Snow times, fun times!

I was looking forward to the snow that had been forecasted for the weekend all week, but did not let the children know in case we did not get any. Also we have never had snow on a Saturday before, so have never been able to share it with dad. Saturday came and there was no snow when we woke up, but at 9:30ish it started coming down very lightly, but within 10 minutes it was coming down really heavy, and seemed to be increasing rapidly. This photo gives an idea of how fast it came down.
I wanted to capture a snowflake and view it under the microscope, previous times the snowflake had instantly melted on the slide once I caught them, so this time I had a slide ready in the freezer. At first I caught one and brought it inside but it still melted, so I put the slide back in the freezer for a few minutes, and then caught one and viewed it outside.
I could see the beautiful shapes of the crystals, but because the snow falls as many snowflakes together, it was as if many snowflakes were in a clump on the slide and I couldn't see one clearly with the 6 sides.
Happy children!
Finally getting to enjoy it with dad.

Finally I got a slide that had the single snowflake that we could see clearly. It was definitely a six sided one, although it was a very uncomplicated design, all the children managed to see it. We also have a magnifying glass on the microscope so that gave quite a different view of it too.
Setting to work making a snowman.
We then made a decision for Jude to get one of his presents early - his toboggan. It was meant to be for Christmas, but we did not know whether we would get snow like this again this year, and it seemed such a waste to just be sitting in a box by the front door, so Jude was really pleased(as where they all) to get a toboggan. Dad took them to the shops and back with it.
I think Ciara got the most use out of it.
After church and lunch on Sunday, Mike took them to the park for some toboganning fun. I stayed home with Ayla, I don't think she would appreciate the cold.
Ciara had complained about being cold when she was out the previous day, so we got Jude's old snowsuit out for her.
They took turns going down the slope in the park.