Snowed In

Oregon doesn't see a lot of snow, at least not where we are. When it does snow, it typically doesn't last very long. In the past two winters we've had maybe two snowy days each year and the snow has been wet and slushy, melting into a bizarre slurry of slushiness that then freezes into nasty sheets of black ice if it's still around at nightfall. This year we ended up with beautiful, dry, sparkly powder. 

Luckily, Squirt already had Friday off of school so it didn't disrupt our life that much. We were planning on doing some Holiday and girly shopping so our plans did alter when we chose to stay off the roads. Since snow is so rare, the city isn't really equipped to deal with it and instead of plowing the streets the residents just hole up for a while. 

Since it's a rare occurrence, kids get extraordinarily excited for it. We saw one of Aeryn's friends outside, bundled her up, and off she went.

This is her friend's mom showing her how to clip into the bindings on her friend's snowboard. Aeryn has never done this before and she was insanely thrilled about it.

They taught her that "it's all in the hips" and had her practice hopping and turning. After a few minutes the neighbor kids all headed across the parking lot to the park and the very little hill there to practice.

Aeryn has always been a late bloomer in the coordination and balance department (not unlike her mother) so I sometimes get nervous when she tries something new. Who am I kidding? That's not why. I'm a worrier and a nervous control freak. That's probably a more accurate reason.

She checked her bindings and then didn't hesitate at all to head downhill.

There wasn't enough of a slope to keep going very far. When she got stuck she did just what they had taught her and geared up for a little hop to change direction.

See? All in the hips.

And.... down but not out. She had a blast.

With below freezing temps all weekend and the beginning of the week, the snow isn't going anywhere for a few days. The sun is out today and it's glorious, but we've already been notified that church is cancelled tomorrow. There are enough families that live on dangerous hills and since the city doesn't really have the capability to plow well it becomes rather treacherous. So that's basically three sequential snow days, something I NEVER experienced living somewhere with regular snowfall. There are some definite perks in the "fun" department when snow is a rarity.