The Events of Wednesday, February 9, 2011

                “It’s snowing outside, everybody!” I groggily awoke this morning to this announcement. Since it was snowing lightly, we didn’t want to risk the unsafe road conditions or be out in the elements. Today was deemed a Snow Day.

                With a little more free time on our hands, we had a nicer breakfast of hot cocoa and, for some, leftover pancakes. To add some humor to the meal, Abby told us how, if you put your ear up to the ceiling on the upper bed, you can hear the “snow tinkling on the roof”. After the meal, we took turns heading through the falling snow to the nice showers that embody the KOA’s standards of quality. If you are at a KOA Kampground, you will have a nice, clean, warm shower, no matter the weather outside.  Once all of us were nice, clean, and warm, we sat down for an hour of math. When we found ourselves stuck on a problem, we could look through the frosty windows to see the snow blowing and falling in large flakes as our minds processed the challenge.

                Reading, blogging, photo editing, Europe planning, and relaxing filled the time until lunch. The incessant snow, after depositing a good four inches on the ground, seemed to be lightening up as our lovely lunch of scrumptious soups, sandwiches, and partially frozen Louisiana shrimp was eagerly devoured.

                After lunch, we all worked to finish our own to-do lists, and the snow began to blow sideways and diagonally. I worked on schoolwork while my sisters made friendship bracelets. Dad and Mom worked on stuff for Europe and planning the next few weeks as we all took turns on the computer trying to get our photos ready for uploading. Dad and Lindsey had quite a time ferrying water from the restrooms to our water tank in milk jugs through the snow since the campsite’s water pipes are frozen. Around six, with the snow still falling heavily, we prepared dinner. Ravioli, salad, and yams made for a fully filling meal.

                The New Orleans-style King Cake we purchased from Walmart was fantastic; doughy on the inside and sugary on the outside. This carnival tradition, which actually began in France in the 12th century, includes an object, in our case, a plastic baby (symbolizing the Christ Child), put somewhere in the cake. The cake, which was eaten on Twelfth Night or “King’s Day”, is baked in a circular shape to represent the circular route used by the three Kings to get to the baby Jesus and confuse King Herod. In medieval times, if you found the prize, you were “King for the Day”. In New Orleans, it means that you throw the next party. Abby, who found the lucky prize, gets to lick the frosting off the pan. We cleaned up from the meal and settled in to finish Anne of Green Gables, which we started last night. It was so nice to be cuddling together under blankets in the warm RV as the snow accumulated outside. Warm and cozy, we headed to bed in the eerily quiet campground blanketed in snow. Oh…did I mention it snowed today?