The First Snowfall

Dad found three of the girls sitting down for a lunch of snow.
The day started out with the first snowfall of the season. Though the forecast called for "scattered flurries," in reality, snow fell for several hours.

Lauren made a single-ball snowman, which was pretty impressive. Emily took time to rake snow and leaves from the neighbor's yard and Dad didn't have to shovel anything because it hardly stuck to the pavement.

Of course, the first sign of snowflakes always triggers a rush of excitement - followed by scurrying around to find hats, gloves and snowpants stowed away months and months ago. Mom had spent time earlier this fall looking for some of the winter wear - a search that was unsuccessful at the time. Today, though, she cracked open a large tub in the garage and found everything packed away just as she had left it last spring.

The rule for playing in the snow at our house is that once you go out and come back in, you are inside to stay. Veronica lasted a lot longer than we thought she would. By the time she did come inside, her nose was rosy red. But she seemed to have plenty of fun.