Jan. 27, 2026

Snow Days

Snow Days

Snow days hit a little different at our house. With a full house, online public virtual school, and a schedule that usually runs like a well-oiled machine… all it takes is one winter storm or power outage to throw everything beautifully off the rails.

In this episode of We Are the Hansons, we’re talking about what snow days really look like in our home—from kids hoping the Wi-Fi goes out, to parents juggling work, meals, noise, and the sudden shift from “school day” to “everyone’s home and wide awake.” Even though our kids attend online public virtual school, snow days still happen here, especially when winter knocks the power out and forces us all to slow down.

We share the chaos, the laughs, the frustrations, and the unexpected moments that remind us why these unplanned days end up meaning so much more than we realize. Because snow days aren’t just about canceled school—they’re about family, memories, and learning how to embrace the mess when life presses pause.

Grab a warm drink, settle in, and join the conversation. ❄️❤️

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WEBVTT

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There's a funny thing about snow days in our house

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because technically, on paper, our kids don't even have snow days.

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They do online public virtual school. No buses pulling up

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at seven am, no backpacks lined up by the door

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the night before, no standing outside in the cold waiting

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for a yellow bus that's running fifteen minutes late, no

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permission slips, no cafeteria lunches, no snow day phone trees.

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And yet somehow we still have snow days. Because here's

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the thing. Snow doesn't care about Wi Fi. Winter doesn't

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care about virtual classrooms. And when a storm rolls through

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hard enough to knock out power across the country, the

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school district cancels for everyone, every single student, virtual or not.

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Because when the power grid goes down, when the internet

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towers lose connection, when half the country is sitting in

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the dark, the school makes the call no school today,

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all students stay safe. Snow days at our house don't

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happen because we decide to take the day off. They

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happen because mother nature decides for everyone. Because the whole

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world slows down, whether you plan for it or not.

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And when that happens, oh, it's on welcome back to

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We are the Hansens, the podcast about marriage, parenting, family, love, laughter.

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I'm raising humans in a world that never goes exactly

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according to plan. I'm really glad you're here today because

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we're talking about something that feels small on the surface

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but ends up being one of those memories that stick

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around forever. Snow days at our house. And yes, before

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anyone jumps into the comments, yes, our kids attend online

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public virtual school. They log in from home, They do

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their work in pajamas half the time. They don't ride

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buses or stand in carpool lines. But if you've ever

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lived through a Midwest winter, if you've ever watched a

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storm system move across the radar like it's got a

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personal vendetta against your county, you already know a power

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outage doesn't care how your school is structured. When the

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lights go out, when the routers blink red and die,

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when the heat stops kicking on and the house goes quiet,

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school gets canceled for everyone, virtual kids included. And that's

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when the magic happens. That's when our house transforms from

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structured homeschool environment into complete and total chaos, the best

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kind of chaos. Let's talk about it. Snowdays don't start

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in the morning. They start the night before. They start

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with parents glued to their phones, watching the weather like

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it's a Super Bowl, dar wind chill advisories, ice accumulation predictions.

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You're refreshing the forecast every twenty minutes. You're checking the

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school district website. You're in the parent Facebook groups watching

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other moms lose their minds over whether bread and milk

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will still be available at the grocery store. And in

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our case, we're watching for one thing specifically, power outages,

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because if the power goes out in our area, if

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the internet drops, if the whole county loses connectivity, the

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school district cancels. They send the email, they post the announcement.

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Due to widespread power outages and on safe road conditions,

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all classes are canceled for whatever day it could be.

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This includes virtual students. The kids know the drill. They're

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not hoping for a traditional snow day announcement. They're not

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waiting for a phone call from the superintendent. They're watching

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the weather. They're listening to the wind pick up outside.

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They're checking the lights. Dad, do you think will lose power? Mom?

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What if the internet goes out. If the router dies,

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does that mean no school? And you're trying to play

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it cool, You're trying not to feed into the excitement,

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but inside you're kind of hoping for it too, because,

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let's be honest, snow days are magic, even for parents,

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especially for parents. It usually happens in the middle of

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the night or early morning, right before the sun comes up.

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Snow starts falling. Not the light pretty kind, the heavy, wet,

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relentless hind that piles up fast, the wind picks up,

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trees start bending, and then that sound, not a notification,

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not a text alert, but silence, the deep, sudden silence

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that only happens when the power goes out. The hum

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of the house shuts off, the furnace stops mid cycle,

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the lights flicker once and die. The router that usually

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blinks green in the corner dark completely dead, And just

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like that, before anyone even checks their email, you know

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virtual school is canceled. You don't have to announce it,

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you don't have to wake the kids. They feel it.

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One by one. Bedroom doors crack open, little faces peek

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out into the hallway. Did the power just go out?

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Is the internet gone? So that means no school right,

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And you check your phone because you're responsible, because you

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want to confirm, and there it is the email from

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the school district, all classes canceled today due to power

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outages and hazardous conditions. You show them the screen, and suddenly,

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without any warning, without any planning, you're having a snow day,

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not because you decided to skip because winter or cited

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for everyone. Here's what happens immediately after a snow day

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gets declared in our house, pure unfiltered chaos. The kids

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lose their minds. They're running, they're shouting, they're jumping on beds,

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even though you've told them a thousand times not to

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snow day, no school. We can stay in pajamas all day.

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And you're standing there in the dark holding a flashlight

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trying to figure out if the heat's going to come

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back on, while your children celebrate like they've just won

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the lottery because to them, they did a snow day.

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When you do online school feels earned. It doesn't happen often,

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it doesn't happen lightly. It happens because the world literally

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said everyone stop, everyone slow down, everyone stay home. There's

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something about that, something about knowing it's not just your house.

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It's the entire county, the whole disc everyone's in the

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same boat. No Google classroom today, no Zoom calls, no assignments,

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no logging in, just nothing, which sounds amazing until you

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realize now you have to fill that time with no power,

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no internet, no screens. And that's when the real adventure begins.

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Once the excitement dies down, once the adrenaline wears off,

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you start thinking logically. You start planning, because a houseful

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of kids with no structure, that's a recipe for disaster.

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So you call a family meeting in the living room

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by flashlight and you lay down the snow day rules. Okay,

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listen up, We're not just doing nothing all day. We're

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going outside once it's safe. Everyone's helping with chores. We

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still eat real meals, not just snacks, and no not

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watching movies on devices all day because there's no power.

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The kids nod, they agree, they look attentative. They absolutely

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will not follow any of it, but you try anyway,

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because that's parenting. You set expectations, knowing full well they'll

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get ignored, but hoping maybe one or two will stick.

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The first challenge of any snow day without power breakfast

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because kids wake up hungry. And when there's no microwave,

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no toaster, no electric griddle, you get creative. If you're lucky,

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you've got a gas stove. We do, so we fire

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it up. We make pancakes the old fashioned way, mixing

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batter by hand, whipping them in the cast iron skillet.

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No timer, no perfect temperature control, just eyeballing it. There's

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something about cooking by necessity that makes food taste different.

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The kids crowd around the stove, they watch the batter bubble,

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They argue over who gets the first one, and for

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a moment, it feels less like we lost power and

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more like we're camping indoors, which, let's be real, that's

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exactly what this is. Eventually, the kids start getting restless.

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They've eaten, they've burned off the initial excitement, and now

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they're bouncing off the walls. So you make the call,

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all right, everyone outside, And that's when it starts the

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great snowgear hunt. Where are my boots? I can't find

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my left glove, the coat doesn't fit anymore, my snow

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pants are wet from last time. And you're running around

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the house like a mannic, digging through closets, checking the

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laundry room, trying to find matching gloves that aren't soaked.

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Because here's the truth about snowgear. It disappears. You buy it,

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you label it, put it in the same spot every time,

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and somehow, by the time you actually needed, half of

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it's gone lost to the void, eaten by the snowgear monster.

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You eventually cobble together enough gear for everyone to go outside.

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Some of it fits, some of it doesn't. Some of

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it is from three years ago and barely zips. But

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it's fine. It's a snow day. Nobody cares if your

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pants are two inches too short. When everyone finally gets outside,

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something shifts. The chaos holms, the noise softens, because snow

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does that. It muffles everything, makes the world quieter, slower.

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The yard is unrecognizable, everything buried under a thick blanket

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of white. The trampolines a giant snow mound, the slide covered,

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the swing set looks like a frozen sculpture. And the kids,

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they lose it. It's the best way. Snowballs start flying,

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orks get built. Someone tries to make a snow angel

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and ends up face first in a drift. There's laughter,

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real deep belly laughter, the kind you don't get on

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a normal day, the kind that only happens when everyone's

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cold and wet and completely present, no phones, no distractions,

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just kids being kids, and you stand there, freezing watching, thinking,

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this is what childhood should look like. Every snow day

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has a sled situation. In our house. It's always the same.

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We have exactly three sleds. We have three kids. Someone

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getting left out, someone going to cry, someone going to

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try to ride down the hill on a trash can lid.

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It happens every time I called it first, you got

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the fast one. Last time that one's broken. I'm going

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down backwards, and you're standing at the top of the hill, refereeing, negotiating,

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trying to make sure nobody ends up in the emergency room.

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Because kids on sleds fearless, reckless, completely unconcerned with physics

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or safety. They'll ride down anything. They'll aim for trees

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like it's a challenge. They'll build jumps that absolutely should

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not exist, and all you can do is watch and

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pray and maybe take a few videos for evidence later. Eventually,

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the cold winds, it always does, Fingers go numb, toasts

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start hurting. Someone's crying because their face is frozen, and

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you call it all right, everyone inside, there's resistance. Just

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five more minutes. We're not even cold, but you stand

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firm because you know, you know that in ten minutes

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someone's going to be sobbing about frostbite. So you heard

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them back towards the house, slowly, one by one, leaving

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a trail of snow and wet gear behind them. When

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everyone comes back inside, the house feels different, quieter, darker,

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because the power's still out. No TV blaring in the background,

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no device is charging on the counter, no lights humming overhead,

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just silence and cold, wet kids stripping off layers in

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the entryway. You grab towels, you start a fire. If

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you have a fireplace, you pile blankets on the couch,

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and slowly everyone settles, bundled up, still shivering, but together.

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When the power's been out for hours, lunch becomes a challenge.

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You can't just throw something in a microwave, you can't

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heat up leftovers. You've got to get creative, and in

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our house we make snow day soup. It's become a tradition,

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not because we planned it that way, but because when

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you're standing in front of your pantry in the dark,

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holding a flashlight, trying to figure out what you can

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cook on a gas stove with no electricity. You start improvising,

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and this this is what we came up with. So

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let me walk you through it, because if you've got

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a gas stove and some basic ingredients, you can feed

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an army of cold, hungry kids with this. First, you

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need a big pot, not a small one, a big

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one because this is going to feed everyone and it's

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going to simmer for a while. Start with oil, a

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couple tablespoons olive oil if you've got it, vegetable oil.

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If you don't, whatever you have, heat it up over

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medium heat on your gas burner. Then you're going to

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brown some ground beef about two pounds if you're feeding

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a crowd like ours, one pound if your family's smaller.

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Break it up as it cooks, let it get nice

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and brown. Season it with salt and pepper while it's cooking.

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Don't skip this step. This is where the flavor starts.

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Once it's browned, train off most of the fat. If

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there's a lot, leave a little bit for flavor. Now

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here's where it gets good. You're going to add one

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onion dice. If you don't have a fresh onion, use

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onion powder, a tablespoon or soap. Throw in some garlic

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three or four cloves minced or add a tea spoonful

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garlic powder. If that's what you've got. Let that cook

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for a couple minutes until it smells amazing. Next you're

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building the base. Add one big can of dice tomatoes,

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the twenty eight ounce can. Don't drain it, dump the

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whole thing in. Then add beef broth pour cups. If

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you don't have beef broth, use bowllyon cubes and water.

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Nobody's judging. This is survival cooking. Now for the vegetables.

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This is where you raid the pantry and the fridge.

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Frozen mixed vegetables perfect. Throw in two cups fresh carrots

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you need to use up. Dice them and toss them

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in celery. Great potatoes even better, cut them into small

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chunks so they cook faster. Green beans, corn, peas, whatever

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you've got. It all works. The beauty of this soup

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is that it's flexible. It doesn't have to be exact.

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Season it. This is important. Salt pepper, Italian seasoning. About

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a tablespoon, a bay leaf if you have one, a

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pinch of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat,

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taste it, adjust, and more salt if it needs it.

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Then let it simmer. Turn the heat down to low,

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put the lid on it, and just let it go

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twenty minutes thirty if you've got time. The longer it simmers,

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the better it tastes. While it's cooking, the whole house

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starts to smell incredible. The kids start circling. Is it

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ready yet? How much longer I'm starving? Right before you

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serve it, add pasta small pasta, elbow macaroni, small shells,

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whatever small pasta you have, about a cup and a half.

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Stir it in. Let it cook for about ten minutes

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until the pasta is tender, and that's it. Snow day soup.

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Serve it in big bowls with crackers if you've got them,

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with bread, if you don't, with absolutely nothing, if you're

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out of everything, it's good enough on its own. The

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kids devour it. They always do, because there's something about

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hot soup on a cold day, when the power's out,

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when the world feels frozen, when you're all huddled together

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in the kitchen, it just hits different. It's comfort, it's warm,

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it's proof that you can still take care of everyone

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even when nothing's going according to plan. And honestly, that's

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what snow days are all about, making it work, finding

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joy and the chaos, feeding your people, one big pot

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of soup at a time. After lunch, the afternoon slump hits,

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the excitement wears off, the kids are tired, bored, starting

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to fight, and you realize this is the hard part,

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the part where snow days stop being fun and start

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being long. No screens, no games, no distractions, just a

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house full of restless energy with nowhere to go. So

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you pull out board games, the puzzles, the books, anything

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to keep them occupied. And it works sort of for

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a while. Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, when

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everyone's calmed down, when the house is quiet and still,

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someone starts telling a story. Maybe it's about the time

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Dad got stuck in a snow drift. Maybe it's about

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the worst winter Mom ever lived through. Maybe it's just silly,

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made up nonsense. But it doesn't matter because everyone listens.

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And then someone tells a story, and then another, and

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suddenly you're not just passing time, you're connected the way

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families used to before screens took over, before everyone had

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their own device, before entertainment was always one click away.

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You're talking, laughing, remembering, and you realize this is the

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part they'll remember, not the sledding, not the snow. This

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late afternoon, without warning, the power kicks back on. The

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lights flicker, the furnace roars to life, the router blinks screen,

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and just like that, the snow day starts to end.

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The kids cheer, they run and check their devices, They

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turn the TV on, and part of you is relieved

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because heat, because light, because normalcy. But another part of

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you feels sad because you know what's coming tomorrow. School's

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back on, life returns to normal. The magic ends that night,

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after everyone showered, after dinner, after the house has returned

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to a normal rhythm, you tuck the kids into bed

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and they're different, calmer, tired in a good way, and

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they say things like that was the best day ever?

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Can we have another snow day tomorrow? I love when

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the power goes out, and you laugh because only kids

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would say that. Only kids would love losing power. But

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you get it, because today wasn't about convenience. It wasn't

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about screens or schedules or structure. It was about being together,

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forced together by snow, by power outages, by circumstances beyond

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anyone's control, And somehow those end up being the best days.

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Our kids do online public virtual school. They log in

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from home, they attend class in pajamas, They don't ride

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a bus or pack launches. But when the power goes out,

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when the storms roll through, when the whole county loses electricity,

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the school district cancels for everyone. Virtual students include it,

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and just like that, we get snow days, real ones,

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the time where the world stops, where the house goes dark,

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where the kids play outside until they can't feel their fingers,

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where you cook by candle light and make soup on

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a gas stove, where you tell stories by the fire,

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where you remember what it's like to just be together,

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no distractions, no devices, no excuses, just family. Life isn't

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always digital. Sometimes it's dark, cold, unplanned, inconvenient, And somehow

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those end up being the days that matter most, the

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days they'll remember, the days that make us who we are.

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From our loud, snowy, occasionally powerless house, this is we

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are the Hansens, thanks for being here. We'll see you

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next time.