The Snow...

It seems only appropriate to at least mention that we had a blizzard a couple of weeks ago. It started out on a Wednesday night, when we got about an inch of snow that magically turned into ice - and about a bajillion car wrecks. For the most part, we were unscathed by the storm. Ed picked Helen up from her Odyssey of the Mind practice at 6:30 on his bike, and let her ride home on his seat while he pushed her. This is, if you wondered, a very fun way to commute (for Helen).

My team was meeting in my house, and in the basement it was not snowy at all. A few of the kids can walk home, another was engrossed in a project she was working on, and didn't seem to mind when her mom called letting us know she'd be late. As it turned out, her mom would never reach our home. Eventually, another parent drove her home - but the mile drive took over an hour, because there were so many wrecks, there was no place for cars to go!

Score: TWO DAYS OFF FROM SCHOOL.

And then the snow really hit. Over two feet. It was incredible, and there seemed to be no point in trying to shovel it because as soon as it fell, the winds were scheduled to pick-up, which they did. We made it to official blizzard status and ultimately, the kids scored another WEEK home from school. Days one and two weren't bad - Ed had the days off because the government was also closed. Days three and four were on me, but I needed to be at work. Fortunately, but day four I figured out that high school students were also not going to school - so we called in a neighborhood babysitter.

Helen spent her mornings up the street involved in a complex fort building scheme. Connor spent time working on Odyssey of the Mind, having playdates, and by the end he was enjoying a new friend.

The highlight had to have been when our all-time favorite babysitter came by with her giant dog. The kids went dogsledding!

Now, it's just cold, which is much less fun than snow.

Elaine