Week 15 ~ The Week of Field Trips, New Job and Snow

Well, the snow apocalypse was not as bad as predicted, in our neighborhood at least. It started snowing on Saturday and continued snowing through Monday afternoon. Our city's official total was 11 inches. We got about seven inches of snow and a touch of ice at our home. However, towns and mountaintops just 10 to 15 miles away got upwards of 20 inches. Such is life in the mountains. The weather is very unpredictable. We did lose power for eight hours during the day. The house got a bit chilly; we grilled lunch outside; and we played lots of board games. It really wasn't that much of a trial, but we nonetheless were very happy to see electricity return.

Schools were closed here in the mountains for most of the week. Some are still closed today. Life stops around here when it snows. The curvy, hilly mountain roads are very treacherous, but those of us who live in the city tend to be able to escape our homes pretty quickly. We were able to head out to dance class by Monday night. Anne was supposed to start her new job on Monday, but the owner decided to remain closed. I do like her safety policy. Anne started on Tuesday instead. She loves her new job. She tags clothes, organizes the racks, removes items that are ready for donation and generally helps wherever she is needed. She will be trained on the cash register at some point. She will be working two days a week for now.

We enjoyed two field trips in the last two weeks. The first was our annual trip to the National Gingerbread House display at the Grove Park Inn. There were many lovely displays this year. Many people had created Alice in Wonderland displays, which were thrilling for Anne since she had performed as the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland last spring. We went a bit late this year to see the display and were warned that many might start falling down due to the mice that feast on them. For the most part, they were still standing and we didn't see any mice this year. We have seen some in the past.

The view from the back of the hotel.

This one was made by the adults with brain injuries program that Tim attends.

This was my favorite this year.

Can you believe those cute little mice are made out of edible candy or gingerbread?

Tim's favorite

Dean liked this traditional one.

Our next field trip was to see the Nativities From Around the World display. This is a relatively new tradition for our family. A local church borrows nativities from families all over our city. They had close to 300 creches from 60 countries. What a delight! We saw quilts, paintings, stockings and nativity figures made out of stone, glass, wood, bamboo and metal.

Anne's favorite

Denmark

Nigeria

Italy

Rwanda

USA

Eskimo

American Indian

I just love Advent!

We have been doing some exciting things in school recently, too. I will be doing a December schooling post soon.

Blessings, Dawn