Exploration

It was the finally time for Brynn and Kaitlyn to venture out into the cold world of snow and ice and explore a bit today. They pulled out their mittens, hats and scarfs and began to dress themselves in their winter best. I knew they needed to escape the house for a little adventure.

While it has finally stopped raining and snowing, the temperatures stayed well below freezing which kept our glistening icicles in top form. The girls were not disappointed in what they found, in fact they were delighted.

They climbed on the slide, ran across the lawn, took a stick to the bushes and then decided their perfect spot was on the stairs. Brynn's main objective was to toss snow and then eat whatever stuck to her gloves. Kaitlyn was a bit more cautious, but couldn't resist the lure of tossing the powdery white snow into the air. Brynn gobbled up icicles while Kaitlyn knocked them down. They do make quite the pair.

Brynn finally lost her hat in all the bending and throwing which signaled it was time to head in to find warmth. Kaitlyn stayed out a bit longer and enjoyed it when Josh came out and took a few runs with his slide on our mini back hill.

I loved being outside and looking at the ice up close. I am still amazed at how incredible ice storms are. We experiences our first one in Louisville years ago, but have not had one this severe in the eight years we have lived in Kentucky. When I drove out to Wal-mart this afternoon I drove past tree after tree broken in pieces under the weight of ice and snow. The ice and gloomy cloud cover made the scene very surreal. It was lovely, but very sad at the same time.

While I was in the backyard chasing the girls around I noticed how crunchy the grass was. With each step I would break and crack the ice that was underneath the snow. When I looked down I thought there were hundreds of icicles that had fallen and landed upright in the snow. If I would have thought that idea through, I would have realized that the ice was over the entire yard and not just under the gutters and deck. Obviously you can't have icicles falling from the sky. Then it dawned on me that what I thought were icicles were really individual blades of grass that had a thick coating of ice. It seemed as if there were clear fingers poking out from the ground. Very strange, creepy and cool at the same time.

A state official announced tonight that the fierce winter storm that slammed Kentucky with ice and snow has caused the largest power outage on record in the state. 607,000 people are still without power in Kentucky. The boys do not have school again tomorrow making it an entire week of cancellations and SNOW DAY #7 for the year. A few schools do not have power and a high school is still being used as a shelter. I hope by Monday things will be looking up.

Wherever you are- stay warm, dry and SAFE!!

Time for Brynn to head on in

Josh Coated blades of grass