What made this incident even better was that some ingenious high-up city authority decided that it would probably melt on Friday, so they didn't bother to plow the roads. By Saturday morning, everything was so packed down and frozen that they couldn't plow it. Brilliant. The result was an entire week of nothing happening in this town. Church cancelled. Choir performances and the stake nativity festival cancelled. The downtown entirely shut down for several days, and all public employees were sent home. Saddest of all (for me), the ward Christmas party was even cancelled. The choir, primary, and youth in our ward had been preparing an special program, which we have never done before. I had assembled a small group to sing a jazz number, and I was really excited. Finally, I had invited two non-member families to come with us, and they were both really excited about it. All cancelled. Stupid city planner.
It was also SUPER cold. As in, cold for Utah weather. It stayed below 20 degrees for almost a week, and dipped below zero one night. I haven't experienced negative temperature for a while, and I forgot how cold they really are!
But there were good things - we got Adam at home more than usual, since campus closed for two days. Lily also really loved playing in the snow. Unfortunately, the snow was really powdery and "dry" so it was almost impossible to make a snowman. We tried every single day, hoping the snow had melted a little to make it wet enough, but it never did. She was very disappointed. So we improvised by using a spray bottle with warm water to make three snowballs, and stacked them on top of each other with the tiny end of a carrot for a nose, twigs for arms, and tiny pieces of raisins for eyes. It was only about 10 inches tall, but that was good enough for Lily. She talked about our snowman for days.
Poor Lily was so tired after all that winter recreation that she fell asleep in her high chair!
Besides the weather, things have been busy, as usual. Unfortunately, Adam has not had many clients for several months. This has been a challenge for our income, but I have been blessed with the opportunity to work some from home. My former employer, DecisionWise, contacted me in October and asked if I would be able to do a project for them. It was only a 30-hour project, but it kept me busy for a few weeks, and Adam was able to come home early to watch Lily since he didn't have clients. That project led to another in November-December, and I will be doing another in January. Even though it has been a bit stressful to have deadlines, I have appreciated the opportunity to use my brain again and remember what I learned in college. And of course, the added income has been a huge blessing. I really feel that the Lord has been looking out for us this year. It has been a difficult one, but we have been blessed in so many ways.
And now, it's almost Christmas! I can't believe it came so soon! We will be going to California to visit Adam's family in Soledad (near Salinas). It will be fun, especially for Lily who will get to play with her cousin Amelia. Adam and I are especially excited to spend our anniversary in San Francisco. Ironically, he has practically never been there, even though he grew up less than three hours away. We are going to visit Chinatown and Fisherman's Warf and Ghirardelli Square and drive down Lombard Street. We are going to pass up Alcatraz, since I have already been and it is unbelievably expensive. But if you know of any other destinations we just can't miss, please comment!
Here are a couple more recent pictures.
Lily made a bed for herself under the table.
Mutual teeth-brushing
Lily's first french braids (Shortly after this picture, she started sobbing and demanded that I take them out. So sadly, she never wore them anywhere.)
This was our excursion to Storybook Land in Albany, which Lily really enjoyed.
Merry Christmas!
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