Snow Day!

Everyone in New Mexico has been talking for several days about the "big storm" scheduled to hit us early this week. The forecasts have been variable, but all promised snow, even at low elevations, and frigidly cold temperatures. Perhaps surprisingly, the forecasts were right.


Dale watched the weather carefully yesterday and around 4:30 we left work, picked up Adelaida, and headed home. The roads were easily passable, but the combination of low visibility and snow-packed roads made the trip home rather slower than usual. The snow continued overnight and this morning we had a few inches of accumulated snow. Dale bravely faced the cold weather early this morning to dig out the truck and drive the truck along the driveway a few times, then he stayed home with Adelaida while I drove into Albuquerque for a dentist appointment and a few hours of work.

Most of the city was closed down -- Albuquerque Public Schools, the City of Albuquerque, and the University of New Mexico were all closed today, and Sandia National Labs was on a four-hour delay. The roads were slick and in the few hours I was in town I saw two accidents happen and several others that had recently occurred.

Back home, we had more fun. There is something magical about a snow day that makes me want to put on my warmest pajamas and curl up with a good book. I did that this afternoon and just might repeat it tomorrow! Adelaida also enjoyed the laziness of the day. She woke up from her nap and wanted to sit on her daddy's lap, and soon fell asleep again! It is a rare occasion these days to have Adelaida sleeping on either of us. What a treat!


The morning, Dale took Adelaida outside to play in the snow. They didn't go far -- the front porch had some snow and that seemed far enough. When Adelaida sees snow, she says "snowman!" so Dale helped her build a snowman today! With the bitterly cold weather, they settled for a 4" snowman, but she had fun collecting snow and piling it on the snowman, even if she was only outside for a few minutes.


Of course, Adelaida got the most enjoyment out of the cold-weather accessories. She continued to wear her mittens, hat, and coat most of the day and even insisted on sleeping with her hat on, mittens on, and two coats snuggled under her when she went to bed tonight!