First Snow

We have enjoyed beautiful fall weather here in Denver. The red maple provided a brilliant backdrop for grilling in our back yard. The tree in our front yard turned yellow and orange, with the leaves on the circumference a darker orange and the interior leaves a bright yellow.

However, this past week brought our first snow of the year as well. For two weeks in a row, Denver has given us 80-degree weather on Mondays, followed by windy Tuesdays that blow in snow clouds from the mountains, such that we awake to a world of white on Wednesday mornings. It doesn't make sense to post our fall pictures (as I am still behind on my blogging) when the ground outside is covered in white snow.

The girls are highly amused that "it is fall and winter at the same time," as the trees still hold Autumn-colored leaves beneath their snowy blanket.

Although we already had coats, hats, and gloves, I quickly figured out that we need snow boots as well. Little Katarina is fine with looking at the snow, but she hates walking in the 8-inch deep powder.

Last week's snow did not stick on the roads or sidewalks, so we had an easy walk through the Greenway to Gabi's school. I love how the sun still shines here in Colorado, even on snowy days!

The weight of the snow knocked down most of the fall leaves, so now the deciduous trees are mostly bare. The girls loved watching me "make it snow" as I knocked heavy snow (and leaves) off the branches that were weighed down perilously low.

Even on Friday, Wednesday's snow still hung around on grassy patches. It all melted over the weekend, leaving us more warm fall weather for Halloween.

This week, the snow covered the entire city, requiring snowplows to clear the roads. Even the paths on the Greenway were plowed, such that by afternoon, the sidewalks were not only clear but completely dry, and we were easily able to walk to the girls' schools.

I did have to shovel our front porch (for although it is covered, the wind blew snow everywhere) and sidewalk and driveway. Kati was happy to supervise my snow shoveling so long as she didn't step in the freezing snow.

Poor baby; her shoes quickly soaked through, leaving her socks and feet cold and wet. Thus we went inside to let her practice walking in her huge snow boots before taking a walk to pick up big sisters.