"A Dusting of snow??" 02/27/2013

 Bogie venturing in the snow the day before it started snowing again...

 Noel went out while it was snowing yesterday to see if there were any birds hanging out under the bush!

 Noel heading out the garage door (less snow on the feet).  This was early afternoon Tuesday and it snowed lightly ALL day.

We ended up with about 2-3 inches of new snow last night, but it's still flurrying today!  South of Des Moines, a couple of towns got a foot of snow....   (70-80 miles or so south of us) 

It's still snowing a little 2/22/2013

 I was surprised when Gracie walked out the patio door right into the snow.

We got about 6 inches of the white stuff, but when it drifts, some places look like they've gotten more than a foot of snow! 

 I swept off the top two steps (all I could reach from inside--there's only one more, but the snow was higher than that third step!) and Grace and Bogie went that far to see if the rest of the snow would disappear (magically and instantly, so they could go exploring)!

John's out snow-blowing the driveway, which got around 6 inches of snow.  Fortunately, it seems very dry and light!

A winter snow storm hits our neighborhood 2/21/2013

The weather forecasters have been talking about this storm for more than a week.   

At 5pm, it started snowing here.  I forgot the garage door was still open, so when I went out to take a picture, I had to broom the snow out of the garage before I shut the door. 

So far, this is all we've gotten.   We're supposed to get about 6-8 inches  before it's over Friday morning.

The noise on this 17-second video is really the wind blowing--which it has been doing quite ferociously all day!

Week in review 2/18/2013

Last Monday we drove to Sac City, then Lake View (a picture from Aunt Mary's driveway looking east), then Des Moines, then to West Des Moines, then to Carroll, Lake View, back to Sac City and then HOME!!!    

 Black Hawk Lake (in Lake View, IA) looked really cold and wind-blown.  Those aren't whitecaps on the water, they're chunks of ice.

Gracie sitting in the tree, trying to decide whether she should climb it or head back to the house.  She climbed it! 

Happy Belated Birthday Uncle Charlie!!

We had a birthday party Sunday at Mema's (my mom's) house on Sunday.  The birthday boy is in the middle here.  

Those are my nephews, Ben and Joe, on either side of Uncle Charlie (making him GREAT-Uncle Charlie to these two, and GREAT-great Uncle Charlie to Izaac, Reed and Blake!)...

Sunday at Mema's 2/3/2013

Izaac (5 1/2 yrs. old) and Blake (will be 2 on 3/14/2013!) play in Mema's curtains Sunday before the big Superbowl Game. 

I asked if they would come out so I could get a better picture of them together (they are cousins and my great-nephews).  They LOVE to smile for the camera! 

Joe (my nephew) loves to play with the boys, and has Blake 'run' with his feet while he holds him in the air.  (Blake's grandma Shirley is on the couch watching recordings of her soap operas.) 

Joe giving Blake 'zirbits' on his tummy. 

Izaac had to have his turn with Joe, too, but he's almost getting too tall!