Christmas Break 2019 and Seattle Snow 2020

Some how, we have gotten to mid January and I'm not quite sure how, until I stop and think about all of the things we've been up to since the last time I wrote a blog post.

The Wednesday before their Christmas break started, the kids participated in their school's annual Christmas concert. Both kids did a fantastic job and had so much fun. Annika sang with her 6th grade class, with the entire middle school, and as part of the student choir. Conor sang with his 4th grade class and as part of the student choir; he also played drums as during the beginning band's performances. 

Once Christmas break began, we (very happily) eased up on life's accelerator pedal and sloooooowed way down. I had to burn time off from work, so was home with the kids throughout their entire break. Eric's office closed from Christmas Eve until January 2nd. It was marvelous to have all of us home and able to catch our collective breath. We played countless games and Conor even took up playing cribbage! (Yes, he is VERY proud to let everyone know that he not only learned how to play but skunked me ... LEGIT skunked me)

You KNOW we did plenty of baking and cookie-based activities over the break. There are a few required cookies that MUST make an appearance to celebrate Christmas: shortbread (I make those soon after Halloween so they can season .. easy one!), krumkake (Norwegian cookies that I learned how to make from Eric's mom waaaaaaay back in the day), pizzelles (a family tradition from my childhood), sugar cookies, and spritz cookies. (No shortage of sweets, let me tell you!!)

Just to make sure we had some contact with the outside world (and I forgot to get it done earlier in the fall), I got the kids in for their annual eye exams. Annika's Rx didn't change, so her existing reading glasses were still good to use. Conor was told he'd benefit from reading glasses, so he picked out some frames (strong, flexible ones geared for kids) and we got them ordered.

Christmas was chaotic, energetic, and so much fun! On Christmas Eve, the kids were altar servers at mass. While we were there, Eric made dinner (this year, it was breakfast sliders) ... because he's a rock star! We were even treated with some extended family members (Anna and Robert) joining us for dinner. Win!! 

Christmas morning was just the four of us. We opened stockings and presents, and then gobbled up the traditional Olson family Christmas Breakfast casserole. (SO GOOD!) Later in the morning, Eric's parents came over for part 2 of Christmas presents and game times. A little after noon, we were joined by my brother (Troy), sister-in-law (Staci), and niece (Kat), as well as Eric's best friend (Dave) for more celebrating and a big family dinner. We were all in a food coma by the end of dinner, but in a good way!

For New Year's Eve, we were invited by another CKS family to ring in the East Coast new year, which was lovely and not too late! Three CKS families were there (including ours) and the kids were practically bouncing off of the walls with their play and bubbling energy. Together, we said goodbye to 2019 and hello to 2020!

Each year, the Olson Four attend the Woodland Park Zoo's WildLights display. We've learned a few things over the years - avoid going on a weekend, and going after Christmas helps reduce the crowd factor. We even managed to avoid getting rained on.... WIN! (During our traditional Zeek's Pizza dinner, we told the kids about our plans to visit Hawaii later this year. They could hardly believe it! We toyed with the idea of not telling them until closer to the trip, but thought they're old enough that they might want a voice in planning some of our activities. Now they are anxiously awaiting .... the long wait has begun!)

As January progressed, we started seeing snowflakes appear on our weather forecast app. We have learned after many years of snow being predicted and never showing up that holding our breath for a true snowfall is a fool's errand. This year, the forecast was (eventually) right. A few of the snowflake days didn't produce anything but disappointment, but Mother Nature eventually came through.

Annika spent the better part of two days playing in the snow with her friend Maddy (notice a lack of photos of Annika in the snow - we barely saw her!). Conor enjoyed some R&R at home, but did decide to do a little manual labor to earn some spending money for Hawaii. (Smart kid!)

Little did we know that our biggest snow fan would be Huck! He LOVED the snow and wanted to be in it (usually eating it) all of the time. We made him come inside to thaw every so often and he was anything but a fan of that approach. Whenever we'd bring him inside, he'd sit by the door looking at the snow and whining asking to go back out into it. He ate the snow, chased snowballs, laid in the snow (while eating the snow), and dug in the snow. We have a snow pup!

The kids' school was closed Monday and Tuesday, and had a 2-hour delayed start yesterday. After one last mini snow "blizzard" yesterday afternoon, our temps are now on the rise and most of the snow has melted. Much to our kids' chagrin this morning, they went to school on time and without nearly enough snow on the ground for their liking.

February Snow

I've said a few times this winter that I doubted we'd get any snow. If we don't see a single flake by the end of January, we typically don't see snow. I was SO confident in this theory that I planted pansies in our front yard last week. Oh what a fool I was!

See my pretty flowers? So springy!!

Last weekend, we got hit with a snow storm that dropped about 4 1/2 inches of snow in our yard and covered my pretty pansies so there was nothing to see by white mounts. The temps plummeted, causing icy road conditions and the snow to remain. We also got some decent winds that brought down tree branches and limbs.

School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, so the kids were basically over the moon. (Annika's enthusiasm was diminished when she came to the realization ... with our "mean parent" help ... that playing in the snow at the neighbor's house with a broken arm wasn't the best idea. She wound up being invited to her friend Maddy's house Monday afternoon to watch a movie and drink hot cocoa, so all was right again with the world. Conor spent a few hours at the neighbor's house bopping between playing in the snow and playing Monopoly inside. He loved having Valeria to himself and it sounds like they had a fabulous time together.)

Eric and I worked from home on Monday. I worked from home on Tuesday, too, while he braved the roads to show his face at the office; fortunately, he made it back and forth without incident (whew!).

The kids had a 2-hour delay Wed and Thur.... the question is what will Friday bring? If you as a weather forecaster, MORE SNOW! If the forecasts are right, we're in for a real doozy of a storm. (And if the lines at the grocery store last night were any indication, people were paying attention to the predictions.) Stay tuned!

Snowy Weekend Getaway

A number of weeks ago, my brother and his family suggested we plan a weekend getaway together in the mountains. A fun chance to get away, hang out, and play in the snow (assuming the weather cooperated). For the record, BOY! Did the weather cooperate!

Eric, the kids, and I packed up the car Saturday morning and trekked east on I-90 to the cabin my brother's family had rented for 3 days. (We caught the tail end of their long weekend.) The drive was easy, even though Snoqualmie Pass was rather snowy and there were some crazy semi drivers along the route.

Much of the weekend was spent playing in or admiring the snow... sometimes both at the same time! The kids had snowball fights, built one heck of an igloo, and made sure to construct quite the snowman in our time at the cabin. By the time it was getting dark yesterday, the kids were pink-cheeked, rather wet, quite tired, and smiling from ear to ear!

Annika cuddling up with a snowball

Annika and Ian planning out their next snow-based project

Digging, digging, digging

Yup! Pretty sure he's having fun!

I kid you not - he tried to bury her alive.
Their mom is NO fun and put an end to that without any further discussion. (I suck!)

Even Buca got in on the snow action!

Constructing the igloo

Yup - there's a little snow out there

Conor the igloo model

That's MR. Snowman to you!

While the younger set took advantage of the wonderful snow outside, we older folks enjoyed catching up and even pulled out some cards and poker chips for a bit of 5 Card Draw. Thank goodness we had Internet access, because we needed cheat sheets to remember which hands were better than the others. When then kids weren't outside in the elements, they busied themselves inside playing games, watching movies, and enjoying a slower pace of life. Catching your breath is critical now and then!

Cousins playing video games together

Poker party!

Good buddies!

Kat says "You kids have fun in the snow...
I'm going to stay inside where it is warm and watch The Sound of Music!"

Troy making Sunday morning pancakes

We wrapped up our fun day with a wonderful dinner and then family movie night. We all curled up on a couch or chair with a loved one (or more!), snuggled up under blankets, and had fun just being together... often jumping out of our skin at the loud crashing sound the snow made whenever it slid off of the roof. (Quite the experience!) Aside from those crashing moments, the snow was quiet and tranquil ... and plentiful!

Before we headed home this morning (amid quite a snowfall!), the kids and Eric headed back outside for a little more snow fun before returning to civilization. What's the point of being in the mountains if you don't get as much snow time as possible?? Conor and Ian even invented a new game - Snow Shovel Ball! (See video below for demonstration) The kids also realized that the igloo they built the day before was structurally sound enough to double as a small sledding hill. Bonus!!!

White Stuff

We Seattle residents tend to be very skeptical when the weather forecasters predict snow for our area. We've been burned too many times to have much faith in the fluffy white stuff actually visiting our neck of the woods.

When we were at Eric's parents' house for Thanksgiving (that blog post is still pending... sorry for the delay), we heard that we might get snow. Naturally, Annika and Conor were thrilled about the news. Eric and I tried as much as we could to let the kids down easy and explain that it is very hard to predict the weather for our area because of so many factors... two mountain ranges, nearby saltwater, wind from Canada and the Pacific, convergence zones galore, etc. Of course, we didn't want to crush their childhood optimism (we'll let the weatherman do that), but wanted to warn them as kindly as possible that the reality was snow probably wouldn't happen.

OF COURSE, Mother Nature had to prove to our children that their parents have no clue what they're talking about.

Saturday morning, we awoke to a lovely blanket of the predicted snow, and the kiddos could hardly wait to get out into it. Understanding the pattern of quick snow, quick melt that we often have, we understood their excitement and didn't do much of "not quite now" dissuading. We did, however, (being the cruel parents that we are) require them to get out of their PJs and put on proper snow attire before going out to play. (I know, we are jerks through and through.) ;)

The snow was really dry... not at all good for snowballs, but that didn't stop the kids from having a marvelous time throwing it at each other, making snow angels, eating it (much to their mother's chagrin), and running around like the crazy people they are known to be. Shockingly, our cold snap lasted a few days and we still have a few spots of snow on roofs and in shadowy patches of yards around the neighborhood. Not enough to play in, but enough to make things look pretty.

How does the snow taste, Conor?

Why do we bother buying groceries? Our kids obviously prefer eating snow!

Conor making it snow

Snow angels

Annika making it snow

Gotcha!

Mr. Peek-a-boo

Annika throwing a snowball at me

Tubing Fun at Snoqualmie Pass

Due to a race meet, Annika and Conor weren't scheduled to have swim lessons yesterday, so Eric and I decided to take them to Snoqualmie to go innertubing instead.

We pre-purchased our passes for the first session (there are a few two-hour sessions each weekend day to choose from ... a really impressive system, we had to say by the end of the experience!) The benefit of the sessions approach is the pass' tubing area is never overrun with people. The entire thing was well organized and all of the tubers were well mannered ... no crazy people running us over or anything. Can't complain about that!

The kids knew we were going on an adventure, but didn't know any of the details. As we got close to the mountains and started seeing snow, Annika began lamenting how she would LOVE to be able to play in so much snow. Eric and I glanced at each other and shared knowing looks/smirks. As we approached our exit, Eric announced that maybe we should pull the car over and just look at the snow from inside the car, because we didn't have our mittens... darn it! (smirk, smirk).  Soon after that, we announced that we really DID have our snow clothes and were going to play in the snow for a few hours. The kids were thrilled!

Gorgeous landscapes all around

Unfortunately, Conor's snow mittens were left at school Friday afternoon, so I dropped off Eric and the kids and then drove to the mail lodge to buy Conor some snow mittens. The up note was I got to use a real bathroom instead of the porta-potties that were at the tubing area. (Thank goodness for small blessings!) Considering how much snow was falling (the pass closed later in the day due to the large amount of falling snow), how wet we expected to get, and how windy it was, we know the knit gloves we got as a "at least we have these if we don't find anything up at the pass" in North Bend weren't going to cut it. We paid more than we would have liked, but Conor avoiding frostbite seemed the responsible thing to do. ;)

Annika waiting for our snowy adventure fun to get started

Soon enough, though, we were tromping through the snow toward the huge pile of innertubes.

Tube huntin'

Eric and his prize-winning tube

Conor in his tube

Annika ready to go!

We picked out two prime ones, loaded the kids into them, and then proceeded to hike up the hill.... mentally scoffing at the wimps who bothered to use the motorized tow line. About 2/3 of the way up the hill, amidst our huffing and puffing, we realized those people were really smart!! Dragging a tube filled with a 40-ish pound child up a rather steep slope was good exercise, but not the best choice for having our energy last for the full 2 hours. (Let's just say, we quickly adopted a love for the tow line!!)

Eric hauling Annika up the hill

Oh, bless you, inventors of the motoroized tow line!

We decided on a lane and buddied up on our tubes. Eric and Annika were on one tube while Conor and I shared another tube. Eric and Annika were off to the races. As they tubed down the hill, we could hear them whoop and "wooo hooooo" down the hill. As we approached the launching point, Conor told me he was "a little scared"; after reassuring him that I would be right there with him, he was willing to give tubing a try. After our trip down the hill, I asked him what he thought; he LOVED it and wanted his own tube... none of this "mom's slowing me down" nonsense.

Catching snowflakes

We made countless trips up (thank you, tow line) and down the hill. The kids had smiles that wouldn't stop ... in hindsight, it might have been more due to their faces having frozen that way than enjoyment, but we'll still take it!

My snowy selfie

 

Conor and Mama before our first run down the hill

Eric and me at the top of the hill

The Frozen Olsons

Annika zooming down the hill

Conor, speed tuber, going for the gold

Eric showing us how it is really done!

My turn!

During our last run, the kids decided they wanted to go first (instead of our usual parent, child, child, parent approach). We instructed them to get out of their tubes as soon as they stopped and to start pulling their tubes away from the lane. Annika did great, but got distracted with the snow (shocker). Conor did great, too, except for when he decided to walk toward me (mind you, I was flying down the hill on my tube by this point) instead of away from the tubing lane. As I propelled toward him, I frantically waved my arm and shouted for him to move out of the way. Oh, I wish I had a bird's eye view of the next second or two. I dug my toes into the snow to slow down, but wan't able to slow down enough to avoid colliding with Conor. I completely upended him ... very cartoon style! The only thing we were missing was the "Vwoop" sound as Conor's legs got pushed out from under him by my tube. Fortunately, he was fine! I asked him why he ran toward me instead of away. His reply? "I was sad that none of my family was there with me." I said, "But Annika was right behind you." "Oh. I didn't see her." Well, OK then. :)

Before we knew it, the tow line was shut off and it was time for our tubing adventure to end. Considering how much fun we'd had, I expected the kids to put up more of a fuss about having to leave, but I think fatigue, cold, and hunger overwhelmed the urge to pitch a fit about leaving. Personally, I felt like Donkey in the movie "Shrek" ... "Let's do THAT AGAIN!!"