Snowmageddon

My friend Laura used this term on Facebook when describing our weather, so I'm stealing it since it seemed to so aptly describe my feelings regarding the snow.

Now this is going to seem really strange to hear from me - but I have been sooo sick of snow! I know, there's just no pleasing me, huh? I pratter on and on about how much I love the snow, and I was so bummed that we didn't have a snow event our last winter season. Now here we get a lot of snow, and all I do is complain.

So when we last left off, it was bitterly cold and we'd gotten a few inches of sticking snow, thus cancelling church on Dec 14th. Thankfully work was NOT cancelled, so I was able to go in Monday and Tuesday, although driving conditions were not great. School, on the other hand, was cancelled - for the entire week before Christmas break! While I appreciate the safety issues that have to be considered, I really feel that school should have been held on a couple of the days that were cancelled. We did drive in to school that Thursday and Friday anyway since the teachers called to say they'd be in the classroom for a few hours for the students that could make it in to pick up their Christmas presents and crafts.

During that week it continued to be exceptionally cold, so the snow remained in our yard and residential streets - but the predicted waves of snow and ice storms never did seriously materialize. At this point I was becoming a little snow weary. Although we weren't completely homebound, our excursions were few and far between. After all, who wants to risk a car accident for petty little errands (that's the insurance adjuster in me speaking)? Since we were having a small Christmas this year, all my shopping was already done, so other than work or fresh milk and eggs, I didn't have much need to get out.

Then on Saturday the 20th, Mother Nature began her shock and awe campaign. With temps in the high teens, nine inches of snow dumped on us. I can't ever recall a snowfall around here like that before! It was beautiful, and we had a great time sledding down our street. Then we had even more fun four wheeling with my brother in law's ATV.











That night, and throughout Sunday we enjoyed some freezing rain. Needless to say, church was cancelled again. I do enjoy a freezing rain storm when you have nowhere to go. Nothing is more beautiful!





Luckily for me, the office closed on Monday - I was really worried about how I'd be able to safely get in, and beyond that day I was home free as I was already scheduled off for the rest of the week.

That Monday and Tuesday we continued to be amazed at how much more snow fell. We had nearly two feet of snow! I truly felt astounded every time I looked out the window. We even decided we should shovel our deck lest it collapse from the weight.




One of the best things about the snow was the fact that P remained home with us for four full days. His phone hardly rang so we really had his undivided attention - even more so than when we were in Maui. We had so much fun those days just hanging out, playing in the snow, watching movies and enjoying the company of our family. I wouldn't trade that for anything. It was probably the best Christmas gift of the season.

Another great feature of the snow was how beautiful the valley was, particularly at night. We loved looking out the windows at our neighbors Christmas lights, and how bright the nights were.





By Christmas Eve day our temperatures finally lifted above freezing, and the melting began. I had mixed emotions about this. While I was ready to get back to our normal routines, I did have a little part of me that wished we'd have some fresh snow accumulations for Christmas before it started melting. Nonetheless, we did still have a white Christmas, with plenty of snow - but it was now too wet for playing in, and by Christmas Day night the streets were just a deep mush (which made it even harder to drive in).

I don't ever recall a time here when we've had our yard covered in snow for two plus weeks. Hopefully the girls will have fond memories of this winter, because who knows when they'll see another one like it again.

And at long last, after a whopping three weeks of no service, our final day of rejoicing came when our garbage and recycling was FINALLY picked up!!!