SNOW in the SOUTH!!!!!

For the last couple of weeks, we Schrodts have been green with envy over all the snow that our sweet friends and family up north have been getting. My Mom, who lives outside of DV, has been snowed in - LITERALLY - all week. My kids have been complaining about it constantly - why did we move to the south where they NEVER get snow? - etc, etc. Well, on Thursday, people started talking about the fact that we may actually get some snow over the weekend. Dallas had just gotten a foot of snow, schools were closed in Alabama as the snow moved across, Atlanta was preparing for it, but I didn't think much about it. When I read the paper on Friday morning, it said that the snow was supposed to start in the late afternoon, may stick, and may even accumulate up to an inch or so. Still, didn't give much thought to it. We're in South Carolina people! People tend to WAY overreact here when it comes to "winter" weather, so I took the "gotta see it to believe it" attitude.

Well, that afternoon, Callie, Jacob, and David were all taking a nap (he had run his 12 miles that morning - last LONG run before our half-marathon) and I had just finished nursing Caleb. It was about 1:45 pm - i normally leave to pick up Josiah from school at 2:15 pm. My cell phone rang - it was not a number I recognized, but I answered it anyways (thank goodness!) It was Josiah's school asking who was going to be picking him up - they got out of school at 1:30 pm!! I was so embarrassed and told her I'd be right there. The whole drive over I kept thinking "was it a half day today? Did they have an early dismissal that I forgot about?" I walked into the school office to collect Josiah (he was NOT the only one - there were probably 30 kids in there) and apologized that I was late...and then asked why they got out an hour early. She told me because of the SNOW!! I laughed and said that it had not even begun yet!! :) (I suppose it made sense...the snow was supposed to start around 4pm, and they had to get all the kids on busses from elem through high school home by then...) Anyways, it cracked me up. Thankfully, Josiah was fine...I think he was distracted by his valentines that he had gotten at his class party that day! :) So we came home and he and Jacob played for a bit.

And THEN....at about 4:30 pm, I was feeding Caleb on the couch and glanced out the back window and saw....SNOW!! It was really snowing! I ran and got the boys and told them - they were SO excited!! Got them their hat, gloves, and jacket, and they were outside! Jacob was excited because he had specifically put their light sabres outside so that IF it snowed, they could have a snow battle! :)

I grabbed my camera and started taking lots of pictures....because I figured it would be over practically before it started.....

I have a THING about trees in the snow - I just think it is one of the most beautiful sights - when all the trees are covered in snow - so gorgeous. We had the perfect backyard to see it too!

Callie finally woke up from her nap (she had a little fever in the morning from a cold she was dealing with so she was a little off) and finally agreed to put her hat, gloves, jacket, and SOCKS on to go outside and check out the snow. (she HATES cold weather apparel - seriously. Would rather go without....the cold doesn't seem to bother her as much as just wearing the stuff...good grief)

This was the first time Callie has ever seen snow. The first thing she said when she saw it was "Now we BOTH have snow! Me and Tutu match!!" :)

See how Callie is still in a bit of a fog? Poor thing. She was just not quite herself on Friday.

We stayed outside for about an hour and a half until we had to come in for dinner. Callie didn't make it that long - she got cold and wet and was done with it. It was SO much fun though!

Caleb seemed to enjoy the snow - he enjoys everything! :) (Would you believe that this hat is a hand-me-down from my sister's son who lives in FLORIDA? It was perfect!)

Josiah was SO excited to actually get to do a snow angel....and then realized that it made his pants all wet and probably wasn't a super great idea. This is the problem with snow in the south. We don't really have the proper apparel for snow...because we never get it. I'm not going to buy my kids real snow pants and waterproof gloves and boots....because they would all outgrow them before ever getting my money's worth. So once they are cold and wet...they're pretty much done.

Eating snow...yum!

Making snowballs with the little bit of snow that had accumulated on cars and grass....again, we weren't sure when it was going to quit, so we were trying to maximize whatever we got! :)

Jacob and David made a cute little snowman....

And then Jacob made his OWN little snowman....

And then we went inside for dinner. We ate and I put Callie and Caleb in bed. After I laid Caleb down, I looked outside and was amazed at what I saw - it was STILL snowing, it was now sticking to the roads and everything, and there was probably 3-4 inches outside! It was gorgeous!!!

I never would have thought I'd see my house all snow-covered and beautiful like this!!! :)

Jacob's snowman suddenly looked like it had gained 20 pounds! :)

What a fun night! We went back outside and played a little bit more before coming inside for the night. We had all been SO excited about the opening ceremony for the Olympics, so it made for a perfect ending to the perfect day. We had promised the boys that we'd pull out the couch and they could stay up to watch the olympics and so we did. What fun - we had popcorn and hot chocolate and stayed all cozy on the couch while we watched the opening ceremonies. The kids loved seeing the snowboarder opening, and really (shockingly) enjoyed the countries processing in. It helped that we just finished up Missions Conference at church, so they recognized the names of several of the countries (look - there's Chile! That's where my missionary came from! etc). I just feel like it is such a great education for the kids - to have eyes bigger than just their own world. When Israel processed in, Josiah said "they are a real country? I thought it was just in bible times!" It makes for great conversations! :) We all went to bed happy and tired...and excited to see the snow in the morning!