Back to School

After 7 days off from school, we all went back.  Blake drove himself to school for the first time.

It's hard to see him so grown-up already, but we are so proud of him!

Mud

We went from cold and snowy to warm and muddy, practically overnight!

We made good use of these muddy conditions though.

Dinner with the Duncans and a good, country boy mudding session!

The boys had the time of their life!

Melting

We started melting today!

We were ready for some beautiful sunshine to thaw and melt everything!

The sun didn't disappoint!  It was so wonderful to see it shining!

And so we never forget what this week was like...

Snow, Snow, Snow

The temps were still below freezing, snow was still on the ground, people were still without electricity and running water, along with pipes bursting and homes being flooded.

We were all done with the cold and snow!  The devastation was hard to watch happening across our state.  Baxter was the only one still excited about going outside!

The kids went out to build little snowmen before the sun set since today was probably our last day with snow on the ground.  Tomorrow the highs are projected to get above freezing... thankfully!

Another Day of Snow

It snowed another blanket of snow during the night.  By now, pipes on homes and businesses were starting to bust and flood.  People still didn't have electricity or water, and now homes and businesses were being flooded.  The devastation was unreal.

Robert had to work a lot of wrecks and motorist assists.  It was a very busy day at the fire and police departments.

The kids weren't quite as interested in playing in the snow today.  We were tired of being cold.  They went out in the evening to build some little snowmen before coming back in to the warm house.

We were looking forward to warmer temps, that were now in our near future.

Making History

This morning we woke up to record breaking lows.  We condensed our sleeping arrangements down to two rooms to help conserve energy and stay warm.  So many people around us woke up to record breaking lows, with no electricity. The whole power grid in Texas had a threat of crashing.  We had our heater turned down to conserve energy, so we stayed bundled up in the house.  It was by no means as cold as those who had no heat, but we were colder in the house than what we are used to.

Robert had to work today, along with making house calls to our friends and family that needed help.

Our neighbor was outside making an igloo, so Brynn and Kaleb went out to help for a little bit.  There was also a neighbor who's dog was pulling kids on a sled, so the kids joined in that fun too.  It was so cold, they came in to switch gloves for dry ones a couple of times before calling it a day.  They warmed up with dry clothes, blankets, and a cup of hot cocoa.

We sat a out a bowl to collect snow, so the kids wanted to make snow ice cream.  We made a small batch and everyone enjoyed it.

Robert came home from work tired and cold.  We stopped burning a fire in order to conserve firewood incase more people needed what we had left.  We all bundled up in the house, constantly checking on our friends and family that didn't have electricity or water.

Millions were without electricity in Texas, some were going on 24 hrs.  The disruptions were causing problems at water treatment plants, leading to boil water advisories for hundreds of thousands of people across Texas.

Warming centers were being opened for people who needed a warm place to go.  Homes were dropping to freezing temps, inside the house!

Tonight we had another chance of snow, and more freezing temps ahead of us.

More Snow

Today we woke up to real snow and freeeezing temps!

It was a regularly schedule student holiday/teacher staff development day. Teachers were trying to get online for meetings and work, but due to rolling black-outs and power outages, it turned into a mess.  The district quickly realized that pulling off remote learning for the week wasn't going to be practical, so they canceled school for the remainder of the week.  The teachers still fulfilled their staff development day, to the best of their ability.

It was so cold, but so beautiful!

Robert had off work, so he took the kids sledding.

When they got home, I had a warm pot of soup ready for them!

They cut off the balloons from the project we started earlier in the week to reveal beautiful, frozen marbles!

It was so cold today.  So many people around us were losing electricity and water for long periods of time.  Our state was breaking records for the winter temps and weather.

While we never lost power, so many of our neighbors and family did.  We passed out firewood and propane to those around us, as well as offering our home to those who needed a warm place to stay. 

We turned our heat down and unplugged everything extra in an attempt to help conserve electricity.

Tonight was supposed to be our coldest one, and so many people were in their homes with no electricity.

Baby It's Cold

We woke up to very cold temps and a light dusting of snow.  We didn't waste any time getting outside to play.  The boys took their remote control cars out to drive on the snowy roads.

Brynn had fun making snowballs.

Church was cancelled due to the road conditions.  The kids played outside off and on all morning.  We brought them in to warm up and eat lunch.

Out they went again after lunch!  We got the old sled that grandpa made Gram out of the attic.

At this point, it was 15 degrees, with a wind-chill of 0.

It was cold!

It was so miserably cold!  We had to come back in to warm-up with hot cocoa and blankets!

It was a very cold, but fun day!

Prepping

With threats of severe winter weather for the upcoming week, the school district told the teachers to prepare for a week of remote learning.  Brynn and I went up to the school to gather things I might need to use to teach from home.

We filled balloons with water and food coloring in anticipation of the upcoming weather.

We stocked up on groceries in anticipation of being stuck at home for days due to weather.

We felt like we had everything we needed to get through the week.  We had firewood, groceries, water, gas in our cars, and a generator.  We were prepped and ready!

Let's Drive!

It's official, we have our first licensed teen driver in the fam!

We celebrated our sixteen year old with lunch and shopping, just the three of us.

He chose Razoos for his birthday lunch.

The first place he drove by himself was to Aunt YayYay's house to cover her faucets for the upcoming winter weather.  He went by Jim and Duby's to pick up a loaf of homemade bread, and then to Academy.  He texted as he arrived at each location and before he left for the next stop.

And just like that, we have entered a new season of life!

Ice Ice Baby

We woke up to a sheet of ice today!

School was canceled due to road conditions.

Robert drove to work early in morning and said the roads were some of the worst he's driven on.  He bounced from curb to curb, even with the 4-wheel drive engaged.

Blake had his driving test that evening, and all day we prayed that the roads would be clear enough for him to go.  Luckily, his test wasn't canceled and he passed!

Another step closer to getting his license!  Next stop, DPS!

Birthday Celebration

Since Blake's birthday was on a Wednesday, we did a quick birthday cake celebration before we headed off to church.  He didn't have a birthday cake request this year, so I got him a Reese's Ice Cream cake.  I served it on the paper plates that I saved from his first birthday party, just for this occasion!

He celebrated exactly how he wanted to, on the stage playing in the worship band for the youth group.

It was a fun evening!