Proud Dad / Happy Husband

And Now Some More Snow

2010-02-06T16:36:14Z

Late yesterday afternoon, the snow did turn into rain/sleet, through the overnight hours. That made for a nice slushy mess on the driveway and front walkway. The wind also picked up, rattling the outside vent for the fireplace many times.

However, shortly after sunrise, it all changed back to snow. And it’s really starting to come down now, particularly with the strong wind continuing. The kids want to get out in it, but with the wind really blowing, we’re not going to go our right now.

Your current viewer does not support iFrames - try a standard browser or opening the main blog @ http://www.prouddadhappyhusband.com/ to view the picture album.

The rain did much to wash out much of the snow from yesterday, but the weather forecast says today’s snow should accumulate. That should make for lots of fun tomorrow.

Here Comes The Snow

2010-02-05T17:20:22Z

Channeling a little Beatles there…

So, I know Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this year, presaging 6 more weeks of winter, but these snow storms we’re getting? This is our 4th significant snowfall this winter season, so I guess we should be used to it by now.

It has been snowing since around 8am this morning, without any of the sleet they were predicting, and the thick flakes started shortly after 9am. It hasn’t been accumulating on the roads yet, but it is starting to fill in on the ground. School was canceled this morning for Will, as I guess they didn’t even want to risk a half-day and then delivering kids home in the snow. As you can see from the picture, it was probably a good idea, as the western half of the county is probably getting it worse than we are here.

But that means Will only had 1 day of school this week, and that one started 2 hours late. And how many days will we lose next week after this storm? I feel makeup days coming on.

This one isn’t predicted to be too bad — less than a foot of snow. But I know my parents and one sister living in NoVA are going to get it pretty badly. Best of luck to those farther north and west.

Out Into The Snow

2010-01-31T19:44:22Z

Well, the snowfall ended about dinnertime last night, though the wind continued to blow. What was the final snowfall? Hard to say, as I didn’t measure last night. But when I went this morning to start shoveling things off, we had over 12 inches on the ground. That’s about the same as the snowstorm in December.

The boys still had some fun stomping through the deeper snow this morning, though it was a bit intimidating at times for Sean and Daniel. It was deep enough to definitely drop some snow down into my boots when I had to wander out into it. The boys and Kellie helped with some of the snow shoveling, though help may be a bit strong of a word for what the twins did. A video in the picture album below shows you how they helped there.

Your current viewer does not support iFrames - try a standard browser or opening the main blog @ http://www.prouddadhappyhusband.com/ to view the picture album.

(I’m trying out a new photo album style. This one allows YouTube videos to be played within the slide show. Let me know what you think.)

The sun continues to shine today, even if the temperature is barely above freezing. The driveway, cars, and sidewalk are nicely cleared and melted, but the neighborhood roads still await a plowing. School for tomorrow has already been canceled. This is actually the first canceled school day of the year, as the last snowfall arrived after winter break started. I’m guessing Kellie and I won’t get canceled work days, however.

Another Big One

2010-01-30T19:26:20Z

Yup, we’re getting socked by another snowstorm this winter. This is our third significant snow, though only the second one I’d call major. But having two major snowfalls in Richmond in one winter is out of the ordinary. The snow started overnight, but was relatively light. However, shortly after 8am, the intensity kicked up, and it has not let up since. In fact, it may be snowing even harder now, with more wind, too.

We ventured out into the snow around 10am this morning, and we already had 5 inches of snow at that point. The kids had fun stomping around in the snow — even Sean and Daniel stepped right into it. I shoveled the driveway off for a first cut, knowing more would come later, and the kids had fun wiping snow off the cars. They had fun catching snowflakes on the tongue. Unfortunately, this snow is fine and powdery, not good enough for snowballs or snowmen. But the kids were out in the snow for almost 45 minutes, enough to get just wet enough.

Your current viewer does not support iFrames - try a standard browser or opening the main blog @ http://www.prouddadhappyhusband.com/.

As I write this entry, not quite 4 hours after coming inside, I can barely see any evidence of what I shoveled on the front walkway. We’ve had that much more snow fall and get blown around. We also cannot see any tracks in the yard where Kellie and the kids walked around. And this storm isn’t over yet. Total snowfall could be interesting for this one.

Yet Another Snow

2010-01-19T03:29:26Z

Wow, I am so far behind in my notes, it’s not funny. Let’s see what kind of stuff I can get out during January. Not sure how much I’ll catch up, but I will certainly try.

Like the fact that we had another dusting of snow this winter. This one occurred just over a week ago, on January 8th. This was 3 weeks after the previous snow — AND WE STILL HAD SNOW LEFT FROM THAT PREVIOUS SNOWFALL! How crazy is that? And this wasn’t snow that was in shade most of the day. This was snow by the mailbox, where some extra had been shoveled but where it was also exposed to sun pretty much from sun up to sundown.

Yes, that’s how cold the last 3 weeks had been, barely getting above freezing. I won’t get into that. (I should note that the freezing and below temperatures finally broke a few days ago, getting near 60 this weekend. Finally, some more normal temperature variations.)

Anyway, back to the story. We got just a dusting of snow. It wasn’t even enough to cancel school — just a 2-hour delayed opening. But the roads were slick underfoot. I could feel the slippery ice as I walked down the street to take that photo.

It was a nice, peaceful view to wake up to.

Caught A Couple Kids Flicks

2010-01-19T02:40:19Z

Yes, the kids are growing up, so they’re wanting to see movies in the movie theater. With Sean and Daniel now being 3 years old, they can almost sit through a movie in the theater. So we’ve taken them with us to see a couple of movies recently.

Today, we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. OK, not the best quality movie in the world. And we hadn’t seen the original until this morning (we rented it). But the kids had fun with it, and it kept their attention. The second one felt a bit more forced, and the music just didn’t do it for me (the classics they remade for the original were better, if one can call them that). But this was for the kids, so it was a moderate hit. Still, if you can divert them from spending the money on this one in the theater, do it. (And the original was better than this one.)

Last month, we saw Fantastic Mr. Fox. Personally, I don’t see what the hubbub was about. I actually found myself rather bored by the story. Sean and Daniel certainly weren’t into it as much. We actually went to this one as part of an after-school activity with Will’s second grade class, as they had read the story in school. I have not read the book, so maybe there is more depth in there than was shown in the movie. But the movie didn’t invest me in the fate of the characters, despite me not knowing what was going to happen, so I felt rather let down on the experience. I guess it means different things to different people. (Personally, I think the Hollywood hype, given who was involved in the project, has invested a certain aura-you-should-not-question to the project.)

Anybody with any other kid movie recommendations? We’ve heard good things about The Princess And The Frog.

Merry Christmas To All

2009-12-25T16:16:01Z

Yes, we did wind up with a White Christmas. OK, technically it’s not snowing now, and the snow on the ground is almost a week old. But there is snow still there, so I think it counts.

The kids were wild this morning, tearing into their presents. They were really happy to see what Santa and family gave them. But things have now settled down a bit, though you certainly wouldn’t know it by looking at the floor.

But let’s also remember what this season is all about. And Linus and Charlie Brown really seem to have it down. (Yes, this is a repeat from last year. It’s still as relevant.)

It's Almost Christmas

2009-12-24T11:07:31Z

Yup, the kids are really feeling it, too. Even Sean and Daniel are antsy about when Santa is going to get here. They really are itching to know that Santa will be here, even if they really don’t know what to expect. All three of them cannot wait for Christmas to be here.

That’s not to say that they don’t get the religious significance of tomorrow, either. We’ve been reading lots of Christmas story related books, and they know that we are celebrating Jesus’s birthday. (Will’s understanding is a bit deeper, as it should be with an older kid.)

But in honor of their antsyness, I give you this little Sesame Street ditty. Kinda cute, if you can stand Elmo and Cheryl Crow. (And yes, Sesame Street has lots of official short videos on YouTube now. Plenty to distract kids with, if they want to sit in your lap and share some computer time with you.)

The Kids Had Lots Of Fun In The Snow

2009-12-24T03:29:44Z

I finally got the video and pictures straight from last weekend. After a heavy snowfall on Friday night, we awoke to more snow throughout the morning. But it stopped right before lunchtime, with only scattered snow that afternoon. Sunday morning was brisk, but clear in the sky. And by the afternoon, we started to get some melt on the parts of the road/driveway/sidewalk that had been cleared off.

The pictures cover the full range of the snow. All 3 kids got out on Saturday before lunchtime, but Sean and Daniel napped later in the afternoon when Will and Kellie went out to finish the snowman. Will spent Sunday with Gwama, so our time outside later that afternoon was spent with Sean and Daniel.

Your current viewer does not support iFrames - try a standard browser or opening the main blog @ http://www.prouddadhappyhusband.com/.

As you can see from the pictures above and video below, Sean and Daniel largely confined themselves to the sidewalk. They just didn’t like walking in the deep and uneven snow underfoot. But this afternoon, we got them home before sunset and spent some time outside, and they finally started wandering around in the snow on their own. Sean, in particular, was making fresh snow tracks. And we finally got a toboggan track going that all 3 kids went down a few times. We’ll see if the snow can last until Friday, for a white Christmas.

Snow Before Winter

2009-12-21T00:25:20Z

Yes, it’s a bit odd to think that the winter solstice isn’t here yet, but we already had a significant snow. (Okay, not really, but it’s interesting to think that we still have 2 or 3 more months of cold weather to come, where we might get yet another snowstorm.)

The snow essentially ended around lunchtime, though there was a brief dusting around sundown. I measured around 11 inches at lunchtime, so figure it was a bit more than that. I couldn’t get a good reading this morning, as the top layer had largely frozen over and been compacted a bit.

The kids had a blast, though Sean and Daniel were too spooked to actually walk very far in the snow. The footing was just too unstable for their preferences, and they just wanted to be carried in it. That make it tough for actually doing anything with them, like building a snowman or riding on the sled. But they made the most of grabbing chunks of snow and throwing snowballs while walking along the cleared sidewalk.

The snowman was eventually finished by Kellie and Will late Saturday afternoon (I had rolled the base earlier). He did survive the sun on Sunday, though it’s clear the headshrinkers were at work on him today. That is a photo of him this morning, before the sun got to work on him.

The snowplow (or farm tractor with a snowplow blade, as is done in our neighborhood) came by around lunchtime today. And with the temps slightly above freezing and a bright sun, the roads in the neighborhood are already starting to melt away. The main roads just outside our neighborhood were already well-plowed this morning. I went to church this morning for lectoring duty, and Mass was done in double-time — about 50 in attendance, and we were done in 35 minutes (whereas our priest normally has Mass last about 70 minutes).

Time permitting, I will post a bunch more pictures and video of the kids (and adults) playing and having fun. This was definitely the most snow we’ve had since I moved down here almost 10 years ago, but actually not much more than what we got last spring.

I Guess This Counts As Major

2009-12-19T14:36:21Z

Just a quick update on the storm. As of 8:30am Saturday, we were at almost 9.5 inches of snow on the front stoop. And that could be a bit compacted, as it’s been more ice crystals than snow for the last hour or so.

As I write this entry an hour later, the ice has now changed over to major snowfall again. So it looks like will be adding to the base we have so far.

Needless to say, the kids are itching to go out in the snow. But it’s probably a bit too stormy to go yet. Hopefully, our sanity holds on until they can go out.

First Snowfall! Major Snowfall?

2009-12-19T03:10:22Z

We shall see how significant this winds up. I have lived in Richmond for 10 years, and this is being predicted as possibly the most snow that I will have seen in my time here — 8 to 12 inches. However, I just found this winter storm warning bulletin, as I was writing this entry, and it looks like they’re predicting at least 12 inches.

Should be an interesting time. In the meantime, just to give you a sense of how fast it is falling, here’s some video shot an hour after the snow started, and then three hours after it started. The snow was already as thick as it typically gets after just 3 hours. (When it snows here, we usually don’t get much to allow sledding or building snowmen, though we did back in March.) And we’ve probably got another 24+ hours of snowfall ahead of us.

11:45pm update: Heading to bed now. The winter weather advisory now reads 16 to 22 inches for the region. And I only checked 90 minutes ago for the image above. I currently have 7 inches of snow on the front stoop, and it’s been snowing slightly less than 7 hours so far. Yes, this one will be a doozy.

Happy Birthday, Kellie

2009-12-15T01:46:51Z

Yes, it’s that time of year again. I hope she had a good birthday, although probably not as relaxing as she would have liked. Daniel had to see the doctor this morning about a cough. We seem to have caught it in time. There went much of her free time she had planned on today.

(The photo is one from October, when we visited Aunt Iris and Debbie at their farm. Yes, from an event I haven’t written about.)

Then, it was off to see Legendary Santa. All 3 boys actually sat still (no crying or shyness) for Santa — a first as a group. (There has always been at least one before this time.) More on that later. After all, this is about Kellie’s birthday.

Which meant a birthday dinner out — at O’Toole’s. This one was kind of cool, in that her brother Tim was also in town, so they got to celebrate their birthday together for once. (I guess I should wish him a happy birthday, too.) Of course, 3 kids don’t last forever in a restaurant, so we were the first to leave, while the rest of the Padgett clan stayed behind.

I know she’s tired, but I hope she still enjoyed her birthday. Now, for that backrub she was asking for…

Happy Birthday, Sean & Daniel

2009-11-23T03:22:51Z

Wow, you’re now 3 years old. Crazy little time we’ve had getting this far.

More pix of the festivities will come later. Just wanted to wish the boys a happy 3rd birthday before the day was out.

Just Saying Hi

2009-11-18T11:50:51Z

Sean and Daniel just want to say, Hi. They know they haven’t checked in for a while. If they understood counting down the days, they’d be getting more excited about their birthday coming up. But they do know that it is coming up soon.