of white fun resting on the tree branch.
Don't ask me why I took this picture...
even I don't really want to know how my mind works.

Is that a super hero?  Or perhaps a super model walking the catwalk?
No!  That's Sierra sporting her extra winter coat.
Luckily, she eats too much to be a model, unless you want to call her a supper model.

Despite the cold weather the past few days, we haven't had much frost
due to the unseasonably warm temperatures throughout the valley.
 I have to applaud the grass for so diligently trying to ignore that winter is approaching.
 Just look at all that green poking out of the white! 

Damien's first snowman of the season...at it's peak, it stood a staggering 6 inches tall!
Look out microscopic creatures of the backyard!  I think it just might be the abominable snowman!

We decided this was the opportune time to shoot a Christmas card picture...
no, we didn't use this one (for the record, I was overruled much to my dismay).

Snow Buddies!
(If only Frosty had his magic hat, they could have lived happily forever.)