All winter long, we'd been pining away for a snowstorm, waiting expectantly in semi-patient disbelief as the season flew by. With February behind us and March beginning, it was finally starting to sink in that a traditional midwest winter-wonderland probably wasn't in the cards for us this year. Not having a snowy winter in Minnesota is just plain weird.
Happily, the season wasn't a total bust. Last night, long after we'd given up hope for a proper blizzard, it started snowing on our way to the grocery store. We were ecstatic, watching with glee as wet, swirling flakes filled the night sky.
Winter at last!
The total snowfall ended up being fairly modest, but it was enough to start a project we've been dreaming about for several months: making an igloo. This weekend, our friend Alex was kind enough to show us the ropes. He brought his igloo-building ICEBOX out to our place, and his lovely wife, Megan, and their two adorable kids, Brynn and Adrian joined us a few hours later. Together, we got down to work: lots of crusty snow crushing, powder shoveling, and block stacking in the great outdoors.
Somehow, there are no photos of Megan :(
It took about six hours to make the igloo, and we enjoyed every minute of it. After an hour or so, Tara took a break to prepare warm chocolate chip cookies—they were a huge hit. We all took a lunch break at the halfway point, cozying up inside to make homemade bacon and caramelized onion pizzas. Then, we returned to the task at hand, finishing the walls of our snowy home-to-be.
The final step was my favorite: entombing Alex by lobbing snow onto the crown of our structure (right on top of his head). With the igloo complete, we waited patiently for him to emerge. After a few minutes of silence, a disembodied arm appeared at the base. We handed Alex the camera for a few inside-the-igloo photos, and then he burrowed his way out.
Afterward, we all celebrated with a dip in the hot tub. Several intrepid members of our little party ran into the igloo in just their bathing suits, rolled around in the snow for a minute, and then came sprinting back for another skin-screaming dip into the steaming water. We made maple-on-snow candy, and watched the sun set, and that was the end to a wonderful day. Now we have an igloo to sleep in!
Thank you Alex, Megan, Adrian and Brynn!