Snowed in

We went to the temple on Saturday to be with my cousin as she went through for the first time. We drove both of our cars to my parents' house (which is on the way to the temple) and dropped off Joshua and one of the cars and Adam and I and my mom drove in the other car the rest of the way to the temple. The session was very nice and it was great to be in the temple with lots of family around. Adam had to take off soon after the session was over to make it back to Puyallup/Graham for his shift at Papa John's, so my mom and I got a ride back to my parents' house with my brother and his wife. We spent the rest of the afternoon making Christmas goodies that have become traditions over the years. I make church windows, Kevin makes white chocolate candy that my Grandma Holmes used to make, my mom and I make toffee and peanut brittle, and this year Brandie made fudge.

While all this was going on in the kitchen, it started snowing outside. And it didn't really stop until Monday mid-morning. By the time we were done making goodies, the snow had already accumulated on the roads and freeways. Mind you, there was already packed snow on the residential roads left over from the last snow storm we had a couple days earlier. Since Adam had taken the four-wheel-drive-capable Jeep for delivering pizzas in the hazardous residential streets, I wasn't willing to venture out on the roads to try and go home in our little Corolla. So we had a slumber party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kevin and Brandie had come prepared to stay the night, since the weather forcasts had predicted this huge snow storm. I wasn't so prepared, but oh well. Joshua and I made do with what we had. The snow kept falling on Sunday, and since Adam had the Jeep, I convinced him to come to us since I didn't think the Corolla was going to take us to him any time soon. He packed some things for us and joined the slumber party. The kids all had fun playing together, and the adults had fun playing board games after the kids went to bed.

On Monday it finally stopped snowing and we measured 9 inches of snow out in the back yard. Kevin was excited to take his kids sledding on the hills at the elementary school up the street. Joshua borrowed Ryan's boots and heavy coat and we went out to see how deep the snow was.



Yeah, it was deep enough that he couldn't really walk around in it at all. He wasn't enjoying the snow very much. I think he got snow in his boots and his feet were cold.



Adam decided to shovel off the front porch. What a nice son-in-law.

After Kevin and the kids came back from sledding, we all had lunch and then the girls wanted to go make snowmen in the backyard. Kevin went out to help them and they also convinced Grandma to come out and help, too.



The Daddy snowman is completed!



Then they set about making the rest of the family.



Brandie joked that this was going to be their Christmas card picture next year: Brooklynn, Kevin, and Brandie in the back row, with Ryan and Taylor in the front row.



Adam started making a snowman, but it looked more like a tower, so he turned it into a Christmas tree. He sprinkled green Jell-O on the sides and spread mustard on the star.



Now my parents will have a family of snowmen and a snow tree to look at out their kitchen window for the next couple of weeks.


On Monday afternoon, the freeways were clear and we decided it was time to try and venture home. We didn't have any problems getting out of the neighborhood (I was in the Jeep and Adam was able to convince the Corolla that it could make it on the slick compacted snow), and we made it home safe and sound. All in all, it was a fun weekend. If we had to get snowed in, I'm sure glad we were able to be with family. It was a great way to start the Christmas week: making goodies, playing games, watching the snow fall, and being with family!