Only in Georgia

Our one day playing out in the snow reminded me of one of the reasons I am thankful I live in Georgia- while I do miss the snow from time to time, I can see how it would quickly get old. Especially with kids. As if the effort it took to bundle the kids to go out and play wasn't enough, the wet mess that was brought back inside afterwards was the straw that broke the camel's back. I felt like a bad mommy for not letting Drew go outside to play in the snow that still remained on the ground on Thursday. I tried to make myself feel better by reminding myself that we're going on a ski trip in a few weeks and that he'll get another chance to play in the snow then. But still, the opportunities to play in the snow are so few and far between, so when I saw that there were still patches of snow in our backyard even on Friday, and that the temperature was 50, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to go outside and play without having to get so bundled up, and with a lot less snow to trudge back inside!

James was not a fan of the snow, as you saw, so I waited until the little ones (yes, plural, we were graced with the company of Alyson yesterday, who was also not a fan of how the snow made her boots "dirty") were down for naps then Drew and I ventured out with only thin jackets and mittens. Thankfully the warm temperature meant packing snow so Drew and I built a snowman.

The tip of a carrot and some raisins

Then we had fun playing in the various remaining pockets of snow.

We were still a bit wet, but only our shoes and mittens needed to dry, instead of piles of jackets, pants, hats, scarves, etc.

Our backyard is shaded by our house most of the day and only gets a bit of afternoon sun, which has allowed the snow to stick around. Even today (Saturday) there is still a small amount of snow back there, though it's disappearing quickly. School was cancelled for me yet again on Friday; initially I was surprised, but my backyard reminded me that shady patches could still be dangerous. Sure enough, I ran a few errands yesterday and was surprised by just how much ice remained on some parts of the roads. I actually ended up being surprised instead that schools in the county I live in (I teach in a different county) were not cancelled yesterday after I saw a couple icy school parking lots and large icy turning lanes just outside of a nearby school. But still, all I could think was, "only in Georgia would we have temperatures below freezing for days followed by temperatures in the 50s!" It sure was fun to play in snow and not worry about being cold!