Snow Day – Time to Play!

Well, we’ve been snowed in pretty good here in West Virginia, and there’s more on the way. I have to admit, my first thoughts when seeing all that beautiful white snow was “Let’s go play!” We took a walk this morning through the pristine whiteness. It snowed 4-5 inches in 5-6 hours. It was literally a winter wonderland. Everywhere snow lay like vanilla frosting, covering up the bare tree limbs and dull brown grass with beautiful fluffy white.

I have great childhood memories of snow. I remember how puzzled I was the one year a blizzard came through. While my parents complained of being “stuck at home,” because of snow piled against the door, my brother and I tunneled our way out. I think we were out of school for 3-4 days. The whole block came out to play. We made snow forts, tunnels, had snowball fights, made snowmen and snow angels. It was a blast!

Here are a few pictures I took on my morning walk:

Here’s the road to get off the mountain.

Here’s a view down the hill – want to go sledding?

This was the morning blizzard!

Me and the dogs having fun in the snow.

I did find a little downside to all the fun. My poor little dog had the snow stick to her warm fur. It began piling up more and more as she walked. Check out this photo snapped at the end of the walk. We had to give her a warm soaking to melt all the snow off of her. Too funny!

Top Ten ways to have fun outdoors.

Playgrounds these days Uploaded on February 22, 2007 by pfly

It’s been a long, hot summer. Now that things are about to cool off, it makes me want to get outside and do something. Here are 10 ideas to get you into the fresh air:

1. Go to the playground. Swing, slide and run around.
2. Take your dog to the dog park. It’s always good for a laugh.
3. Go on a sight-seeing cruise on a glass-bottom boat.
4. Skateboard, bike ride, or jump on a trampoline.
5. Roll down a hill into a pile of leaves.
6. Play hide-and-go-seek with 10 friends. Try flashlight tag at night.
7. Find the tallest building near your home and go to the top for a look.
8. For some excitement try white-water rafting, skydiving or hot-air ballooning.
9. Go camping. Even in your backyard you can see the stars.
10. Go to every fair, festival and celebration you can find before winter arrives.

Bonus ideas:

• Ambush your friends with a Super Soaker water cannon.
• Get a glow-in-the-dark basketball for late night games.
• Have a three-legged race. Winner picks dinner.
• Cloud watch with a friend.
• Dig for gemstones. Go to a quarry and look for gold.

World Wide Day of Play at Nickelodeon

Child’s play Uploaded on February 15, 2007 by paparutzi

Kudos and congrats to the Nickelodeon channel for encouraging parents and kids to stop watching TV and to go outside and play. Nickelodeon is a much beloved channel of children’s cartoons and TV programs. Many of my nieces, nephews, and friend’s children are addicted to it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the channel “went black” today for 3 hours in an attempt to get children to get outside and get moving. If you turn on the channel between 12pm and 3pm, all you will see a black screen with the “World Wide Day of Play” logo. A voice tells you that yes the TV is working, and to get outside and play. A written message follows and the two repeat off and on, ending with “this message will repeat, so unless you want to be bored, get up and play.”

Just seeing that blank screen with nothing on it inspired me to get up and go outside. Sure there are other channels with shows on, but the idea of a Play Day sounded like fun! Here is a link to the site which encourages a healthy lifestyle with good eating habits and plenty of exercise. After the 3-hour “blackout” there will be a 3-hour SpongeBob marathon, followed by their “Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge” finale.

What a wonderful example! Nick has proven that they have listened to the experts, and they are using their reputation as a channel for children to educate and support a healthy lifestyle with great shows and by taking action. Way to go Nick!