Birthdays and Snow Days

Well, couple of bits of big news: 1) Audrey turned 8 today! 2) It will not stop snowing and the Brits have no way of dealing with it!

We are so proud of our big girl Audrey - she got her ears pierced as a birthday gift, and the experience seems to have released a young lady! She pointed out today that she was only 6 when we first got here, and now she is 8! I honestly do not know where the time has gone - it seems like just yesterday that I was holding her in my arms, marveling at the little being that I had produced, and now I'm here marveling at the lovely young girl that she has become! I don't mean to sound like a doting mother, but she truly is an amazing kid - her musical abilities alone are well beyond anything I will ever be able to comprehend, she is playing the recorder now and still loves to sing - its like being around someone who speaks a language that you can't understand - she just oozes with music, it is in her very being...

Audrey is also really excelling in school - I think she must have a photographic memory or something because she can spell like you cannot believe and reads books like they are going out of style - thank goodness the library is right next door - heaven knows she may read everything they have there by the time we move back to America!

She was broken hearted today when she couldn't go to school because of the snow - she just loves school, loves learning, friends, teachers, the lot! I am beyond proud of her!

Which brings me to this whole snow situation... Last Monday it snowed. The English countryside covered in a fluffy blanket of snow... London brought to its knees because they have no effective way of moving the snow out of the way of busses, taxis and underground trains... We all had a laugh that Britian could be so deeply affected by a couple inches of snow. When the kids got out of school we ran down to the farmer's field and had snow ball fights, made snowmen and best of all, went sledding! It was the most fun I've had in the snow since I was a kid! We had the best time- we didn't have any of the proper clothes and were soaked to the skin and frozen by the time we got home, but we didn't care, it was such good fun!

Tuesday, we went back out again - it was a bit muddy, but we didn't care, the snow, we knew would be gone by the next day, so we played like there was no tomorrow. Wednesday was dance class and the snow nearly gone, so we kinda went back to normal.

Then Thursday we woke up to a veritable blizzard... School was closed, and that afternoon we headed back to the farmer's field. The whole thing had kinda lost its magic, but we were still determined to sled and snowball til we just couldn't stand it... On the way home the kids were whining and wet and totally over it.

Friday, we got up and got ready for school. The snow seemed to be done - or was it? about 45 minutes before we had to leave for school it started snowing again - big fluffy flakes. I thought, oh, they surely won't cancel school today! So out we went into the fluffy white only to find the head teacher turning us away at the school gate - all of the parents rolling their eyes and grumbling over the impromptu school holiday - the kids skipping and shouting with delight at the prospect of another snow day... Pat finally came home from work about 1pm and it took the whole neighborhood to get the car up the driveway - you should have seen us out there clearing a path with garden spades and toy shovels... not a snow shovel to be had anywhere! The kids made a half hearted attempt to play in the snow, but they really were quite over it at this point and came inside to play polly pockets or some damn thing...

Saturday was mostly dry and there was a lot of thawing that went on, but the walkways and parking lots were just packed ice and downright treacherous to walk on or drive through. We decided to take the bus to the town center to get Audrey's ears pierced and take her to lunch for her birthday - we had planned something a bit more grand, but with the weather the way it had been we were worried about getting stuck somewhere so we toned it down a bit. Audrey was really nervous to have the ears done, but once she saw the amazing selection of earrings in Claire's, she became quite brave and went for it! I was actually a bit tearful watching my baby get her ears pierced - there was something about it that just represented her becoming a big girl, it just really moved me! And she was so proud and excited! All she could talk about was not being able to wait until she could wear the earrings she had picked out. We had a nice lunch at a place called Buddies USA - a burger joint that is kinda trying to be like a Red Robin or something. Its good, but its no Red Robin :)

Sunday it began to snow again, but not a lot - so we got up today, got ready for school (oh I was so ready to have the house back to myself!!) It wasn't snowing or anything, but when we got to the school gate it was locked... I felt like such an a-hole! I hadn't even checked the school website because it seemed like a perfectly fine day (plus, did I mention I was ready to have the house back to myself?) Poor Audrey was devistated because she was just so excited to show everyone her newly pierced ears - plus she and Zoe both were totally ready to be back at school again with their friends (and... oh yah I already mentioned the whole house to myself thing, didn't I?)

The day started deteriorating by about 11am and the fog and drizzle rolled in - it was the most dismal weather... and now, it is snowing again...

We are going to Colorado next week - I can only hope that the lovely weather they are having will last, but I think it is more likely that it will start to snow as soon as we step off the plane and will carry on until we leave... oh well. Nevermind...

Happy Birthday to my super wonderful big girl!