Glorious surprises and record breaking snows!

Where do I start?

This Christmas season has truly been one of surprises... more than I could have imagined. 

(yes this is the best picture we could manage... as they were all cutting up!  just seconds before heading back to the airport!)

First of all our eldest, Ian, surprised me and came home for the holidays!!!! Ian had called Chris at the beginning of November to say he had bought his plane ticket home but he couldn't tell anyone... including me.  So It came as quite the shock when I went to pick Chris up from the airport (he was out of town for a few days) to discover he wasn't the only one I was picking up from the airport!!   

The "school house" closed down so his training was suspended for two weeks... and what a glorious two weeks it was.  

Time spent here at home... a trip to visit with family for a belated Christmas... and then time back at home spending time together and with friends.

At the end of our 2 weeks we started keeping close tabs on the weather as a blizzard was being forecast.  Ian made the decision to fly back early and it was good thing he did as we ended up being snowed it.  A delay in his returning to class would have meant repeating the grueling 8 week course he was only 9 days shy of completing!  As disappointed as I was for him to leave I was even more pleased that he made the mature decision to return early. 

He has grown into be a fine young man!  A man of integrity with a sense of responsibility.  

It was truly a pleasure having him home!

Early Sunday morning the blizzard started in gently....

cloudy, snow filled skies, with little wind

the temperatures were still in the upper 20's with big fluffy flakes

and then it started to come down thicker.

By mid afternoon we already had about 8 inches and the temperatures were beginning to drop.

Monday morning brought temperatures of -14 and lower with winds blowing steady at 25 to 35 miles an hour... with windchill ratings of -40 and bright sunshine.  

 

Since the blizzard has left us housebound I've been playing around with old childhood favorites.... 

ice bubbles!!

(the simple tutorial to follow in another post!)

  

And here we have our sweet Miss Lily loving the snow... (okay she had been frolicking in the snow until she saw me out with the camera and came running...a quick closing of the door allowed me to get one and only one picture before we let her back in the house completely covered in snow... but her undercoat was completely and totally dry even though she had been rolling in the snow.)

crazy dog!