It's A Snow Day - Let's Play!

Hm...my family sans me...maybe I'm taking the photo?

One of my earliest childhood memories is seeing snow for the very first time.

I was four years old, living in Portland, Oregon, and it felt magical. Once my mom managed to wrestle all of us into enough layers to survive the outdoors, we headed outside. Our neighbor, Teddy, joined us as we built a snowman and took turns sledding down our slightly sloped street.

My dad with my brothers and some other boys sledding the old school way.

Those snow days continued throughout my childhood. After we moved to California, our family would occasionally drive up to the mountains, spend the day flying down hills on inner tubes then ending the day with “homemade” hot cocoa compliments of Nesquik cocoa powder and boiling water.

Those are still some of my favorite childhood memories.

So when I started making my list of 50 things, which included unique family experiences I wanted to have with Jayden and Alex—a proper snow day was an easy addition.

My original plan involved planning a trip somewhere reliably snowy. Colorado. North Carolina. Somewhere with cozy cabins and snow parks.

Mother Nature had other ideas.

Just as the kids were getting ready to head back to school after the holiday winter break, an Arctic blast swept through Atlanta and dumped enough snow to shut the city down.

View from our front porch.

Jayden assessing his approach.

The kids were beside themselves.

First...no school.

Second...snow!

Honestly, I don't know which one generated more excitement.

Like every responsible Georgia family caught completely off guard by winter weather, we discovered we owned approximately zero pieces of legitimate snow gear.

Jayden and Alex with plastic "sled" in hand.

So we improvised.

Warm coats.

Gloves.

Random waterproof-ish boots.

And a lid from a large plastic container to served as our official sledding equipment.

Were they good sleds?

Not particularly.

Did the kids care?

Not even a little.

They climbed the one little hill we could find within a short walking distance at Oakhurst Park laughing, slipping, tumbling, and launching themselves downhill over and over.

Our snow woman

We also attempted to build a snowwoman – so much harder than it looks - but I think it turned out pretty good.

We threw snowballs.

We got cold.

Then we got wet.

Really wet.

Eventually the soaked gloves, damp jeans, and frozen fingers voted unanimously that it was time to head home.

There may not have been a roaring fire waiting for us, but hot chocolate and dry socks were more than enough.

It turns out I didn't need to take my kids to Colorado to cross this one off the list. Atlanta handled it just fine.

And honestly...

...that's probably the better story anyway.