A blizzard in March... in Georgia!

Believe me, we are more shocked than you are.

When Chris and I woke up this morning there were real snowflakes falling from the sky. I woke the kids up with the exciting news. Nothing sticking to the ground of course but snowflakes in the air nonetheless. Pretty exciting stuff. Last year's snowfall lasted for a whole seven minutes, (see here) so after staring out the window for a few minutes Chris headed to church for meetings and we continued getting ready for church. By the time the kids and I got to church it was sleeting -- half snow, half rain --but still not sticking. We used an umbrella to get inside the church but were still pretty wet.

After sacrament meeting we walked out into the foyer to find every car, bush and tree blanketed in snow. Most people got stuck there just staring at each other in amazement. Our friend, John, had his camera so we asked him for a picture. Slowly people wandered to their classrooms, still shaking their heads. Then Chris, John and the Bishop did a little 'rhubarb rhubarb' (that means 'conversed' for those of you not in on my family joke) and decided that with the blizzard in full force and only getting worse, and with 70% of the ward having had no experience driving in snow... church should be cancelled. We gathered our families and headed out while some gave driving instructions to others. "How do we get the snow off the windshield?" I heard one lady ask. "Just use your wipers and keep them on. It's just like rain." I heard another answer.

The roads weren't bad driving home but everyone was on their best behavior. Chris let me drive his car... (better tires, heated seats, and because he wanted to make sure all the kids were safe driving with him instead of me... I'm not offended... I'm not totally comfortable driving in the snow and he knows it.)

Our neighborhood was beautiful. It was weird to drive on our familiar roads and see snow lacing every barn, fence and branch. What a different view.

our house

the trees in our front yard

bushes in the backyard

The kids were more than anxious to get outside. We 'ok'ed their non-sabbath activity thinking 'who knows if this is going to last until tomorrow?'and they started bundling up. The snow was coming down really hard and even though it was only 33 degrees, the 15 mile per hour wind and 93% humidity made it feel like 24 degrees (says weather.com).

Luke was so excited to go outside but I know he didn't quite know what he was in for. He was warm I think, but the wind was blowing the snow sideways and it was hard to even keep your eyes open. He slid down the slide a couple times, tried to walk around, fell on his behind and then we went in.
Emily didn't last long either. Her fingers and toes were freezing and she complained for a half hour... all while listening to me talk about the pioneers that crossed the plains in weather like this. (Neither she nor I could have made that trek.)

Chris, Ryan, Katie and Megan stayed outside to make a snowman. Once he was made they all came in for hot chocolate and church movies. Nope, he doesn't have a hat or scarf or buttons... only the bare necessities for a snowman made in a blizzard.