The Winter that was...

We've had 89 inches of snow this season. So far. That's just a few inches shy of the record for Billings. But in this part of the country, life goes on as usual, and honestly I'm starting to appreciate that.

 

The kids think it's awesome that the snow is so deep. They love trudging through it, they love playing in it. I went to lunch with Claire at school and saw how much fun they had at recess, sliding down hills, building snowmen, and having snowball fights. I appreciate that the schools don't close, and they don't force the kids to stay indoors. They have fun with it.

Some days it was too cold to play in the snow. There were a few days in a row of -10 to -20 temps, and that's just bitter. But we  stayed busy with playdates, crafts, mani-pedis, dance parties, and lots of movie nights.

Getting ready for Valentines Day. Note to self: don't let your daughters see Pinterest.

 

This was also the winter of the Sochi Olympics...which we barely paid attention to... but Scarlett's preschool had an "Olympics Day" at the ice rink. They did skating and bobsledding, and other silly games with her friends on the ice. Even the kids at preschool play in the snow every day, when they aren't going on field trips like this.

 

Some more pics from our neighborhood. We were very very tempted to buy a snowblower, but they were so dang expensive, so every weekend when Josh was home he was shoveling. He even recruited the girls to help push the snow aside with brooms!

 

But with Josh gone most of the week, we just couldn't keep up with the snow. Most days our front walkway looked like this, and I would rather deal with some snow in my house than go out and shovel it myself. But to our surprise, we had neighbors step in on multiple occasions and come clear our driveway. Sometimes it was our next door neighbor with his snowblower, sometimes it was one of the teenage boys on his 4wheeler with a snowplow attachment. Sometimes it was a friend from church who knew that Josh was gone. We are so grateful. We are humbled by the service. We are so blessed to live where we are and see so many people serving eachother.

So, as tempting as it is to complain about this winter, it's also been a fun adventure. And it really is beautiful. I'll be able to put up with the snow if it means looking outside and seeing my kids sledding in the backyard, or seeing Josh throw the girls into piles of snow. It's all worth it. And I know it won't last forever....right?