Disclaimer: I took over 500 photos today. I've narrowed down to 130 of my favorites. You get to see 33 of them. It took some work. ;)
Snow in Austin? What?!!! According to a friend of mine, it's been 20+ years since any snow has accumulated here.
Granted, I'm from IN. Snow in and of itself doesn't impress me too much unless it gets that gorgeous 2-3" coating at a minimum. However, it was fun to watch through my lens from the perspective of my two little ones who never have seen this much snow at home. Up north, yes, but it's more fun at home, I guess.
It was fun to watch it coming down pretty hard on and off all day. Andy loved watching it through the window.
Only about 1-2" actually stuck between bursts of freezing rain that would wash some away. Still, I do hope all my flowers that were enjoying the 70 degree plus weather of last week are forgiving.
Suzy was in awe at 8:00 am when it first began.
Andy wasn't so sure. In his defense, it was really just a mixture of freezing rain and snow. He wasn't so fond of all the cold and wet.
Suzy embraced it like a true Austin native.
Andy headed for the door.
We made a little "ice man".
He was cute with raisin eyes, pretzels, and a shred of carrot from some slaw mix. I used up my last carrot last week and forgot to put it on the list. Everyone around here was so excited. Snow/ice men EVERYWHERE. I seriously wonder if HEB ran out of carrots today.
He wasn't very big. But the dogs thought he was "yummy". Oops.
Suzy was mortified at first, but quickly distracted by the fun of writing with a stick.
After preschool, we joined Ben and Will for some sledding. It was comical to see
Austinites without sleds improvising. We saw cookie sheets (great idea, Cheryl), storage bins, laundry baskets, Fed Ex envelopes, and a few sleds from obvious non-natives. ;) Initially, Rob suggested the boogie boards. Suzy's teacher mentioned boxes. I went the box route. It was on top of the recycle bin and easy to reach.
Love, Love, Love this shot.
Not much snow, but enough to slide a little bit. Our neighborhood will be very muddy tomorrow.
When the bottom became soft and wet, we adapted. It actually improved our speed a bit. Suzy wiped some snow on it. She said it would make it faster.
This sequence makes me laugh. Andy's first sleigh ride.
Uh, Oh. A little back heavy, I guess.
Woah!
He LOVED it. Giggled the entire time.
Suzy enjoyed the extra speed as well.
I called Rob and he was able to get off work a little early. Heck, they had already shortened school and many businesses were letting employees off early. As a Hoosier, I thought it was gratefully crazy.
Schools are already delayed for tomorrow. In defense, we don't have snowplows and it really might get icy overnight. We have more (and higher) overpasses here as well.
We made an igloo.
We made snow..... um.... angels? Upside down angels?
And, of course, what is a snow day without
Smore's? My personal favorite part of the day.
After dinner, there was a little more snow on the ground so daddy ventured out to help build a better snow/ice man. Andy was hesitant.
Yeah, still not a fan of the cold.
He was happy to watch from afar with his warm weather bubbles.
It started out great. Then Suzy lost interest.
I suggested celery since we had no carrots. Rob said that was "very Austin". So, we went all out and made our snowman all "granola".
I hope you had as great a day as we did. We will forever remember the "big snow" of 2010.
If these "out takes" are any indication, it should be a very fun season for us. Ha!
Mike is such an easy "target". He gives a good reaction with razzing. So, he's one of the people I enjoy teasing. He was thrilled when I brought out "the hat".
His mom and dad flew down from Chicago. I had never met them and they were super sweet. 
Some of our other mutual friends were there and Katherine suggested that Mike try out our swing since he's lost something crazy like 50 lbs or something. I could not resist the photo opp.
He said I wasn't allowed to post it on Facebook. But, we all know I don't do Facebook. HA! We love you, Uncle Mike!
Here is my after shot using some of the techniques that Erin taught me. I lightened him up in the levels using just the middle triangle and masking out what I didn't want lightened. Then, I pulled the curves in a little, used Amy Rose's Taste the Ranibow, feel no pain dodging and burning, did an unsharp mask, and finished off with Cinnamon Rose clarity. Fun stuff!
Here is the SOOC file. (Straight Out Of Camera - I just feel very fancy using the big acronym. I won't tell you how long it took me to figure out that one. Ha!)
Only about 1-2" actually stuck between bursts of freezing rain that would wash some away. Still, I do hope all my flowers that were enjoying the 70 degree plus weather of last week are forgiving.
Suzy was in awe at 8:00 am when it first began.
Andy wasn't so sure. In his defense, it was really just a mixture of freezing rain and snow. He wasn't so fond of all the cold and wet. 
Suzy embraced it like a true Austin native.
Andy headed for the door.
We made a little "ice man".
He was cute with raisin eyes, pretzels, and a shred of carrot from some slaw mix. I used up my last carrot last week and forgot to put it on the list. Everyone around here was so excited. Snow/ice men EVERYWHERE. I seriously wonder if HEB ran out of carrots today. 
He wasn't very big. But the dogs thought he was "yummy". Oops.
Suzy was mortified at first, but quickly distracted by the fun of writing with a stick.
After preschool, we joined Ben and Will for some sledding. It was comical to see Austinites without sleds improvising. We saw cookie sheets (great idea, Cheryl), storage bins, laundry baskets, Fed Ex envelopes, and a few sleds from obvious non-natives. ;) Initially, Rob suggested the boogie boards. Suzy's teacher mentioned boxes. I went the box route. It was on top of the recycle bin and easy to reach.
Love, Love, Love this shot.
Not much snow, but enough to slide a little bit. Our neighborhood will be very muddy tomorrow.
When the bottom became soft and wet, we adapted. It actually improved our speed a bit. Suzy wiped some snow on it. She said it would make it faster. 
This sequence makes me laugh. Andy's first sleigh ride.
Uh, Oh. A little back heavy, I guess.
Woah!
He LOVED it. Giggled the entire time.
Suzy enjoyed the extra speed as well.
I called Rob and he was able to get off work a little early. Heck, they had already shortened school and many businesses were letting employees off early. As a Hoosier, I thought it was gratefully crazy. 
Schools are already delayed for tomorrow. In defense, we don't have snowplows and it really might get icy overnight. We have more (and higher) overpasses here as well.
We made snow..... um.... angels? Upside down angels?
And, of course, what is a snow day without Smore's? My personal favorite part of the day.
After dinner, there was a little more snow on the ground so daddy ventured out to help build a better snow/ice man. Andy was hesitant.
Yeah, still not a fan of the cold.
He was happy to watch from afar with his warm weather bubbles.
It started out great. Then Suzy lost interest.
I suggested celery since we had no carrots. Rob said that was "very Austin". So, we went all out and made our snowman all "granola".
I hope you had as great a day as we did. We will forever remember the "big snow" of 2010.
I copied the spice cans right from Diana. It was a favorite for Suzy. The domino is for Andy.
Andy loves pouring things and scooping.
He will dig a bit and bury his hand slightly. This is normal.
Suzy, however, attempts to bury her entire body. This, my non-OT friends, is a big ol' hint that I need to be more faithful with her brushing program. ;) Can you see a Tactile Sensory Seeker?
If you can't go head first...
Use your feet! This is why I place the bucket on a big ol' sheet. We all love this activity. So many concepts can be incorporated. Sorting, counting, taking turns, mixing, measuring, pouring, stereognosis, tactile stimulation, etc. I highly recommend it to other mommies, especially on these cold and rainy days.
