Snow Day!

So with all the news predicting the massive snow storm we were to get, I really didn't think much was going to come of it. After all, weather forecasting in the Puget Sound area is spotty at best. Understandable somewhat because the terrain is so different from mile to mile. We are in the middle of two mountain ranges, right next to a rain forest, and sometimes you're at sea level and other times 500 feet above, depending on where you are. That might be why they say it is the hardest region to forecast. Yeah, ya think?!?

Anyways, long story short, we got the snow they said we would get. YAY! We were so happy to see it! The girls got out there and froze their little patooties off. As I type, Andy is busy building a snow fort. It's a beautiful snowy day. Here's a few pictures I captured earlier.

Even Parker enjoyed freezing his little feet to experience it.

Of course the big girls had to have a snowball fight!

They love the snow!

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*UPDATE*

As I said earlier, Andy was busy making a snow fort for the girls. Well it's completed now. Too bad the girls are frozen solid already after playing in the snow for a few hours. But... I managed to drag them bad out there so they could play in it a bit. Low and behold, they wanted to play more! Crazy girls. Here's them in the fort. (Yes, Sydney is wearing shorts. She said she only came outside this time to take the pictures. She swears she isn't cold...)

I also wanted to get pictures of me and the girls in the snow. :o)

#proudmama

And finally, Sydney being a goofball and trying to make a basket using a snowball. The second shot she actually made it! Silly child...

Gotta love snow days!

Hello Snow.....

Me & the girls.....

Cars.....

Trees.....

Madeline eating the snow.....

Kassie in front of the tree.....

Sydney making snowballs.....

Andy looking thrilled.....

Parker confused by all this white stuff.....

The girls.....

And me..... enjoying the first snow of the season.

You Know....

I could live in Alaska, I think. I love the snow. I also would rather be cold than warm because you can always find ways for your body to warm up, but it's hard to naturally cool down. Plus the scenery. It is just gorgeous up there. Of course, the only reason I can say this, is by seeing pictures, because, as many of you know, Alaska is the only state I haven't been to in the US. But the reason I started thinking about this is because of what I woke up to yet again this morning. January, you weren't cool enough for snow, but February, you have brought me one of my favorite delights.
A couple more inches of this stuff, and I get all giddy again. It's strange how it has that power over me! Alas, it will not be with us for very long. We have a winter storm warning, but the Weather Channel said the precipitation we get today and tomorrow will be in the form of a mixed snow and rain. (Read: Snow at night when it is dark, and rain during the day while there is sunshine.) Awwww, Shucks!!! Why does Mother Nature tease me like so? Hence, the thought of moving to Alaska. But really, that is just a dream, so I am stuck with the toyings of my emotions. By the way, before this snow, it had been in the 50's for almost all of January. This time, the crews were more prepared because when the girls were ready to go to school, this is what the roads, and our cars looked like.
The roads were nicely sanded/salted and clear! You see, I can't stand it when people freak out because of a little snow. People panic, when they don't need to. Damn, human nature. So, I was actually a little suprised that today the Central Kitsap School District didn't cancel school. Normally, it seems like, when they see the first snowflake, they start calling us to say school is closed. But today, there wasn't even a 2 hour delay! School was as scheduled! Bravo, CKSD!

Well, I guess since the snow isn't going to last long, I should enjoy it while I can. Snowball fight anyone? Nevermind, the kids went to school. :) Maybe I should research a trip to Alaska........

Winters' Goodness

I love when it snows, how peaceful it is outside. I also love how beautiful it looks. Unfortunately, the gorgeous snow we got the other day has melted away, and now it is raining and the wind is blowing, hard. :( But before it did, I took some pretty pictures of it. I also got a special request from Sydney, to put the picture of her snowman on the blog. So here they are!

Kassie and Sydney with the snowman.
The tree next door, covered with the pretty white stuff.
Down one side of our deserted street. It was so quiet outside!
Down the road the other way. The specs of light in the middle of the pic are from the flash bouncing off snowflakes.

And, You Guessed It........

Even more snow!!! Yup, that's right.I'm not worried about school or work being canceled tomorrow, though. There is suppose to be rain moving in. But, from the looks of it outside, I'm starting to doubt it. It's coming down hard. That's exactly what I want, though, more snow! Yay! I love it!

With more snow, comes more snowmen, snow forts, and all around snow fun! And of course I had to take pictures of it! Here are some of the latest.

That's the view from my front window. I told you it was coming down hard!

The new snowman Andy and the girls made. It wasn't quite finished when I took the picture.

That's because it turned into a snow wall! Even as I write this, Andy is still not done piling snow on top of it! He has waaaay too much fun in the snow!

And finally, me and Andy in the snow. I LOVE it!!!!

The Little Wall That Could

In my last post I showed you the "snow wall" that Madeline wanted Andy to make for her. Yeah, it was cute and all, but Andy needed to re-shovel the snow out of the driveway, since we got 15 more inches of snow. That might not sound like a lot to some people, but here in Bremerton Washington, we hardly ever get any snow. So, being burnt out from the shoveling and stacking the snow, he just shoveled all the new snow onto the "snow wall" therefore creating a mountain in our front yard. Andy informed me, we will be the last house in our neighborhood with snow, when it finally does melt. :) Well, now that we have a snow mountain, what is a mountain without a cave? So, Andy dug out a hole and made a cave in the backside of it. Here is the result.
But that is not nearly as spectacular as the house my friend Debbie saw up in Poulsbo. Here is an awesome picture of a snow castle. I wish we had the determination to build ours like that!
Have a safe and very merry Christmas everyone, from the Happy Ketter Family!

More snow.....

Yup. We got a lot more snow today. Schools got canceled. The kids were so excited. We still had to go to work, or so we thought. Preparing to drive to work, we put the chains on the car. But then we got the call that our whole building was closed, so we got the day off, too. Andy decided that we had to put the chains to use since it took so long to get them on, so we decided to drive around the neighborhood. As we were on our way back home, Madeline saw a few kids making a snow fort. That of course lead to her asking daddy if he would make a "snow wall" for her. Andy graciously complied, and this was the result.

And another one of her and Andy.

He was actually very creative building it. He used our old recycle bins and packed the snow in so he could make the blocks. It actually killed two birds with one stone, because he used the snow he shoveled from the driveway to build the "snow wall," therefore clearing out the driveway. Gotta love my genius of a husband! :) Well I hope you guys are enjoying your weather like we certainly are!

Let it snow......

Let it snow, let it snow. Oh the weather outside is frightful........ Ok not really frightful, but we did get a weather warning, saying that starting today thru next week will be the longest cold winter weather we have had since 1990. That's a pretty big statement, considering if you were here in 1990. I wasn't, I was in Maryland, but I heard from many of my friends, it was a doozy. Winter weather to the extreme, considering we live in Western Washington, which never gets that cold. Anyways, here is what my front porch looked liked tonight as the snow fell. Have a great night everyone, I am going to enjoy a nice fire and watch the snow fall! YEA SNOW! I'm sooooo happy!