Frozen

Spencer and Logan walking on the ice in our front yard

We've had some freezing cold weather for the last few days. Every winter there are just a handful of days where it hits below freezing here. We knew there was a big freeze coming and that it would last longer than normal, lasting about a week. It's fun to have different weather here, so it was welcomed. However, I did feel bad for the kids when they had to wait for the bus and wait outside for school to start in weather that was in the mid-20s. We have plants that would definitely die during such cold weather, so I covered them up with random towels and blankets. It was actually pretty funny to drive around the neighborhood and see all these weird coverings on plants. The kids really enjoyed playing in the frozen ice before hopping on the bus in the mornings. When they'd come home from school, they'd also play in the ice. Spencer loved riding his bike through it, making a muddy mess. I also mentioned that if we had started at the beginning of the freeze, we could have filled up the basketball court and had an ice skating rink. Spencer tried to do that, but I wouldn't let him because we had the neighborhood basketball league playing at our house and I didn't think playing on ice would be very safe/productive/fun.

Last year before Jillian was born, Lindsey didn't take the garbage can to the curb. It was during a short freeze period. The overspray from the sprinklers that had sprayed on the pavers had frozen. I thought nothing of it and started to take the garbage out. I ended up slipping on the ice, falling on my pregnant side, scraping my forehead, and scuffing up my glasses. It really scared me. I spent that morning at the doctor's office doing a non-stress test to check on the baby. Everything was fine, but it was very scary.

One of the plants after the sprinklers had watered the grass

Rocks under a sheet of ice

Fog and Rain

We've been having some awesome weather lately - my favorite, rain! This morning I woke up to fog. I was so excited to wake up the kids just so they could see the fog. I don't think they've ever seen it before. The bus stop is just across the street, but I couldn't even see it from the house and watch the kids go to school because of the fog.

Whenever it rains, either the umbrellas or swimsuits come out. Today both came out. After getting the kids from the bus, they began jumping on the trampoline in their swimsuits. After their short-lived jumping, they came in the house and huddled around the fireplace in an attempt to warm up.

Freezing

I don't remember it ever getting so cold that we'd have water frozen at our house. When the kids were walking out to the bus this morning, I noticed some ice in our yard. It was all very exciting to us. The kids loved walking on the grass, feeling it crunch under their feet.

Along with the beautiful ice on the grass, came frozen plants. About 90% of the tropical plants around our pool froze. Because I did plant a winter garden, those winter vegetables didn't freeze. However, the basil and peppers completely froze.

An Awesome Storm

Every once in a while we have a fantastic storm come through the valley. This happened to be one of them. Rain has got to be my favorite type of weather. I love it! I love listening to it rain, drinking hot chocolate while it rains, and watching the kids enjoy playing in the rain.

This storm that came through was weird. It would rain really hard, then clear up, then rain again. It had been doing this off and on all morning. When it came time to get the kids from school, it was raining. So I left early so I could get a close parking spot so they wouldn't get soaked. By the time school was out, the rain had stopped and things were clearing up. This only meant that the rain had headed up north by my parents' house, just a few miles away. By the time we got there (we were headed that way for piano lessons, our usual Tuesday after school activity), there was total destruction! Awnings at the kids' old school were torn apart. Trees were knocked over, some breaking fences. Debris littered the road. Parking lots were full of water. We had a great time driving around to see all the destruction. Logan and Kaylen loved driving through Target's parking lot making huge waves. My parents weren't home, so we explored things while Lindsey and Spencer had their piano lessons. My parents were at someone's house in the ward, where they were helping to repair things that had been damaged. There had actually been a tree that got knocked over, blocking the entrance to the front door and garage of a house.

The hugest destroyed area we found was Reed Park. Giant eucalyptus trees had been uprooted. There were massive holes where the trees once stood. It was quite a site to see.

Weather

We have had some awesome rainy weather lately. I showed the kids the weather section in the newspaper, how the weather forecast is printed for the week. As a result, Kaylen and Logan (almost) daily read the newspaper to check the weather forecast. It is so fun to see their reactions when rain is forecasted. They get so excited for the possibility for rain. However, when the newspaper is wrong, Kaylen is quite ticked off about it not raining.

One of our traditions is to make cookies when it rains. One afternoon it was actually raining when the kids were supposed to be coming home from school. I threw some cookies in the oven and made hot chocolate. It was a fun thing to do on a rainy afternoon.

Holy Freakin' Thunder!!

Last night I was awakened by a huge thunderstorm that sat above my house (it felt like it) for at least 30 minutes. The huge, thunderous booms woke up Eric, Lindsey, Kaylen, and me. Lindsey and Kaylen ended up in my bedroom on the floor. Kaylen started in bed with me, but then I convinced her to lay on the floor with Lindsey. She never said a word, she just laid there with her eyes wide-opened. (I wonder what was she was thinking.)

I can't even describe how incredibly loud the thunder was. To me, it sounded like bombs were going off. I actually looked out the window for some smoke or some kind of mushroom cloud, as a result of a bomb.

Then the lightening started. It was incredibly bright. I could count to about 1 or 2, at times 5, between the lightening and the thunder. We were right in the middle of the storm. To calm my nerves, Eric mentioned that lightening always strikes the tallest thing. Boy, it's good we have a 2-story house! I wasn't scared, I was just afraid of our house being struck by lightening and catching on fire.

The boys slept right through it. I thought Logan would be the most scared. He was afraid of rain on his window on Sunday night. I called my parents in the morning, who live 1/2 a mile away, and they really didn't notice it during the night. A boy from the neighborhood stopped by our house this morning to talk about the storm. He said his windows got broken during the storm.

It was totally scary last night, but now, looking back, it seemed kind of exciting. Maybe I'm just sleep-deprived.