Snowfall

Yesterday afternoon as I was leaving an appointment, I noticed small tiny snowflakes were falling from the sky. We don't get snow here very often in Henderson. If there is snow in Vegas, it seems to fall everywhere in the valley, except our neighborhood. The snow never stopped here until long after I had gone to bed last night. By afternoon, the roads were completely snow covered. Aaron got invited to go "tubing" in the early evening, which he really enjoyed. Around dinner they made the announcement on the news, that all Clark County schools were cancelled for today. They haven't cancelled school for a "snow day" since 1979. The fact that school was closed here brought a little gentle "mocking" from some people that live in snow states.

I never thought I would see the day when two girls would be so upset that school was cancelled. But it was real. This week is student council winter week. They have spent a lot of effort in decorating the school in the "Candy land" theme and they had dress up days all week. Also today was Gator Gives, they were going to deliver Christmas presents that they had collected for children in need. This has always been one of Ariel's favorite events of the year. I was sorry that she was going to miss it her last year. We had to cancel our Young Women's party tonight which was kind of sad. I called the girls to tell them and actually left a message on one voice mail that our activity was cancelled because the weather outside was frightful. (I couldn't help myself.)

Our neighbor, Alysha, came over around 9:00 p.m. and asked if anyone wanted to build a snowman. Aaron, Megan, and Shea wanted to build one. Ariel does not like to be cold so she had to stay inside. They built a most excellent snowman. They made a huge bottom to the snowman and when they had finished the middle section, they could not get it lifted up onto the base. I would have helped, but I wasn't wearing any gloves. I think you are suppose to wear gloves when you handle snow. They struggled for quite some time, even with the four of them using all their strength, they were unable to pick it up. They finally had to break the middle section in half and put it back together once it was on the base. They asked me to drive to the store and buy a real long carrot...I thought about it for about a second... and then politely declined. So he had a short baby carrot nose. When they were done, I went out to take a look...they did a great job..."Buddy" was one of the best snowmen I had ever seen. He was a close second to the very best snowman ever made, his name was "Eddie." Then they had a snowball fight, I had to put an end to all their fun and drag them in at 11:00 because I wanted to go to bed.

This morning I strapped on my hiking boots and went for a walk. It was a "balmy" 36 degrees when I left the house, but the wind was blowing. So when you factor in the wind chill, it was really about 80 below. It is not every day that you get to walk in the snow in Vegas. I love the snow. I love the way it makes everything look clean and fresh. I love the crunching sound it makes under your feet and the sparkles it makes when the sun hits it. As I was walking, I thought I saw some deer hoof prints...or maybe they were just dog prints. I can't be sure. Our winter wonderland is starting to melt now, water is starting to pool in the streets where the snow use to be. I paused to visit "Buddy" next door. I tried to prepare the kids last night by telling them that the "pranksta gangsta's" might come in the night and knock over their snow friend, but suprisingly, he was still standing. His carrot nose, one eye and part of his smile and fallen to the ground in front of him, on account that he is beginning to melt. I carefully put them all back into place and picked up the broken broom that was laying on the ground and put it back on his skinny little arm. He is good for now. I will look back on this "snow day" with fondness for years to come.