Durango Palmers: snow

Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts

Monday, January 16, 2012

Yup there's snow!

If you are friends on facebook with anyone from Durango you will know without a doubt that there is snow here today. It seems silly that so many people (myself included) would post something incredibly obvious to others but you have to understand that we haven't seen this much snow in a looong time. A really long time. Like a long time.

So. On the agenda today was definitely playing outside - and shoveling for me. Fun times. But a good work out! By the way, can I just tell you how entertaining it is getting a child with SPD ready to play outside? I put a glove on her and went to put the other one on and she started freaking out cause her hand was melting. You really need to put all the clothes on in 2.4 seconds or there will be tears...

Back to outside...I'm out there shoveling our long-ish driveway and the kids start yelling at me to come and see. So I go around back where the kids were playing and found this.

Kale had gotten a snowman kit for Christmas and the 3 of them (more Kale than the rest though) made this little guy. We shall call him Snowy (Kale's name for him). I thought it was pretty stinkin good for doing it themselves!

After they were done with Snowy they came inside and now my laundry room looks like winter threw up in it. Clothes everywhere and melted snow on the ground. Not to mention the 5 loads of laundry I've been plowing through this morning...*sigh*. BUT! They got to play outside and it was a wonderful break for all of us.

Then for lunch, as part of Kale's curriculum, we made Johnny Cakes. Something people did back when George Washington was alive. We're studying American history and loving it! And since we're in a lunch rut I decided to make these. I didn't care if they hated them.

All they are is corn meal, water and butter with a pinch of salt and sugar. Pretty bland but they tasted good - I thought - with more butter and maple syrup. Little corn pancakes! A lot like corn bread. Kate liked them and ate 2. Jack ate most of 1. And Kale had 2 bites and was done. Oh well. Aren't they lucky this isn't their main food staple? And aren't I lucky that I didn't have to grind the corn and then fry them over an open fire and use butter that I had churned?

Yes, yes I am lucky.

And that's our day. So far.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Oh yes we did!

We did the WWE haircut last night. The mullet/boy band/unloved child hair-do is gone. Although no matter what kinda hair this kid has I can't help but think he's stinkin' adorable (clearly an objective opinion :) )

Here's the before. In this shot all he knew was that he got candy (yes we bribe). By the time we were done he'd had M&Ms, singing, dancing, Diego on the iPod and lots of begging. Seriously. Mark is the entertainer and I'm the fast-as-I-possibly-can-head shaver. I think both of us have difficult jobs. The outcome of mine is just more obvious. Ya know, stray long hairs that kinda twang out to the side or straight up. Yes he has some but overall he'll live...and so will we.

I couldn't take an after picture last night because by the time we were done he was so wound up and mad at us (and also had a touch of a sugar rush) he wouldn't look at or smile at the camera. Today was slightly easier but you'll notice he still wouldn't look at me.

Before we went to the Chiropractor this morning Kate was playing with my iPod. Jack just had to get a closer look....

We finished up school this morning (at least the bulk of it) and I sent them out for recess. That's why I have a minute to blog then I'm headed to make lunch. I go from teacher to lunch lady in a matter of moments.

Oh we also went to Walmart yesterday to get a preschool school book for Kate and also some art projects for all our sanity. We came home with a clay art project. Tried it this morning. Jack tried eating it, Kate rolled it and played dolls with it, and Kale tried to make every animal on the box. He did pretty good.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Blood, showers and snow

I'm home today instead of being at church - where I'd like to be. But it's not all bad being here. I've got Kate and Jack and we've watched movies, cuddled, ate random food at random times, read books and played. Both of them weren't feeling real great last night so we decided that I would see how they were feeling when they got up this morning and then decide whether or not to take them to church. Kale could go in early with Mark in case we stayed home...which turned out to be a good idea since we are home...

I had every intention on heading to church by 1st service. Then I woke up to 4 more inches of snow. Mark and Kale were able to get out before it got too bad but it just kept snowing and snowing and snowing! I shoveled a bit while Jack was still sleeping in hopes of making enough of a dent to get out once he woke up but it didn't happen. It looked like I hadn't even been out there! And you can forget any real shoveling with the two of them. 4 inches doesn't sound like much, and really it isn't. But our driveway really is so weird! You have to hit it just right to make it out. And we don't own a snow-blower, a snow plow, a 4-wheel drive or a tank so it's hit or miss if we make it without a good shovel.

So I gave in and stayed home. Sad to not get to go to church but happy that I didn't get stuck in my driveway or worse yet, stuck on the side of the road on the way to church with two little ones. I really think that's much worse.

And it's fun seeing how Jack and Kate play together without Kale. Kate becomes the bossy older sibling but, as I type, is laughing and laughing with Jack as they are chasing each other around the house. I think Jack is mostly loving all the attention but occasionally gets smothered when there's too much attention.

Friday I had an appointment to give blood. I asked Mark if he wanted to go to and he, surprisingly, agreed. So we loaded up the family and went to the Methodist church to donate. And we'll never do it like that ever again. At least not while we have an almost 6yr old, and almost 4yr old and a very active 17 month old. It took a looooooong time :)

After we both donated we took the kids to lunch and very daringly went to Home Depot to check on the flooring for the bathroom, find a new toilet and get a tub surround. Kids did pretty well. We were lucky.

Came home exhausted. All of us. Took naps then headed to our small group. So nice but I was so stinkin' tired I could barely stand it. Giving blood apparently knocks it out of me. But that's ok, I saved 3 lives!

Saturday was devoted to installing the tub surround. Mission accomplished. Pictures of that to come later. Still no flooring. And because we have no floor we can not install the vanity/sink or the toilet. At least not without having to reinstall it later. So for now, we wait. Very impatiently.

And today...we were going to church...then we weren't....BUT we are planning on going to a Super Bowl party. Especially since my super awesome neighbor just came and plowed us out. I really don't know what we'd do without him. He just randomly blesses us right when we need it. So thankful for that!

And because my posts are uber boring without pictures (you don't have to tell me that - I already know) here are some pics I took after our mud-walk the other day. The kids and I got all snow-dressed up and went for a really fun walk in the mud. Jack loved it! He walked the whole way and stomped his feet in every puddle. Kale ran ahead and climbed snow banks and Kate was content to walk with me, stomp in puddles and run ahead. Mud is fun.

I caught him mid-jump!

He is learning to love the snow.

He was watching clouds.

She got cold so went inside. But she of course had to keep track of us.

That's not a tear it's a drop of snow. I promise.

I finally had to drag him inside because I was so cold. That was a first!

Proof that I was outside. Sorry. All I got was my eye :)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Snow fun

Snow much fun together.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Silly Saturday

I have to start off by saying that Mark is fine. I thought his back was tweaked, and it may have been, but I think it was more of a muscle spasm. He took some Tylenol, rested and felt much better. He shoveled a bit last night even. So we are all good here at the Palmer house.

Yesterday our good friends, the Randols, braved the weather and the roads in their mammoth Suburban and came and helped us shovel our monster driveway and texture our bathroom walls. It was so awesome seeing other humans and having a blast with friends.

Ryan, Sommer and I shoveled while Mark watched kids - and rested his back. We were robots!

After lunch we started on the bathroom while the big kids played and played in the snow. They built forts for 3 hours! It was so great to have other kids to play with. And it was so great to have people help us texture the bathroom. We cranked it out pretty quick. Now we're able to paint, put up the trim, switch out the lights and get the floor going. We are well on our way to completion! Whoohoo!

Here are some updated bathroom pictures.

Our drywall project.

This is where the sink and vanity will go.

Sommer and I texturing the walls.

Ryan. He likes to make messes. :)

Ryan and Sommer stayed and played a while. It was great fun to laugh and talk.

This morning we were expecting to see more snow but thankfully....it wasn't snowing!! So instead we took pictures of the craziness. It looks a lot like it did a couple years ago. Tunnels of snow.

The chute that is called our road. A very narrow way with high walls of snow. It has not been plowed by a big plow in a couple days. This trail is thanks to neighbors with trucks and plows.

Our house. Buried.

These fence posts are roughly 3 feet high.

I posted a picture yesterday of this same view. This time the driveway is visible thanks to the Randols.

The narrow trail to our front door.

Then Mark and I decided to have a little fun with the snow. He climbed out in the middle to show how deep it is.

Too tempting. Must jump.

Too much fun. Must jump again.

So we're enjoying the snow now. I don't mind the snow if we can get places and if we don't have to shovel it. Today was the perfect day for that :)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Storm Stories

Have you ever watched Storm Stories on the Weather Channel? Well I feel like I'm living in one...

It started Monday night. The first storm I mean. When we woke up Tuesday morning there was 6" on the ground. We shoveled and shoveled. Mark was able to get out of the driveway but got stuck on our road. The plow didn't come by until after noon. Mark stayed home and worked. But then the sun came out and the roads were drivable.

Until Wednesday...We woke up Wednesday morning with another 3 inches. Ok. No biggie. We shoveled that, got Mark on the road and everything was fine. It snowed off and on all day but it was doable/survivable.

Until Thursday...We woke up Thursday morning with another 3" or so. Mark was also fine getting to work on Thursday but getting home was another story. From the time I shoveled in the morning till about 3 that afternoon we got another 6" or so. Mark made it home about 3 but he was frazzled when he walked in the door. He had passed a jack-knifed semi on Farmington Hill, driven with a bunch of crazy people trying to make it home, and plowed through our unplowed street in his little Honda civic (with no clearance). He was done. But the snow was not. It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing.

We woke up this morning with another 6" or so. Hard to say exactly how much we've gotten total. I'm just guessing here (I know my math doesn't quite add up). But our fence posts, that are about 3 feet high, are almost completely covered. That's a lot of stinkin' snow. And it's still snowing!

Mark shoveled off part of the roof last night so that our furnace vent wouldn't be covered and we wouldn't wake up to a 55 degree house. It was great except that we woke up to a 55 degree house. After some troubleshooting we figured that the batteries on our programmable thermostat were dying. Of course they were. I mean why wouldn't they with 3 feet on the ground and really no way to get to a store anytime soon?! Thankfully we were able to steal some batteries from a remote control with enough juice to get us through until we can go to the store. How crazy is that though?

Mark's crashed on the couch now. He tweaked his back shoveling off the deck. I'm praying it's not a serious or longtime injury. I definitely know I can't keep up on the shoveling by myself. Poor guy. I hope the meds work!

This is our backyard. You can barely see our fence posts.