Wellington - A Winter Wonderland

Yep, we're living history right now!!! Basically the first snow of the century (in Wellington)... plus the first time in about 30-50 years (depending on who you talk to). We were having a beautifully mild winter... you've seen the photos - the kids have been outside on their bikes, we had Helena's party outside just a week ago... it's been more than bearable... and NOW... now it's been snowing since Sunday! We're not talking that light, icy, wash-away stuff I showed pictures of last time... we're talking REAL, white, cold, crunchy, clean, some of you know it - REAL SNOW!!! The kind you find on a mountain or see in magazines of mountains (for those of you in tropical places). REAL SNOW!!!

 So Sunday after church (which was a great service for another entry) we were heading home and this is what we saw on the Ngaraunga Gorge... genuine SNOW!!!

Not only was there snow already on the ground, but it was still falling - not blizzard conditions but boy it was really coming down steadily. I was out the window on Hunter's side taking video with Tony's iphone as well as these photos. "Mom, I'm getting snow on me." "C'mon Hunter, you're a Clark! Where's your sense of adventure!?!"

We had our friend Ruben in the car with us. Our mission was supposedly simple - take Ruben to his house after church. However, he lives up a steeper hill and we decided it was going to be too dangerous. Good thing we came straight home... we had to park our car on the hill and walk up to our house with the three kids. Thankfully we had umbrellas and Grandad here to help.

When we got home, our yard looked like this! Who's house is this? Check out Helena's party post for pictures from five days prior!

We got the kids all rugged up and let them go outside to play a bit... Hunter and Ruben tried to use some cardboard as a sled, they threw snowballs, then the big kid joined them...

with his snowboard!!!! Not quite deep enough... but the hope was there!

And there was even a snowman! Snowy, the snowman (can you imagine what kind of pet names we would have?). Of course we had been anticipating an early night for the kids since we were home from church by 5:30, but with all the excitement (and Ruben's dad picking him up with a 4-wheel drive) the kids had yet another late night.

But imagine their excitement when they awoke to this!!! More snow! Well, actually the morning was okay, but a bit unpredictible so Dad postponed his ferry trip by a day. Tony and I dropped off Hunter at kindy, then I took Tony into town for work and my visit to the physio.The traffic was so light, it felt like a Sunday rather than a Monday. I did a few errands and went home to meet dad and Helena for morning tea. Just as I was skyping with my parents, Tony called to say I'd better pick up Hunter - NOW and then wait for him at the bus stop because there was another major snow dump on it's way. So that's just what we did.

All the while, Helena wasn't sure how long it would last so she took matters into her own hands and froze some of the snow to ensure she'd be able to play with it later. It did snow and rain quite a bit so on Monday we pretty much just stayed in and stayed dry.

Poor little Helena, though, was super antsy to get out there and explore.

Tuesday morning we were supposed to take Dad to the ferry, but at an early morning check of the ole iphone showed us that weather in the South Island was worse and wisdom decided to keep him here with us for a few more days until we could be sure he'd make it all the way home once he left our place. So... another day with Grandad!!! This was the white, alpine-like view out of our window... amazing really!

And here's Dad enjoying thus said view.

So today we ventured out by foot after the rain and snow stopped falling. Of course it did take us most of the morning to track down our snowgear and put it on, go to the toilet, then put it on again... but the kids had a blast!

As we walked down Ironside Road (literally down the center of the road due to ice on footpath) we stopped to admire a much bigger snowman - perhaps a bit of inspiration for the kids for next time. It was fun to be outside looking around at our clean, white town. We popped by the chemist, then over to the mall for fish and chips (and a bit of supermarket shopping). It was nice to get a change of scenery (our lounge is only so big) but the kids were tired and it was time to walk back home...

As we walked back up the road we noticed the snowman had been accessorized! How fun, a community mascot!

Because the kids were so tired, we had to play "hide and seek" on the way home to trick them into keeping on... it's fun that they still fall for it. One of these days, they won't.

Some of the snow had melted, well, a lot of it had melted by about 1:00pm, so the kids and I took a drive to visit some friends. However, our trip was cut short by a fresh snowfall and here we are at home now (playing Scrabble with Dad) while the wind is whipping around sleet and who knows what else out there... so we'll see what tomorrow brings!!! We do know it will bring dad and Hunter still at home...

Oh... I found a few more photos on Tony's phone... this was Sunday evening when we arrived home. It's lovely - like Christmas...

 On Tuesday morning the bus was stuck at the top of the hill by our house... the bus Tony normally takes to work.

 Of course our adventure walk to mall was topped off with a kiddie cone from Wendy's... which was funny because I'll often let the kids get a sample if they've been good at the supermarket. The guy who works there has become accustomed to this habit and I think he was rather pleasantly surprised that we ordered something.

Today - we had rain. Just plain ole rain. But it was COLD, windy, wet Wellington rain!