Snow Day

!! SNOW DAY !!
!HOORAY!

Lincoln and Greg

A few weeks ago we got our annual "snow day". This typically happens ONE time each year and OF COURSE, we love it!!!

Our friend Madilyn

It started snowing around 7am [and being the seasoned Las Vegan (sp?)] that I am, I knew that it would be gone by the time the kids got home from school. So I canceled the carpool, and let my kiddos enjoy 3 hours of wet snow and hot chocolate! By 10:30 it was already melting. By 2pm there was no trace of snow AT ALL!

Since we cut a hole in our back wall (the BEST move we ever made... which will be it's own post very soon) our neighbors were over playing in no time! The kids enjoyed a snowball fight which included Zach who was able to stop home in between two appointments and play.

My hunk of a hubby with snow in his scruffies

McKinley and William

Check out this action shot! Will (neighbor in the red shirt) is throwing a massive snowball at an unsuspecting Greg (his son in front). Too bad I didn't get the after shot :)

I will say... it is TOTALLY mind boggling to me how much snow I encountered growing up in Upstate NY. Where the average snowfall each year is like 12 feet and temperature is 12 degrees. Not really... but I'm not too far off (see chart below). I CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. that I used to walk to and from school every dang day (from 7th grade-12th grade) in blistering cold winds, snow and rain storms on icy roads and sidewalks. That we'd do our grocery shopping rain, snow or shine. That we'd go to the doctor, dentist, movies or mall no matter the weather. These are all things that I cancel or put off a day or two when things "get rough" here in the desert. If it's rainy one day... I'll wait until tomorrow to go get milk. Too windy to take back books? Nothing 24 hours wont fix. But in NY... you better buck up and buckle up. Snow from October to April? No thanks :)
Don't get me wrong.... I LOVED Bloomfield NY. And I still LOVE to visit. I have just grown accustom to this cushy weather in Las Vegas. It makes me laugh just thinking about all the things my parents had to do to keep 7 kids fully clothed for the 4 different seasons. I still remember when spring would come, and all the snow would finally melt, and we would find all our lost gear scattered around the yard. Gloves, hats, scarfs, sometimes even shovels that had been left out one winter day only to be covered by a snow storm the next day, and not recoverable until spring rain finally melted the winter away. All great memories... and ones that my kids will most likely never experience (knock on wood).

We do enjoy the fact that if we are craving snow we can drive 3 hours north to Grandma and Grandpa's house near Cedar City, and get our fill,
then drive home.

Sorry... I kinda went off on a tangent there...

Happy Snow Day!

[hide]Climate data for Rochester, New York
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	74 (23.3)	73 (22.8)	84 (28.9)	93 (33.9)	94 (34.4)	100 (37.8)	102 (38.9)	99 (37.2)	99 (37.2)	91 (32.8)	81 (27.2)	72 (22.2)	102 (38.9)
Average high °F (°C)	31.2 (-0.44)	33.2 (0.67)	42.7 (5.94)	55.2 (12.89)	67.9 (19.94)	76.6 (24.78)	81.4 (27.44)	79.1 (26.17)	71.1 (21.72)	59.7 (15.39)	47.2 (8.44)	36.1 (2.28)	56.8 (13.78)
Average low °F (°C)	16.6 (-8.56)	17.3 (-8.17)	25.2 (-3.78)	35.3 (1.83)	46.1 (7.83)	55.0 (12.78)	60.0 (15.56)	58.7 (14.83)	51.3 (10.72)	41.1 (5.06)	32.6 (0.33)	22.7 (-5.17)	38.5 (3.61)
Record low °F (°C)	−17 (-27.2)	−22 (-30)	−7 (-21.7)	13 (-10.6)	26 (-3.3)	35 (1.7)	42 (5.6)	36 (2.2)	28 (-2.2)	20 (-6.7)	5 (-15)	−16 (-26.7)	−22 (-30)
Precipitation inches (mm)	2.34 (59.4)	2.04 (51.8)	2.58 (65.5)	2.75 (69.9)	2.82 (71.6)	3.36 (85.3)	2.93 (74.4)	3.54 (89.9)	3.45 (87.6)	2.60 (66)	2.84 (72.1)	2.73 (69.3)	33.98 (863.1)
Snowfall inches (cm)	22.5 (57.2)	22.1 (56.1)	16.2 (41.1)	5.1 (13)	.5 (1.3)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	.1 (0.3)	8.1 (20.6)	21.2 (53.8)	95.8 (243.3)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	19.1	16.3	15.2	13.5	11.8	11.6	10.2	10.7	11.8	12.8	15.9	18.4	167.3
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	17.2	14.3	9.8	3.6	.3	0	0	0	0	.3	6.3	14.5	66.3
Sunshine hours	108.5	118.7	176.7	216.0	266.6	297.0	313.1	272.8	213.0	155.0	81.0	77.5	2,295.9
Source #1: NOAA [16]
Source #2: Hong Kong Observatory [17]

(click on HIDE at the top of this chart to check out Rochester, NY. I never really appreciated what a great city I lived near (20 minutes away to be exact), until I moved away. Sigh. Such is life.)