Snow days

We have quite a bit of snow over here, for Seattle. It started on Saturday with a snowy-rainy-slushy mix that did not prevent us from attending a kid friend's birthday party in the afternoon. Sunday, though, there was a surprisingly heavy snowfall. That was the day of Dale's and my big joint birthday party, and we wondered if anyone would show up. People like to tease Seattleites for being winter wimps, but listen - it only snows a couple days a year here, normally. We don't get any experience driving in the snow, our cars aren't made for it, the city owns very few snowplows, and many of our streets are steep and narrow. (And exactly where does the LA Times get off calling us "clueless"?) I know my limits: I walk. Though over 50 people had RSVP'd before the snow hit, we figured we'd be changing over to an intimate dinner party with the neighbors.

Not so! Somehow 25 adults and 22 kids showed up, as many as last year. My theory is that people could not resist the Hawaiian theme in midwinter. We had rainbow leis, we had fruity drinks, we had tiki lanterns, we had piña colada cupcakes. It was a great time!

I was slightly disappointed that the kids monopolized the dance floor in the basement. It was my fault: I put on actual current popular music. I know it from hip hop class, but the under-tens responded to it more strongly than the over-40s, other than me.

That was Sunday. Monday there was yet more snow, and I had a quiet birthday working at home, which I enjoyed very much. Tuesday school opened two hours late... then closed two hours early, meaning they were basically there for lunch! It's a good thing we live so close. Wednesday more snow and everything closed. Today, a mix of freezing rain and snow, which is likely to start bringing down branches and power lines... we are just crossing our fingers that our power stays on.

The whole scene is very wintry. It's pleasant outside, actually, not super cold or windy, and wonderful for sledding. We have a grocery store in walking distance, and knock wood our house is bright and cozy, so we really have everything we need. We even have quite a good sled. However, this will be the last year that the boys fit in it together.

The other day we went down to Dahl Field, where enterprising souls had constructed a significant snow fort. 

Last night, we had neighbors over for dinner and a bottle of wine and stories and laughter, providing a much needed warm spot in the day. Today, we made strawberry snow and ate it up. (I prefer maple, myself.)

I'm sure everything will still be closed tomorrow. I miss work, but as long as the power's on, you won't hear me complaining.

Lego Hanukkah

Aaron's Hanukkah gift to us was this fantastic family portrait. Though he did not label Phil, I still recognized him.

Other than that the gift was pretty much all Legos all the time, which made our children very, very, very happy. Legos were given, Legos were gotten. Legos were built. We got Jordan some giant Clone Wars star-fighter thing sort of like an X-wing but different, very elaborate, took him a couple days' worth of building sessions to complete it.

We got Aaron the ship belonging to General Grievous, who he sometimes calls Jennifer Grievous. Aaron is actually extraordinarily good for his age at following Lego instructions, but for something of this magnitude he's glad to have his big brother help out.

Over at Kari and Danny's, where we spent December 24th, there were so many Legos that each builder had his own designated area.

And in San Francisco, where the Lego supply is more limited, Jordan made a minimalist birthday artwork for Dale.