Pax came for a visit

If you've followed the news, it's all over. The south was hit with not one but TWO snow storms in January (and counting?). Of course this week it's in the 70's.  It was only a few inches each time but let's face it. We don't know what to do in snow. Rain? We're good. Heat that will melt the make-up off your face in 1.2 seconds? Check. Humidity that will wilt even the most cemented of hair-do's? Got that covered too. 

Snow and ice...not so much. You can't blame us. We never (and I mean NEVER) see it around here. I've been in Columbia, SC for 8.5 years and have seen it 3x (including the two rounds this year). So pardon us if we get a little giddy (and panicked) when we hear it really is coming. 

The first snow hit a couple of weeks ago and it was true snow. They kept saying it would start mid-day...then late afternoon...well then it got dark. My boys (specifically Charlie) were so sad. But just before he went to bed...around 9pm that night because he apparently got in tp some form of crack I wasn't aware of and wouldn't settle down...it started to snow. Well so much for bedtime. Thankfully I didn't have anything scheduled the next day so I let them stay up and watch it fall for a little while. We woke up to this...

It was such a pretty soft white snow. The fun part was that Daniel didn't have to go in to work that day so we got to have a family day in the snow! The boys have never seen it before so this was super fun for them. 

Even the old man felt a little spry in the cold weather...

but that lasted a whopping 2 minutes and he was ready to rest again. 

Cole especially liked walking around in it and seeing his footprints.  So he wandered mostly...

Then there was the ice storm that hit last week. This time we knew to be prepared. Not because we just had it two weeks earlier but because Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel was in town. You know when he's in your city it's serious bid-ness. Sure enough, the sleet and freezing rain started early Tuesday. So much so that as soon as I was done with my workout, I had to go ahead and get the boys since schools were dismissing early. 

Our precipitation mainly hit overnight and all day on Wednesday in the form of sleet. The boys were very disappointed that we couldn't make snowballs this time around. Cole decided early Wednesday morning to go ahead and put on his too-small-for-me-toboggan and wear it around. You know, just in case we went out. 

Once it finally slowed down and I stopped work for an hour or so, we went out for a little family outing. The boys decided that the toy carrot from their kitchen set and the dust pan were fun items to bring out in the sleet. Random. 

 (did you notice how Stella the pug photo bombs almost all of our snow shots?)

Even the Cuban ventured out! She stayed with us during this storm for peace of mind. 

The outing lasted 20 minutes and then we went back inside. I to my work and everyone else became more and more stir crazy. What do you do when you're trapped inside with two toddlers for 3 days? Why arts and crafts! Literally it was the only novel thing I could find after play-doh, coloring and movies failed to entertain them. So we made fun Valentine's Day crafts. I literally was digging out all my stickers, cutting circles and ribbon and anything else I could make to glue on to paper. Milk and bread I bought. Arts and crafts I did not. Lesson learned. 

And when that was all done, we sat down for what else? Hot Chocolate. Putting the marshmallows in was a huge hit. Bet you can't tell that they enjoyed it...

It melted almost as fast as it came...most of it being cleared by Friday afternoon. Daniel got two whole days at home and the boys loved being able to stay at home an extra four days. It's so fun to create memories with your children. I cherish every moment that God gives me with these two cuties.