Snow day

We've been dreaming of snow for weeks.  Two weeks ago we headed to my mom's house hoping to get snowed in.  Unfortunately, the snow missed us and landed north of this part of Tennessee.  We were bummed and headed back home to check on our cats, Tiger and Adventurous.  They were happy to see us and not as disappointed as we were with the lack of snow.

Two days later on a Friday night, we got a dusting during the evening hours.  We were excited to see the flakes falling from the sky turning the ground and trees white.  It was not enough for sledding or snowmen, but Summer and I tried to throw a few snowballs at each other.  The snow was not the packing type, but we did manage to throw snow dust at each other.  Tiger loved playing out in the snow.  The next morning we headed out again to see what we could do before it all melted off.  We were able to make a few snow angels in the driveway, but 10 minutes later they were gone.  Summer also made a nice message for me in the snow.  Since sledding on the grass was not an option, she played on her slide and called it sledding.  We made a few memories before it all melted away, but were again disappointed.

Two days ago, we got our biggest snow in years.  On Tuesday after school, we headed to my mom's house in anticipation of inches of snow accumulation.  As soon as we got to the mountain top, the snow started falling.  An hour after we arrived at my mom's there was already an inch of snow on the ground.  By the time bed time rolled around, there were 6 inches.  We were in heaven!!!  We did not get out in it that evening, but rather chose to play Tri-ominos at the kitchen table before watching a little TV before bedtime.  We did run out with the ruler every hour or so to check the accumulation.  We put a big bowl out on the back porch which was soon overflowing with snow which we transformed into snow cream.  Summer, my mom and I all had a bowl of the tasty concoction before tucking ourselves into bed for the night.  We were up bright and early excited to see how much more snow had fallen.  We ended up with about 7.5 inches of glorious snow.  After Nanny got all of her pics taken of the untouched snow, we suited up and went out for round 1 of playing.  The snow was awesome for packing.  Now that I think about it, I did not even throw one single snow ball though.  We built a snow woman which kept us all warm and toasty and Summer and I ended up shedding our hats and coats.  However, once we started sledding, we geared back up.  It was difficult to sled at first with their being so many inches of snow so my mom cranked up the 4-wheeler and packed it down a little for us.  We took turns going down the hill until we were all a little weary.  Then Summer and my mom headed off on the 4-wheeler to check the main roads.  The snow plow had already been by so there was no need to venture further than the yard for sledding.  We watched a movie and had lunch before heading back out for more sledding.  Summer did a little painting and rainbow looming too.  Our 2nd round of sledding was followed by another movie and a game of sequence.  We had spaghetti for dinner and after we were all full, we headed out for round 3 of sledding in the dark.  This was by far the best sledding all day.  The snow was packed and frozen.  It was an amazing snow day and we were so thankful to finally get a big snow.

Where does the time go?

It's hard to believe it has been almost 6 years since my baby girl was diagnosed with kidney cancer.  She is now a healthy 3rd grader at St. Peter's Episcopal School.  She stopped sucking her thumb a few weeks after the end of 2nd grade at the age of 8.  I was sad to see it stop although for years I really wanted it to.  But when she did, it was like the last link she had to being a baby was gone.  Now she is approaching 9 years old and is growing taller everyday it seems.  She is 4'4" now and around 61 pounds.  Picking her up is quite a task and her long legs are a bit awkward in my arms.  But, there are times when she still allows this.  She is definitely outgrowing some of her snuggliness, but she does still want me to walk to her class every morning so I am very thankful for that.  I really dread the day that ends.  She also still wants me to come to chapel and spirit day every week so she is not distancing herself from me yet.  However, I have a feeling I am going to be one of those embarrassing moms so it will probably happen sooner than later.

She still loves crafting and creating and during our recent snow days she perused many magazines looking for ideas.  She is into gymnastics and is going to start a new sport type activity next week--Girls on the Run.  She got a trampoline from Santa for Christmas and that, along with a slack line and air pogo, helps to keep her active and entertained in the basement at home.  She loves to listen to music and choreograph different routines which she then performs for me or whoever else may be at the house.  Tennis lessons may also be in her future if we can get them set up and she seems to be excited about that.  Team sports are not something she is interested in at all at this point.

She is excelling in school and all of her teachers find her to be a joy in class.  Her favorite subject is math which is something her dad and I both enjoyed.  She also enjoys after school art classes when they offer them.

She still hasn't lost any teeth since the end of 1st grade.  She has no real best friend, but seems to play with several different girls in her class.  Her and Abby Teruya are becoming close again after about a year long break of being BFFs.  The only friend she has stayed the night with is Elizabeth Bruce and that was a birthday slumber party.  I believe she is starting to be more comfortable with the idea of staying with friends, but her preference for overnight stays out of my house is definitely Memaw and Nanny's house followed closely by her cousins, Leah and Jonathan.  The cousins sleepovers are rare though since we live an hour away from each other.  Grandbaby sleepovers at Memaw's house are heaven for them all.