Artic Blast

ARTIC BLAST 2008- for 2 weeks now i've been glued to the tv. watching the news and waiting to hear the sweet words from the meteorologist..."there is a chance of snow" or "we could see snow up to 1-2 inches on the valley floor and in clark county (Vancouver)". these few phrases have stirred up a pot of hope in my soul that i have greedily devoured. The chance that we could have some snow, and as a bonus, get school/work off, is the happy anticipation that keeps me going all winter...Childhood memories of the newscaster saying.."Salem-Keizer school districts are closed/2-hour delay, or buses on snow routes." has always been sweet music to my ears.. and as an adult today, working in the school system, not much has changed. those words still ring sweetly and is usually accompanied with warm feelings in my heart and a little hop in my step!!!
And as a matter of fact, Starting last sunday, I woke up with some extra spring in my step. My eyes beheld the beautifully falling snow! It had been going non-stop for a couple hours bc it had cover our driveway and car! So Upon waking up and running crazy all over, i "affectionately" chewed Russell out for letting me sleep when this Christmas miracle was taking place. We cuddled up with blankets and hot chocolate and watched the news. Later on that morning our church was cancelled. and i know what you're probably thinking...we must have had at least a foot or so of snow to merit a cancellation...however, that is false. something about the Northwest that people may not know is that we are not so much accustomed to the snow, as we are to the rain. When it snows, even just an inch or two, Stores shut down, school and work gets cancelled, and roads are blocked off. That's the beauty of Winter in the Northwest!
So as luck would have it, sunday night I got the "CALL". The call from my supervisor informing me that the "inclement weather" would prohibit us from work on Monday! PARTY! Considering that this week, Dec 15-19th, would be my last week before Christmas break, i was One day closer to freedom. Tuesday followed with a 2 hour delay! Wednesday- school was cancelled- which was hilarious considering the little snow we had, had melted and now rain was coming down. And Thursday and Friday followed with a cancellation of my class, but as staff we were supposed to post...which i chose not to...it was just such treacherous driving conditions....not. but i was mentally checked out that Sunday. So the last week sent me to school a total of 1 out of the 5 days,..However, the real excitement really came Saturday morning when we woke up to a few inches of snow and the sky so full of snow clouds that there was no signs of stopping. Saturday brought us about 4-5 inches with east winds that made it feel like it was 13 degrees. Well, we went over to my parents and got "snowed in". Russell and I brought clothes and toiletries just in case it was impossible to drive home in. We spent the night making fudge and watching the snow and Christmas movies. Again church was cancelled and today, Sunday, has brought us more interesting weather. We ventured outside and were met with inches of ice over all the snow fall. It was crazy!! we were sliding all over the place having a good time. We did a little sledding, ate some yummy treats, played some scrabble and listened to the news that said might bring us an additional 9 inches. Possibilities are endless after what I've seen and experienced this past week. we could have a white Christmas, we could have a Christmas miracle...i love it. and I'm not ashamed that i pray for snow each night and that i revert back to an 8 year old when snow is in the forecast. I Hope all of your are enjoying the Holidays and winter weather as well.
Jan 3, 2008-
we had a white christmas!! snow fell as we opened presents and it was magical...i loved it!! happy new year!
Russell's birthday Dec 11 and he playing santa at our ward party..i totaly kissed santa...some kids were disturbed y that, but who could resist.



Neices ava and elley at the nutcracker...we had a blast.

russ with his beloved birthdya gift, ZUNE

first real snowfall while at work..begging to get the day cancelled...my asst Dawn and I are hoping

a little snow, a little more, and lot more and then 16 inches total!!





random-
my new haircut, which you really can't tell that i cut it but the back is realy short, trying to do the a line cut to grow out the hair...





more pics..a very festive mom and dad...ice frozen on everything, it even made the perfect replica of this leaf...the grey ominous clouds and me dressed up as ralphie's brother from "THe Christmas Story".










more amazing photos of our holidays, jills amazing christmas sweater, the snow on christmas, me being a donkey in the christmas story withh ava as mary on my back...our awesome scrabble game.."Whoring" mom came up with that one.






lastly, dinner with all the adults and new's years eve games, and russell and I with our new WASHER and DRYEr...lugging our laundry to my parents house for the past 3 months has been crazy.,thankful they let us do it,but more grateful to now be the proud owners of such a miracleous machine.