Thursday, January 9, 2014

Blizzard 2014

Yes, it's true! We had a blizzard here!

Last week we received about 6 inches of snow on Thursday. Friday and Saturday were clear. Sunday we received another 5ish inches of snow and then temperatures fell overnight making it -10 on Monday! That is VERY cold for here! Due the extremely cold temperatures and the fact that all of that snow turned into ice the public schools were out Monday - Wednesday and are finally going back today on a 2 hour delay. We, of course, have been back to school since Monday since we do it in our craft room in our jammies!

Here is what we did during the big snow:

Saturday: No snow yet so we took advantage of the clear, but cold!, weather. We drove up to Greenwood to take our cardboard recycling. Mark had training so Annabeth and I enjoyed lunch at Einstein Bros' Bagels. We also went to Target and shopped one of her Christmas giftcards. We were able to find a toy that she really liked and some more coloring supplies. Everyone else in line had loads of groceries and we had a few toys! :)

Sunday: The snow started around 8 am. Mark was off for the day and became very worried that we were not going to get the snow he was hoping for. It was so warm (33 degrees) that it was rain for most of the day. Mark was stir crazy by noon and went out to the grocery for some snack food. The snow really began to fall in the afternoon and Annabeth and Mark both enjoyed watching it out the window.

Watching the snow fall out one of our living room windows

Monday: We woke up to beautiful snow drifts and -10 degree weather. Our county was on a travel restriction (meaning if you were caught driving (unless it was an emergency) it was a $120 ticket) with courts, government offices, and schools closed. Mark was one of the few who did have to go to work. He got up to find the locks on his van so frozen that he could not get in. He drove the family car to work. Annabeth and I got back into the swing of homeschool and baked cookies. Monday evening Mark cooked a pork loin and we enjoyed a fancy weeknight dinner. Mark spent 90 minutes outside getting into his van and running the engine to help the battery. He also tried to dig the van out of the snow but the snow had become ice. It proved to be an impossible task in the dark, -20 degree night.

Monday morning snow drifts

Tuesday: I think the high was around -5. Courts and government offices went on two hour delays and schools were closed completely. Mark tried again in the early morning to get his van out. Again, the ice was not budging. He went to work in the family car and another detective brought his SUV over to pull the van out of the ice. Annabeth enjoyed watching them from the warmth of inside the front door. No luck with that. Eventually a tow truck came to get Mark's van out. Annabeth loved all of the excitement out front and it helped to pass the day!

Wednesday: The high was in the 20's! A heat wave! Mark got the van started just fine and was able to take it to work. Annabeth woke up pretty grumpy and generally tired of being at home. Our third day back at school was a rough one. Just as we finished morning lesson I heard the washer beeping - something it is not supposed to do. I went in to find our sheets sitting in half a washer full of water. Ugh! Fortunately, this happened earlier this fall and the technician who came out to fix it showed me how to do it ourselves. Mark came home on lunch and took the front off the washer. We made a huge mess with all of the water which he cleaned up while I cooked lunch. Annabeth was screaming "Hungy! Hungy! Hungy, Mama! Macaroni and Cheese" while Mark yelled "Bring more pans!!" Once they sat down to lunch, I cried in the kitchen! It was just too much for one week! I felt like a caged animal! Thank goodness Mark is so kind and was very patient with me. In the end, our quick fix to the washer didn't do the trick so I had to call a repairman! Thankfully this time I found someone who could come in the first 24 hours after I called! Praise the Lord! Mark also called around 3 and said, "Think of where you would like to go to dinner tonight. It seems like we all need to get out." We drove to the closest restaurant by our house, which is our favorite Mexican place. It was lovely to get out for an hour!

Today we are back to our normal Thursday routine: library class, grocery, and then dance class tonight. I am so thankful we also have the washer repairman coming today.

I think I am finished with the snow for a while...

What did you do during the blizzard?

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