Day 132

Monday December 27, 2010

Snow day!!! The kids were ecstatic to go to the snow! Unlike people who actually have to live with snow, we Californians get ridiculously excited about playing in the snow. Perhaps that is because after a few short hours (or days if a longer trip) we get to leave it and return home to our mild winters.

Sometime around 11am, everyone jumped into the cars and we drove about 1.5 hours to Long Barn. Long Barn is near Columbia, Jamestown, and Strawberry in the California Foothills. It was gorgeous. Snow covered the ground, just the perfect amount for the kids to be able to run in without getting trapped in deep mounds. To say Nina was on cloud nine does not begin to describe the excitement and delight she experienced. She was beyond happy! She had been asking to go to the snow forever. Of course we had played with the snow at the Zoo but that didn't really count in her book :) She wanted to see trees and roads all sprinkled with powdery coldness. Well...Miss Nina got her wish.

We spent the next 4 hours playing in the snow, throwing snow balls, ice skating, and riding sleds. Nina played in the snow for about 20 minutes and even built a miniature snowman with Sosie and Sierra. She had so much fun!! All the while, the boys ran around like nuts, chucking mounds of snow that were suppose to be snowballs.

After the initial trek in the surrounding snow, we went inside to the ice skating rink. Nina was eager to go ice skating, however, she was not happy about putting on the ice skating shoes. "They're too tight!" she yelled. Finally, after the second pair we found the right size. I volunteered Todd (haha!) to take Nina out onto the rink while I took photos. Well...before I could even snap my first photo, Nina let out the world's loudest yelp! It echoed throughout the entire rink and made the nearby adults crack up! It was beyond a yelp....it was the mother of all shrieks!!!

Apparently, the ice was too slippery for her! She was furious as she screamed, "They made it too slippery!" I have to give Todd kudos for trying. He took her out 4 times within a span of about 10 minutes. Each time, she'd scream and holler in total panic. The girls (Sosie and Adelae) tried to help to no avail! She was so dang cute we all just laughed, making sure she didn't see us laugh, for fear that she might yell, "Off with their heads!"

After ice skating, Nina and I huddled in the car. She was done with the snow and proceeded to play on the iPad with me. She was covered by so many blankets she looked like a marshmallow. The kids, along with Joe, Todd and Joe's girlfriend had a massive snow ball fight. About 30 minutes into the battle Teddy came in screaming that his feet hurt from the cold. The poor boy had cold feet. I had him change clothes and rubbed his feet, all the while trying to get him to calm down. Teddy goes from 0 to 100 in a split second. He yelled at me for making him change his clothes and blamed me for losing his temper :) Eventually he calmed down and we repaired the situation. I explained that it is never okay to mistreat others, even if we are cranky or in pain. This is such a hard thing for kids to learn. In all honesty, how many of us adults actually ever manage to master these behaviors?

Oh ya, I drained the battery of our car by running the heat...ooops!!

All in all, this was a gorgeous, fun-filled day!! While the rest of the gang sled, Nina napped! We returned to my folks for dinner (amazing Mexican food from my favorite restaurant in Turlock....La Morenita!). Bruno, Michelle, and Todd's folks also joined us for dinner. We were all together, one last time before we left in the morning for Santa Barbara. It was a wonderfully, wintry-white snow day!! We couldn't have asked to end our Christmas holiday in a better way, especially topping it all off with dinner together.

During bedtime, Teddy crawled over to me and wrapped his arms around my neck. As he did, he said, "Mama, I 'm so sorry for all of the disappointments of the day! I shouldn't have yelled at you. I am so sorry!" Todd chimed in for Teddy to quit apologizing already, that he had done so earlier. Teddy laughed but continued his sweet contrition. I gave Todd the stink eye and thanked Teddy for apologizing again, although I explained it wasn't necessary, that all had been repaired and forgiven earlier. Nonetheless, I did follow his lead and talked about how we really need to carefully treat relationships, even the closest kind (e.g., family) but that the beauty of family and close relationships is that we can repair and forgive. He ended our day with sheer perfection...a tender kiss and cuddle-time!!! I don't even remember falling asleep!