Meltdown

I've enjoyed this Christmas season, with its celebrations and decorations, and visits with friends and family. But all this activity can be stressful, and even result in meltdowns like this snowman.

So now I'm looking forward to this next long weekend, to store up energy for the new year.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Snowmen are a very popular theme in holiday decorations. There are a lot of traditional snowmen displays around Downey, but Olaf, from the movie Frozen, is just as common these days.

My personal list of favorite Olaf quotes:

1. “Oh, look at that. I’ve Been impaled.”
2. “So this is what heat feels like! Oh, but don’t touch it!”
3. "My own personal flurry!"
4. “An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!”
5. “Hi, I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!”
6. “Some people are just worth melting for."

Snow!

For the tree lighting service at the Civic Center, there was a snow patch with an amazing snowman on guard, ready for pictures! The kids played until the snow was soooo packed and icy that the Explorer volunteers had to "rake it up" to make it fun for the next group.

"Some people are worth melting for."
~ Olaf

Finally...the Jolly Snowman

In addition to the tree lighting, Santa, and hot cocoa, there was snow and a snowman!

Of course the line for the kids to get into the snow area was crazy long, but there it was for all to play in. I watched for a few minutes as some of the smaller kids worked up their nerve to dive in. This little guy didn't seem to sure of himself.

"Snowmen fall from Heaven....unassembled".
~ Anonymous

The Snowman Cometh

Christmas decorations are lighting up the neighborhoods. Snowmen are starting to pop up all over Downey. It is one of the iconic Christmas figures you see gracing lawns and porches. Somehow I had always thought snowmen were a rather recent development. But, according to Wikipedia, artistic representations of snowmen date back to the middle ages. Although, it wasn't until the Victorian era that the snowman became a popular symbol of the holiday season.

While we haven't had real snow in Downey for some years, we do have snowmen. And, with the arrival of the snowmen, the Christmas decorating season has come.

Snow...ish!

Pam recently posted some pictures of Mount Baldy from around Downey. Today we decided to spend the hour or so and drive up to Baldy to play in the snow (we even brought Ivan, the dog).

Unfortunately, we did not find very much snow. There were small patches along the edges of the road. Despite the lack of snow, we found a charming snowman perched on the side of the road.

We were a little sad to not find the volume of snow we were hoping for, but it didn't seem to matter to Ivan. He happily pranced in almost every inch we found.

Yosemite: Roadside snowman

I know, most people when they head to Yosemite focus on the magnificent granite that surrounds you in the valley or maybe one of the countless waterfalls. Us too, but we also wanted snow! It took a dedicated ride up to Badger Pass to find it, but find it we did.

Okay, so we also took just a few other pictures today. After breakfast, we hiked up to Lower Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is actually made up of three separate falls—Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 feet), the middle cascades (675 feet), and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 feet). There we were surprised by a stunning rainbow. It was impressive.

Toyland winner

It is fun to drive around and see the variety of decorations around the city. This house I discovered tonight as I was out admiring the lights. It is the Toyland winner of the 2011 Holiday Home Decorating Contest.