Winter Wonderland

Anyone reading this who might be from the north, please refrain from snickering. Snow in Houston is about as rare as...ummm...a really rare steak that was just slaughtered like that morning. Anyway, it's RARE. It snowed here 4 years ago on Christmas Eve, but before that I can't remember the last time.

So, understandably, when any of us native Houstonians see the white powder falling from the sky we lose a large portion of our mind and make fools of ourselves playing in it. Hence the below videos and pictures. It started snowing around 4 pm when I took off from work. At that time it was just a light shower of flakes that weren't sticking to anything. Fun to look at, but really just a novelty. An hour or two later, we decided to go get some cake/pie/cookies/random dessert pastry for an after-dinner treat. Upon leaving the house, we were greeted by a much thicker snow fall, with some of it sticking on bare ground and on cars that had been stationery long enough to cool off. That was fun, driving in that dandruffy dream. I find it difficult to drive in the snow. The flakes that are flying directly into your windshield seem to demand that your eyes focus on them. And pulling your focus that close to the car is bad for seeing potential hazards down the road. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our short drive to the cafe/bakery (I think we each exclaimed "It's snowing" in childish glee at least once every minute).

When we got back home, it really started coming down, and it was cold enough that the snow was sticking to anything that wasn't concrete. As the snow piled up thicker and thicker on the ground, it became literally impossible to NOT go out and play in it. I mean, the site of my entire yard covered in a perfect, untouched layer of innocent snowy white brilliance keyed in on some instinctual nerve in our brains and no force on earth could stop us from rolling around in it and making little snowballs that we throw at each other in intermittent fits of giggling glee.

Anyway, I've set the stage. Most of you reading this will know exactly what I'm talking about. Those that don't, it is a fun feeling, though fleeting. I hope you experience it someday. Blake made a snow angel. Angel made a snow-Blake...I mean snowman with Blake's help and direction. It was an impressive snowman for Houston, but could have been much grander had Angel and Blake had any clothing that was suited to snow and ice. After a time, both of their hands and feet were blocks of ice and they couldn't turn their creation into the final product they envisioned. Still, he is a standup little guy and I hope his eventual meltdown is not too painful (though I can't help but imagine him screaming as his face melts away like those Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Bryce ran in circles, stomped his feet, and cried out "noe-sh" whenever anyone would listen. He hasn't quite mastered the pronunciation of "snow" yet. I know he won't remember it, but I like to think there is some memory bank deep in his subconcious mind that will key into the experience someday down the line and he'll know exactly what to do the next time he sees white falling from the heavens.

Anyway, it will all be gone tomorrow. In two days the temps will be back up in the 70s, which is about par for the course here in Houston. There will be no evidence that any of this ever happened...save for these pictures and videos on this blog. I hope you cherish the memories as much as we will. Have a great, snow-filled night.

Matt