First Snow Of The Season 1

As we were leaving church, I pointed out how the grey clouds in the sky looked like they were going to bring us some snow. Of course, my 4 year-old Grace didn't see things my way. "No! There's no Christmas today! There's no snow!"

As we drove and I pointed out that I could see snow falling along the foothills, which only made Grace even more defiant. "No! No Mamma! There's NO SNOW!"

1, 2,3, 4...small, fragile flakes hit the windshield! "See Grace?! Snow! I told you those clouds would bring you snow." A smile attempted to appear on Grace's face as she fought to keep it hidden. And then...the sun roof opened...the snowflakes drifted into the car....and shrieks of joy could be heard from both Grace & Rose.
We ended up driving all over town with Christmas music playing and snow falling onto our heads. "What are the odds that any other parents are doing this right now?" "Probably not good," Charming replied.
The drive to the clothing donation bin, Costco and WalMart was more of an adventure and snow catching event than the errands that they really are...what a pleasant change.

Then once we got everything unpacked at home I could hear the "thump thump thump" coming down the hall. There stood Grace with her gloves, snow boots, ear warmer and jacket on...over her Sunday dress. I couldn't help it...yes, I laughed. It was just way too cute not to.
"Come on Grace. Let's go get you dressed for the snow."

And once we were all dressed properly...out we went for a little family fun. The blanket of snow that had fallen was so beautiful. So light. So fluffy.

The girls immediately started scooping up the snow on the patio table. Oh yes, the snowball factory was in operation.

They were having so much fun pummeling each other that they didn't even notice the snow piling up on their heads.

These are two of my favorite photos of my girls..the happiness is sincere and the fact that they are all bundled up and covered in snow just adds the icing to the cake.

With all of our snowplay, the girls decided that picking out Mama as the target was the thing to do and since I don't really like getting hit by snowballs (just ask Charming), I decided to make it "snow" again for them. Which was even more fun than throwing snowballs...and since the snow was so fluffy and dry, it definately made for a less hurtful playtime. When Charming teaches someone how to pack a snowball...let's just say that they are not soft in any sense of the word upon impact.

Toward the end of our snow play, we heard the honking of this beautiful flock of Canadian Geese. They just couldn't quite get into a v-formation before disapearing out of sight.

So when our fun was done, I had Charming gather Grace & Rose. And since this too became a game, this is the only photo I could somewhat clearly get of my Charming husband. (Funny how he looks like he's the one that came from Southern California, all bundled up from head to toe)

After dinner I just had to take a look... and although it was beautiful to see sparkling snowflakes fall in the night sky, I knew that this was not a good sign for Charming's morning. It was supposed to continue to snow through the night and a second storm was supposed to hit in the morning. Ah well, such is life during winter out of Southern California.