Winter Storm Part I

Last Sunday, Feb. 15, we went to bed hoping for snow and to have Michael stay home from work for a fun day. When we woke up, nothing much had happened. Michael went to work like usual, but then texted me to say he'd be home at 12 and off at least half a day on Tuesday. He got home just in time for the freezing rain and sleet to kick into high gear. We had that icy mix all afternoon and into the evening, resulting in quite a bit of ice buildup. We spent the afternoon making Aunt Madeline cookies, playing golf in the living room and even playing outside in the ice in Paul's new rain boots.

A little golf course Michael set up.

We got these boots just in time! Thy have been perfect.

The ice was still mostly slush at this point. Perfect for running through!

Parking lot slush

All that playing in the cold weather called for chicken noodle soup for dinner.

By Tuesday morning, everything was completely frozen. The slush was thick, slick ice. It was beautiful to look at but also dangerous. Eventually, Michael's work decided to close for Tuesday all day as well. We were happy to have him home, and I definitely would have worried if he'd had to drive in all that ice.

Ice-coated trees

Tennis court/skating rink

Slipping and sliding! He was probably asking for help while I stood by and took this picture. :)

Kicked the soccer ball around a bit.

Icicle

Playing with the icicles. Really concentrating, too!

Check out this big icicle! Apparently I love icicles.

I'm not the only one! Except I'm not sure about the way he's holding it...

Ice-covered bushes

Icicles on an umbrella

Lots of fallen branches everywhere. Luckily no big ones.

I picked off icicles for Paul to play with until he broke it 30 seconds later and asked for another.

Beautiful!

At this point we were fully enjoying the winter weather! Little did we know it would drag on for what felt like a very long time, although it was really only a couple weeks.