Give us an inch...

We got a snow day - but only about an inch of snow. The roads were slippery, so I appreciate the fact I didn't have to navigate our way to school. However, Mother Nature didn't deliver enough of the white stuff for us to really go sledding. B decided to improvise and boy it worked! They shot off the end of the slide faster than ever. It was great.

Now that is cold!

I am HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY that we are not digging out from a snow storm (yet). I can handle the wind and cold. Our fountain, not so much. If nothing else, it looks really cool.

Really...

The view from Birch Aquarium...

The view from our living room the day after our return...

We don't live in Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts. Now I understand why "Global Warming" has become "Global Climate Change". 

The Thaw

As the snow FINALLY starts to thaw, we are getting some great icicles. Our horse windsock is the coolest looking spectacle. 

Cabin Fever

What happens when you get two Moms pent up in the house for more than a week? A clean driveway! For those of you who live in places used to this amount of snow, keep in mind we only have one snow shovel. We used a regular garden shovel, too, to break up the ice layer. No blade, snow plow or snow blower. T and the kids made the snowman and took the sled down the drive way and street while my sister and I worked to dig out a bit. You can see that T's car has been in and out all week, but mine hasn't. 

Officially beating a dead horse...

We do not get that much snow. 2-4 inches closes us down. Schools. Work. Everything. We are now officially at 14.5 inches in the downtown area. We live in the hills, so we are probably closer to 20 inches since it began snowing on Sunday, DECEMBER 14. Yes, that is 8 days ago.We have not seen our street since the 14th. Many locations around town have been down to bare pavement during the past week. NOT HERE. We don't have a snow blower, just a bent snow shovel. Our city barely has a snow plow and they aren't using it on neighborhood streets. T tried to get out this afternoon and take my sister and niece to catch their flight home. Needless to say the flight was cancelled and they can't leave on another until 12/26. Happy to have them here some more, but I am sad that they can't be with my brother-in-law on the big day. 

I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE FOLLOWING:

T has a car that can navigate this mess.

We have no place we must go (think no labor pains or heart attack).

Our power is back on (out for about 4 hours this morning).

We have a gas fireplace to keep warm, a gas stove to cook meals and snow to keep food cool if necessary.

We got to spend quality time with my parents last week.

Our kids are having fun with their cousins.

G is taking her second nap of the day.

Lots of good family and friends who are just a phone call or email away. 

The view from here:

Tress with snow, then ice, then snow.

B helping me pose with snowy background.

Ice hanging from the roof. Lumps of snow on the deck - now officially higher than the stairs.

In front of the snow-covered chairs is B's John Deere pedal tractor. All you can see is the steering wheel. Now that is DEEP!!

Snowed In

We don't get lots of snow or wind, but when we get them together it is a real event in our world. Flakes began at 7:45 am as we left for church. We didn't get far and opted to turn around. We actually had to chain up to get home (really just for the 1/4- 1/2 mile around our home - with a few hundred feet elevation change) and for a boy from Montana to make that choice, you know it was pretty slippery. 

Snow covered house with baby stuck in the driveway

Our holiday lights were covered and eventually ended up on their side...

Check out the blowing snow behind T. Really - it was barely falling from the sky, more from the house-tops and trees around...

Happy family posing for mom...