Seriously, it never snows here

One of the big selling points about Jarom’s new job, apart from the fact that it was available and that they would take him, was the wonderfully mild winter climate of Richmond, where all the locals swore to us that it never snows. LIARS! We have been here for 3 weeks, and presently experiencing our second major (6+ inches of snow) winter storm. The snowfall is a lot, but it wouldn’t be so bad if the city were equipped even a little bit to handle it. There are something like 20 city-owned plows, which means that there are many streets that still had ice on them from last week’s storm when last night’s storm began. But it does make the town look pretty, and it allows Jarom to work from home, which Alixa and Jenna love.

This is how people in VA react to a forecast of snow

Last Friday, before the snow shut everything down, Jarom and Nate played for their ward in a churchball game, the first such game Jarom has participated in since he was 17. It was eerily similar to the many BYU intramural games he played in. It was mostly 20-somethings trying to recapture the glory days of their athletic careers, the refs were sub par at best, tempers were hot and a fight nearly broke out (of course, involving Nate.) We were even lucky enough to have France Nielson, former BYU student body president, on the opposing bench. Jenna and Lix showed up to support the team, and we learned that Jenna really loves watching sports. Neither her toys nor the other kids were interesting enough to steal away her attention. She loved the loud noises and action. Jarom could not have been more proud.

Jarom’s job benefits kicked in on February 1st, which meant that Jenna got a trip to the doctor. She is developing fine, even though she still can’t crawl and all of her cousins can. She also got 5 shots, which made her sob uncontrollably while Alixa felt terrible. But Lix liked the doctor and is excited to be making repeat trips to the same physician, a luxury that Jenna has yet to experience.

Lix has tried to teach her to crawl, but she can't figure it out

February 2nd was Groundhog Day, and also Alixa’s 25th birthday. She got a new set of scriptures, some clothes, some flowers, a car ipod attachment, a gym membership, and a new house. After looking for a few weeks she found a nice 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath place in an area that she loves at a price Jarom liked. It has a nice back yard with a big deck and some large boulders, a wonderful kitchen, and a bedroom just for me. Lix put all her vicarious house-buying experience to use and put in an offer that was accepted and will close on February 15th. And then the Winns will join the popular “I have several hundred thousand dollars of debt” demographic. But they are thrilled about the house and excited to not live in an apartment anymore.

There is no fridge, so I guess it will be all fresh food, Kramer style

Lastly, Jarom received news that he passed his certification test, which means that he can start doing actual work. In order to be certified, he needed to score at least 80% on each of two tests. The results arrived today: 81% and 82%. He figures why work any harder than you need to, right? He was never particularly worried about it, but it is definitely a relief to have that behind him so he can really get into his new job.