Travelingjenny

School was cancelled today, my office was closed, and Adam was given the opportunity to work from home. It didn't seem so serious at first, but when Grace opened the door to go outside shortly after 10:00 am, she said: "Now that's what I call a snowstorm!" She was right. We estimate that we got 15 inches today, and it was certainly a good day to stay at home. The girls and I played outside for over an hour this morning, shoveling, taking a walk, and making a village with Grace as the mayor (what a surprise!). This evening as it was getting dark, Adam took them outside again with flashlights and they made paths in the snow to several "snow angel houses." The girls had to be dragged inside at dinnertime. Snow days are fun.

After dinner, we were treated to a show put on by "real" cowgirls (apparently real cowgirls ride in their jammies). There was a singing horse, and another one that did somersaults and danced. Just the kind of entertainment one expects at $15 (and 0 cents) per ticket.

We stayed close to home today and decided to take a walk in our very own woods. It was a beautiful, sunny morning with a fresh dusting of snow. We wandered through the woods, over "bridges" built during the summer (above) and past evidence of beavers. Eventually, we ended up at the stream that runs through our property. Actually, we ended up on the stream, as it was frozen solid and perfect for "ice skating" in our boots. The girls loved this, and we followed the stream all the way to the road, then walked back through the woods to our house. We had a fun time exploring the ice, but I think perhaps the dogs had the most fun, running free through the snow. (We've discovered that Penny likes to stay pretty close by, and will come running — very quickly — when she hears us shake the treat bag.)

Just before the holidays, Adam and I discovered the joy of "words with friends" (i.e. Scrabble) on our iPhones. So in between conversations with family and playing in the snow and eating lots and lots of cookies, we would think up brilliant words to play against each other. Then I figured out that Grace and I could play a game against each other on my phone. And then we remembered that Grace had gotten a Scrabble Junior game for her birthday (Tess can play that one, too, by matching letters!). Oh my, the excitement! I even played a game of real, grownup Scrabble with Grace on New Year's Day! The Scrabble craze was so infectious that Tess sat and drew a Scrabble board one afternoon. (See "Scrabble" written backwards on the right-hand side? Precious.) Now, don't get me wrong, Uno is still number one at our house. But every once in a while, even the fiercest, most competitive Uno player (i.e. Grace) needs a break. And now that we've taught her how to use her brand-new dictionary to find words, well, Uno is getting a run for its money.