Epic Texas snow week!

Our epic Texas snow week!

week of February 15, 2021

Nana flew through DFW on Friday evening, February 12 and spent the night before flying out the next morning.  If she hadn't left then, she would have been stranded in DFW for days!

Our friends, the Davises, walked over to our house on Sunday morning for breakfast.  We made homemade hot chocolate and watched a streamed online church service from Countryside as church was cancelled due to the snow.  The dads took the kids outside to tube on the driveway after the service!  It was Valentine's Day and a sweet time together!  

Even Tex was out in the snow for a bit on Sunday morning!

 

This was how our pool looked on Sunday evening, February 14.  It was beautiful and snowy but not too cold yet!  The water was completely open.

On Monday morning, February 15, our windchill was -17 (unheard of in N Texas)!  It was 16 degrees colder than the previous coldest day on record, which was in 1951!  

We built fires, baked cookies, read snow books, crafted, played Catan, and read (and napped) in front of the fire. Isaac and Emma didn't have any schoolwork, as so many people were without power that the schools cancelled even virtual classes.

Catan at lunchtime

The coldest temperature we had was -2 on Tuesday morning, and the only time it’s been colder in DFW history was in 1899 (-8).

Dave took the kids tubing on Tuesday afternoon before our second batch of snow came through that night! We also drove to have dinner with my mom and dad that night. It was so good to see them and be out of our house!

more games...Josiah's "Go Fish" game

This was the thickest section of ice from our pool that Dave cut out - 3 inches on Wednesday

evening, Feb 17!  Amazingly, we were able to keep open spots on our pool the entire week!  

My dad took Isaac to Decatur one day, and my mom had the other kids at her house.  I was alone at home and was craving a hamburger so much!  I texted Dave and asked him if he could find ANY hamburger place that was open - he drove to many, and Whataburger in Roanoke was the only one open!  Ha!  The drive up line was all the way onto business 114.  It was more in my mind that I wanted a hamburger, because I only ate half and haven't craved one since!  (They still turn my stomach!)

Emma and I baked two kinds of cookies one afternoon!  She is so much fun to work with in the kitchen.

Is there anything better than your sister serving you hot cookies on a freezing day straight out of the oven?

 This is a picture of the produce department when Dave ran to Walmart to get groceries for us!  Everything was wiped out - few choices!  

We ended up only losing power for around 7 hours on Friday afternoon, when a transformer blew in our neighborhood.

Isaac made a snowman head on top of our mailbox and then took pictures of himself with the snowman.

 

What a week to remember!

Steamboat

Two days after Christmas, we drove to Steamboat!  We left around 5:00 in the morning and arrived by 8:30 that night.  We had a great drive, and everyone loved listening to Isaac's new Jonathan Park CDs from Christmas.

Dave replaced the spindles on the staircase.  The new iron ones are gorgeous! 

Emma helped a lot with the project!

It took Josiah a day or two to get used to the cold, but after that, he loved being outside!  

He said, "Everything on me is cold!"

Sledding on the hill behind Papa and Nana's house on Tuesday afternoon

Warming up inside with hot chocolate and studying a new maze book from Christmas 

(It was Josiah's gift, but Isaac and Emma enjoyed it so much that they would "do" the mazes with just the fingers.)

I'll never tire of watching my kids sleep - so peaceful and precious!

Dave took Isaac and Emma skiing all day on Wednesday and they loved it!  He wanted them to get comfortable on skis again; and, then on Thursday he took Josiah along for his first time!  Josiah was very hesitant and said "I'll go if I have to!"  But, like his siblings, he ended up loving it as well and didn't want to leave.  

Emma skiing on Wednesday, their first day this year 

Josiah learning 

Emma on the magic carpet hill

Dave helping Josiah down the magic carpet hill

Isaac skiing 

The ski lift doesn't usually run during the week at Howelson, but they had it on on Thursday, and the kids loved it!  

Dave couldn't believe it, but the kids wanted to ski again on Friday, too!  Dave was beat :) but took them again!  Papa, Nana, and I took lunch to them and everyone ate in the gorgeous sunshine!  We took Josiah home after lunch so that Dave could do the bigger runs with Isaac and Emma.  (Josiah would have much rather stayed and was very disappointed to leave.)  

Since it was a weekday, the chairlift wasn't running, so the only way up to the top was the Poma lift.  The Poma lift is essentially a little seat attached to a long rope.  You hold on to the rope, sit down, and keep your skis pointed forward while the rope pulls you all the way to the top.  Papa, Nana, Josiah, and I watched Dave and the kids go up, and Emma fell off about 1/4 of the way up.  She skied down the hill, while Dave and Isaac continued to the top.  Papa went and waited with her til Dave and Isaac came down.  We were so proud of Isaac for making it to the top and skiing down his first blue!  

It ended up taking Emma six more times to get to the top...she would get further up each time, but eventually her skis would slip to the side and she would fall.  The hill becomes progressively steeper, and I started crying watching her wait on the side.  I said I needed to leave and couldn't keep watching!  I knew Dave would keep her safe, but it was hard to watch her fall off repeatedly.  Each time, Dave helped her down - even skiing down with her in his arms!  (He said it was fun, and she LOVED it!)  Emma is determined, though, and she made it to the top on her seventh try!  By then, Papa, Nana, Josiah, and I were already at home.  Dave called me and gave me a second-by-second narration of Emma making it to the very top!  (He was on the seat behind her on the Poma lift.)  She did it, and they all had a great rest of the day skiing new, longer runs! 

A skiing picnic lunch on Friday!  

First Day of School 2020-2021

We are thrilled for Isaac to begin his 5th grade year at

Coram Deo Academy

! Emma (3rd) and Josiah (kindergarten) are home with me homeschooling full time, and we are glad that Isaac will still be home with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Our first day was filled with blueberry muffins for breakfast, many cups of coffee, reading, math, & singing together, and a few bittersweet tears, especially dropping Isaac off early this morning. How is he so old and looking so grown up? Excited for a new year and thankful to the Lord for the privilege of loving and teaching my kids!

This kindergartener was out by 1:30 in the afternoon.  I had woken the kids up around 6:40 to get ready so we could get Isaac to school on time!  They haven't been up that early in months (maybe since we were at Disney and were getting up early for rope drops?) ha!  When I woke Josiah up yesterday morning, he said,  "Finally I get to go to kindergarten!"  and last night he told Dave, "I had a great time in kindergarten today."  He also told me it's not as hard as he thought!  

Isaac had a wonderful first day and said, "I'm sad I don't get to go again tomorrow" when we picked him up.  And Emma is just happy to be with me and stay busy at home working and learning.