Snow day

There was talk for at least a full week prior to this storm about how intense it was going to be.  It was not nearly as much snow as some of our previous storms, but it was very wet and heavy - enough so that we lost power from about 8 am Wednesday morning until 2 am Thursday morning. 

It was also really windy and just generally unpleasant outside most of Wednesday morning.  Between that and the inability to quickly dry our clothes, we waited until late afternoon to play outside.  We did build a pretty solid "igloo" while we were out though (it had high walls and a covered entry, but was more of an open air igloo...).

There were a lot of trees snapping and cracking under the weight of the wet snow, so we stayed in the yard and didn't venture out for sledding. 

It was starting to get cool in the house by Wednesday evening, so we all camped out in the family room, where the fireplace had been on all day.  The boys sure thought it was a grand adventure!

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The skies were clear the next day, and the snow had a nice thin ice layer on top to make it great for some fast sledding in the morning.  By the afternoon, everything was pretty sloppy.

Our neighborhood roads were well-cleared by Friday, but there were still a lot of dangerous rural roads, many downed trees, and thousands without power.  (We found out later that some friends didn't get power back until Sunday; others in the area were out until Tuesday morning!)  We'd been in OKC Monday; the kids had school on Tuesday, and then we had snow days the rest of the week.  That's the kind of school week I like to see!

Tonight

This is one of the new favorite songs around here this year.  I love the singing, but I also love that they're playing together so peacefully.  After a 4-day weekend (in Oklahoma), 1 day of school, and a 5-day weekend (snow days), I'm generally impressed with their ability to be be buddies most of the time!

OKC - Miscellaneous

Brady demonstrating the incorrect usage of a rollaway bed:

Fun cousins!  Brady and Cade really bonded.  Brady loved having a same-aged cousin like Rudy has with Cooper.  

After dinner (at the restaurant where Nana and Popsie had one of their first dates!):

Just hanging out - at Roger's house, at the pool, and at the hotel...

OKC - National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

The extended family all traveled to Oklahoma City for Poppy's 90th birthday party.  We were the first in Popsie's family to arrive, so we headed to the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, which was a great way to spend a cold and windy afternoon.  We especially liked the exhibit about rodeos and were amazed at some of the crazy events people actually participate in!

This isn't supposed to be a Nittany Lion, but we sure thought it looked like one!

 

He actually looks like a cowboy!

 Admiring some of the 3000+ types of barbed wire on display.  Who knew?

OKC - Bricktown

Much of the extended family left Sunday morning, so we had time for brunch with Poppy Sunday morning and Bricktown with Nana, Popsie, Kelly, Dan, and Cooper that afternoon.  We found a greenhouse with exotic tropical plants and a fun playground for the kids:

Sour faces after eating Uncle Dan's warheads:

OKC Golden Corral

We spent a lot of time at the Golden Corral in Oklahoma City!  That was where Poppy wanted to have his 90th birthday party, and where we had lunch with him the next day as well.   I think we counted over 70 people in attendance at his birthday party (not including the Golden Corral employees, who definitely count as his friends!); something like all but 3 of his relatives were in attendance!

Tony's piece of the family celebration:

Bouncy ball test facility.  Poppy wanted to make sure they all worked :)