I Can't Put My Arms Down!

I'm getting worried that my son is getting too "Vegas."  Getting stuck by a cactus doesn't bother him.  He loves neon lights and show-tunes (okay, he loves all music).  And he hates the cold.  Of course, "cold" to him is about 40 degrees.  He's never been out in anything colder.  "Bundling up" here is about tennis shoes, hoodies, and MAYBE a stocking hat.  Maybe.  And snow is an absolutely foreign concept.  The kid is missing out on so much.  I knew I had to fix this.

So, a few weeks ago I went online and bought some snow clothes for him (because--surprise surprise--I couldn't find ANYTHING for him here).  He absolutely fell in love with the boots and insisted on wearing them for the rest of the day . . . 

. . . while playing with his trains . . . 

. . . while "helping" me cook dinner . . . 

. . . while re-arranging the refrigerator magnets . . .

. . . and while watching 'Thomas and Friends.'

Even when I made him take them off (he would't fit in his high chair with them on), he insisted on carrying them around.  They had Lightening McQueen and Mater on them.  Come on--they were COOL boots.

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked.  I figured if he loved his boots that much, he would love an opportunity to really wear them.  We had to wait a LONG TIME for Daddy to finally get some time off work but, finally, today, we were able to head up to Mt. Charleston and test them out (oh, and our new sled, too).  We figured it would be one of the last weekends to take advantage of the rapidly melting snow.  We were right, too.  The "snow play" was actually closed due to lack of snow, but there was still enough on the ground to make a go of it in other places.

Boots, pants, heavy jacket, hat, gloves . . . this kid literally walked like Randy in 'A Christmas Story.'  He really COULDN'T put his arms down!

Once the initial shock wore off, there was trepidation about the white stuff . . .

. . . and then enjoying the sled for about 30 seconds.

And then came the utter frustration at being unable to walk, run, or generally move at ALL . . . which was also accompanied by several slips, trips, and falls on the snow AND the pavement.  In less than 30 minutes, this kid was DONE with the snow.

Mommy and Daddy sure enjoyed it, though. :)

A Boring Post About Weather. . .

Yes, this actually a blog post about the weather.  I swear my life is not so boring that all I have to talk about is the weather, but we have had such unusual weather lately that I have to post.  Well, maybe it's not unusual for Nevada, but for this Midwestern girl, it is VERY unusual.  

These Las Vegas winters are to DIE for.  The temperatures VERY rarely got below 50 degrees during the day, and the cloudy/rainy days could be counted on one hand.  However, TWICE this week it's been cloudy and rainy, and today, believe it or not, we actually had SNOW!  Granted, here in the valley it didn't stick and was mixed with lots and lots of rain, but still--it SNOWED! Where we live is actually at a higher elevation than the rest of Las Vegas.  We're in the foothills of the Spring Mountains at about 3000 feet, so the rest of the city probably only got rain, but we got SNOW!  

Here's the Sheep Mountains in the distance, which are just north of the Las Vegas valley. . . 

These are the foothills of the Spring Mountains in which we live (literally. . . our subdivision ends at these mountains).  It's snowed before in the mountains early this year but not enough to coat these low-lying mountains.  BEAUTIFUL!

The weird thing?  In addition to the snow, our neighborhood is also showing the first signs of spring.  Cherry blossoms (my absolute FAVORITE) are starting to bloom--including this one in our front yard!  I had no idea that cherry blossoms even GREW in the desert, let alone that we had one in our front yard.  It's the small things that can bring you bliss. :)

Thanks for bearing with me during this boring post about the weather. :)

Vegas "Winter"

Now this is the kind of winter I like.  I can see the snow, but I don't have to deal with it AND it's still in the mid-fifties here in the valley.  Hoodie weather all winter?  I think I'll really like this whole Vegas "winter" thing. :)

This is the view of the mountains from our sub-division.  We are as far west as you can get and still be considered in Las Vegas.  In fact, the east/west streets in our sub-division end in the foothills of the Spring Mountains, and this picture was taken at the end of one of those streets. :)

And here's another view of the mountains from the park across the street from our sub-division, giving a wider view of what we get to see every day.  

Yes, okay. . . living in the desert is growing on me.  I hated it at first, but it was mid-July when we got here, hotter than Hades, and I was 8 months pregnant.  But now I'm seeing that the desert is pretty in its own way. . . and this "winter" is certainly helping its case. :)

Look What I Woke Up To This Morning. . .

That's right. . . snow. Stupid, stupid snow.

Beautiful, yes. But Mother Nature does know it's March, right? ;)

Let it SNOW!

It has been snowing ALL DAY here: road condition RED, school cancelled, and even PILOTS got sent home early. Who knew it snowed like this in Korea?

I pretty much had to "re-introduce" Oskar to snow, since it had been SO LONG since he'd seen it. It only snowed like this once the entire time we were in Germany, and he LOVED it. So I hoped just throwing him into it would trigger some memories.

At first, he just looked so pathetic, I almost took him inside. I mean, look at this snow mustache:

What do you do when the snow is as tall as your dog?

You just SNOW PLOW it!

Finally, I gave up and just took him to the park . . . and that's apparently all it took. As soon as I snapped the leash off, he was GONE, bounding off through the snow!

Can you spot an OKB in this picture?

Okay, Mom. I'm cold. Even my tags are frozen together. Can we go inside now?