So about a month ago we had a pretty bad snowstorm. To be fair, aside from the snowstorm and the past week or so, the weather this winter has been amazing for up here. Timothy has only had to have "inside recess" a handful of times which is pretty crazy considering most years our winters are full of rain, rain and more rain!! But the snow was pretty bad. I love snow, I mostly grew up in Michigan so I have a lot of really great memories of playing in the snow...but this year it was rough. The tires on our van were old and needed to be replaced so we couldn't get out at all so we were stuck in the house for a whole week, which, if you know me, is like torture!!
It started on a Saturday. I had taken Charlotte to the movies to see Beauty and the Beast (I cried like a baby, she was so happy), and when we got home I needed to go to the library so I suggested that we all go together so we loaded everyone in the van. It had just started to snow when we got in the car and by the time we got out of our garage, down our street and turned onto the main road in our neighborhood it was falling so thickly that Brandon decided we had to turn around and just go home. We slipped and slid back into the driveway and let the kids play in the snow out front for a few minutes before heading back inside. It snowed quite a bit that night and then stopped but the roads were covered so we were snowed in Sunday and Monday as well. By Tuesday it was a little better so Brandon took Timothy to school in his car (since it has new tires) and later that day I went to Target just to get out of the house for a bit. The big snow hit Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. I think we got just under a foot total. It was beautiful, and since we were stuck in the house we got a lot done that we had been needing to do and just didn't have time to do. We painted Timothy's room, we painted a chalkboard in our kitchen, we baked a lot, we made a bunch of baby food, we did a lot of laundry...it was a busy few days.
Then Thursday came...all afternoon and night on Wednesday the weather had switched from snow to ice and Thursday morning our power decided to go out. Thankfully we have a gas fireplace and a gas hot water heater so we had some heat downstairs and hot water but we still couldn't cook anything. We ordered a lot of pizza over the next few days! The kids were fine playing until it started getting dark and then we all had to hang out in the living room with flashlights and candles. We made them wait till after dinner to play on the iPods and watch movies on the computer until the batteries all ran out. Thankfully we thought ahead of time on Wednesday to blow up air mattresses and so Thursday night we all camped out in the living room together. The kids did a lot better than I thought they would about all going to sleep in the same room. They all slept great, Brandon and I, not so much!
The next day we still didn't have power so Brandon decided around 10am to drive his car out to my parent's house (because they did have power) and he was supposed to drive back over here in their Suburban and pick us all up so that we could go over there for the night. So we packed up suitcases, packed up all the kid's medicine, packed up all our flashlights and things in case the power went out at their house too...and he left. He called me an hour or so later in a panic because he had gone over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and was in Gig Harbor and they came on the radio and said the DOT had decided to close the bridge because ice was falling from the top beams onto the roadway and it was too dangerous. He tried to turn around and get back over the bridge so that he could just come back here but they had already closed it...so he got to spend the afternoon and evening at my parent's house...in the warmth, with TV and power and a computer...and I was home with three kids...still with no power. I had a little pity party and the kids and I made the best of it! Finally our power came on around 5pm that night!!
So we learned our lesson and got new tires for the van and are hoping and praying that we don't get anymore snow this year! It's hard to keep three kids entertained in one room of the house with no power! But the kids did have a lot of fun playing in the snow! Brandon was great, he got out there with them and built snowmen and played while Caroline and I stayed nice and warm inside! That is just one more thing I love about living here...we maybe get one good snow once a year and within a few days it warms up and rains and all the snow is gone...it's perfect!
The backyard...before the kids "destroyed" it!
I love this picture of them...they are such good friends, I hope that never changes!
Notice her boots have disappeared under the snow...it was pretty deep!
They thought it was pretty cool that they could sit on the snow on their swings!
He wanted to make a "face down" snow angel...
It was hard to climb up the rock wall when it was covered in snow!
And the day after the ice hit...you can see how thick the ice was on the branches
These trees all looked like they were just so heavy...so many trees broke in this storm, you can still see the damage and branches and trees down all over the place, even a month later!
See the icicles on the swing set? Timothy thought they were pretty cool "swords"!
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