For most people, snow is a natural consequence (I can choose that word right?!) of the winter season…except if you live in Arizona and you never see snow. Ever. Bennett had a school unit on snow and he was blown away from all the information. We’ve shown him pictures, but that does little on a 5 year old mind. Two weeks ago, we had a week of rainstorms. In the winter, if we’re getting rain, chances are there is snow falling in the mountains – just over an hour away. On a whim, we decided to spend a Saturday in search of snow. Surprisingly, we had all the snow gear for the whole family – top to bottom – aside from two pairs of kids snow boots which we were able to borrow.
Just 40 minutes from home, we were crossing a mountain pass and the rain that had been pelting our car was replaced with pretty snow falling from the sky. Bennett was freaking out in the backseat with excitement watching the snow fall from the sky. It’s was starting to accumulate on the road and he could hardly contain himself. He wanted to stop right then and there and enjoy the dusting. We promised we’d fine better snow. It was amusing to hear him jabbering in the back about all the snow and this was great snow to play in, why aren’t we stopping.
The further we drove up the mountain, the more snow we found. We pulled off on a small road and found a small clearing (It was really an utility road, but with enough snow anything looks like a clearing!)
I had forgotten what it was like getting kids in snow gear – it is a task that takes love and perseverance – and we were doing it in a car. A couple of our kids had never worn gloves before and it took 10 minutes to help them get gloves on. By the time all the kids were dressed and in the snow, both Steve and I were sweating and Briggs was crying!
Here are some of the highlights/lowlights
• There was so much snow – so much – our kids had a lot of fun
• Hunter really liked throwing snowballs. He really liked throwing snowballs at his siblings. And even more so tried aiming for their heads – his aim is good. He did not like it when the tables were turned and he took one in the head.
• Steve helped the kids with a crazy fun sledding hill.
• Cannon wasn’t sure what to think at first – it was hard for him to walk since the snow was up to his thigh. He was much happier when he played from the sled.
• The snow was fresh and our kids couldn’t keep the snow out of their mouths. Luckily, there was no yellow snow in sight.
• We learned kids love to take off their gloves for no apparent reason and then struggle to get them back on themselves.
• There was a lot of snow tackling
• The sledding hill was great until someone went off the path which created a new path right into a tree. No matter how many times we repaired the course, the damage had been done. That’s coming back at the kids as a life lesson down the road.
• Briggs didn’t like the snow and I’m wondering why it didn’t cross our mind to leave him back with a friend. We thought fun family activity – take the family. We’ll think twice next time.
• It wasn’t very cold which is ideal for a fair weather snow fan like myself. The snow in the trees started to melt and drop large piles of snow. We learned quickly to not stand underneath the “raining” trees.
As is true in most events – all good things must come to an end – we might have missed our window by a solid 15 minutes. We had a good solid couple hours and as we started wrapping it up it all started to fall apart. Kids were angry. Kids were frustrated. Kids were hungry. Kids were kids. We couldn’t get them out of their clothes fast enough.
As we walked back to the car, Cannon insisted he take off his gloves. Which he did, then lost his balance and his hands fell right into the snow. The world came to a screeching halt. We got him to the car kicking and screaming.
And even with all the drama of walking the 50 feet to the car – I got a group shot. Bennett was already stripping his snow gear off. But for just a brief moment amongst the tiredness we captured this picture. Just goes to show you can fake anything!
We really did have an amazing time (If you subtract the last 15 minutes which we seem to do for every family event. The last 15 just get you every time!) . The kids loved our mountain snow adventure and are anxiously awaiting more time in the snow.
