Polar Pineapple Express

This week has been the first really cold week since our return from Hawaii. Although, after being in Hawaii just a month ago, anything below 70 is technically cold!

The weathermen—yes they are all men in this neck of the woods—have been talking about a weather current they refer to as the “Pineapple Express”. Some weather pattern where the air comes from the tropical Pacific (near Hawaii) bringing with it lots of moisture. It caused all of the flooding in the Northwest and then it made its way to Provo, Utah, which is where my life gets involved…

We had snow on Saturday (December 1st) triggering our Christmas tree excursion (see previous blog). With the cold weather the snow sat on the ground all week. Then on Friday it started to rain. It rained all day and melted all of the snow on the ground.

Saturday started out as just another cold day, until around 1 pm when I decided to venture out with the 3 kids to make a library trip. Once we had everyone bundled up the snow started to fall. No big deal as we drove through the streets of Provo to one of the finest-looking libraries in the country. Eight years later, I am still happy to pay increased property taxes to have saved the historic Brigham Young Academy from the wrecking ball.

Here is the low down on how all library excursions go in the Winward household:

1. Nathan makes a b-line to the “Star Wars” section of the Juvenile Fiction. He complains that the next books in the various series he wants aren’t available and then proceeds to chose several in a new series or skips the one missing.

2. Hallie runs for the boxes of board books and grabs random books based on no particular criteria. I then toss some back (like a too-small fish) based on subject matter or characters that seem uninteresting to me, as the parent, who must end up reading them to her.

3. Ilene then peruses the “Easy Reader” section looking for books at her level (ones with red stickers on the spine). But this time they had to have a red sticker and a Christmas sticker (candy canes, Christmas tree, or lights) to signify it was a seasonal book worthy of coming home for the holidays.

4. Then off to the checkout line. This is my first trip since they installed new self-checkout kiosks. You scan you library card (Nathan did his) and then you are told your outstanding balance for fines ($13.30) associated with books and videos not returned on time. My dear wife refers to these fines as a “user fee”. I hate these “user fees”, but am told each time I learn of them that it is cheaper than buying the books. I still don’t see the light!

So you swipe your credit/debit card and are then granted permission to check out books. You place the books on the counter and it detects each book by a radio frequency chip implanted in each book. Once it has them all you place more books on the counter until finished. In the bag they go and off to the van we go.

End of library routine…on with real story. Consider that a commercial break (brought to you by the Provo City Library) in the sitcom of my life you are reading and visualizing in your head.

The snow in now really falling and in a half hour has already accumulated all over the van. With no brush to use I find a bandana (there is always something in the van!) to remove the snow from the windows. We pull out and slowly make our way home. It snowed the rest of the day. All told we received 4 inches of snow by evening as measured by David James.

Around 6 pm I decided to go shovel the sidewalk and driveway. Realizing how much snow had accumulated and how wet it was (thank you Pineapple Express) I started to make quite a pile. Knowing how the kids have been dying for a snowman they were all summoned outside (without one protest—a Christmas miracle!). So for the next 40 minutes we built a snowman, the kids threw snowballs, and I finished shoveling all of the snow. Cynthia ventured out to be photographer/videographer.


“Mr. Snow” was created with thanks to my mom who gave the kids the “Snowman Kit” last year for Christmas. It took us a year to use it (and lost a mitten in the process!), but I have a feeling this will not be the last snowman of this winter. The pictures were taken in ‘night mode’ so they are blurry.



We got more snow overnight so here are some more pictures of Mr. Snow in his element (before and after snow removal) the next morning taken as I was AGAIN shoveling the driveway.