Another snow post....is it getting old yet?

Peyton was pretending to be a groundhog and was looking for her shadow - she was coming out of the tunnel that Mark dug for her

Like sister.....like brother

Mark was throwing the kids into fresh powderLiam wasn't a fan, but Peyton LOVED it

Mark is really great at playing in the snow. I don't mind being outside, but I'm not as good at coming up with games as he is. He made a snow fort for the kids, dug a tunnel in a huge mound of snow, and threw them into the snow. Peyton kept asking him to toss her. She loved being thrown around. Liam was happy to watch his sister get tossed around.

Harrisonburg city is on a one hour delay tomorrow after a full week off of school. It will be really nice to get the kids back into a routine. They have missed their friends and are both looking forward to school tomorrow. There is a slight chance of snow tomorrow afternoon, but I think any accumulation would be really minimal...at least I'm hoping for minimal!

Still snow.....it's getting a little bit old

Taking advantage of some sunshine to play

Our fantastic neighbor plowed us out several times. He was dumping snow on the kid's HUGE pile and they were so excited!Mark used one of the big piles in our yard to build another igloo for Peyton. Later he dug all the way through and made a tunnel!

We still have loads of snow on the ground, but the falling snow has stopped for now. The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday had called for an additional 5-12" in our area, but we only got about 3 inches! School was closed again today and JMU closed too so Mark is working from home again. The sun broke out from the clouds about an hour ago and it's really windy. There is a lot of snow blowing around and falling off of trees. I'm not sure if we'll venture out today or if we'll just stay in and find things to do.

Peyton and Liam have really been troopers. They have been really great at entertaining themselves and in going with the flow. We have been out of the routine for almost two weeks and it hasn't been easy on anyone, but we definitely feel blessed to have plenty to eat and that our power stayed on. Family members lost power and have not had an easy time at all. The snow is still really white and pretty too. It hasn't been driven on or plowed up yet so it's not grungy and dirty. I'm crossing my fingers that the city will get to our roads this afternoon so the kids can get back to school tomorrow. I don't want them to be going to school in late June!

More snow today

Liam had to work very hard to follow the girls

The snow was just below my knees!

Last night Mark scooped all the snow out of the middle of the igloo/ fort and it was completely full again this afternoon

The snow on our deck rail was crazy!

A peek of sunshine after about 34 hours of steady snow!

(If you click the top picture you might get an idea of how tall the snow is)

The snow finally stopped today around 5pm. We have more snow than my children have ever seen. The last time I remember this much snow was in 2001 - 2002. So it's been a while since we've had to deal with such volume. We went outside today around 3:30 to shovel our sidewalk and driveway and our shovel broke! Fortunately we have two of them and since only one was working, I was off the hook. I did do the sidewalk and made a path to the road, but Mark did the majority of the work. The snow is so deep on the sides of the driveway. I just hope it's a nice, slow melt, not a quick one that our gutters can't handle. Mark is out shoveling a path on the deck now for Randy. She has been a trooper, but has had some difficulty getting off the deck.

Peyton loved playing in the snow, but the snow got inside her sleeves and her arms and hands were so red. She and our neighbor went sledding and forged through the snow making big tubes through the snow. Liam had fun, but he really struggled to just walk from place to place. Mark had to go retrieve him a few times, but we didn't lose him in a drift! Big tall snow is not much fun when you're only 3 feet tall! We need to buy a sled. Last year Mark pulled the kids around the yard in a laundry basket tied to a rope. This year they used a huge plastic thing that goes under your clothes washer to hold the water if it floods. Seriously redneck sledding in this part of Harrisonburg!

Still no sign of snowplows and I have no idea when they'll show up. I don't expect them tonight, but maybe tomorrow. We haven't heard about church tomorrow or about school Sunday, but I have a feeling both will be canceled. Mark just measured in our backyard and we have 21 inches!

February SNOWMAGEDDON!

Peyton inside the igloo

Mark is like a little kid in the snow

(Click on the pictures to enlarge and see better detail of the igloo and the snow in our yard!)

We are seriously up to our eyeballs in snow in the 'burg. It has been falling steadily since about 6am. Reports are calling for 18 - 24 inches by the time it stops tomorrow, but we'll see. We stayed inside all day and then Peyton asked to go out around 4pm. Mark bundled up the kids and they went out. Once I saw the fort Mark was building, I went out too. He took a Rubbermaid storage container and filled it with snow and used it like you would use a bucket on the beach. He made quite a fort and the kids were so excited. After Liam and I came inside, he shoveled the inside of the fort all the way down to the grass. So it will be interesting to see how much snow we get overnight.

I am so grateful to have shelter tonight, to be warm and have plenty to eat. Our church is hosting the area thermal shelter this week and I've been praying for those needing shelter and those volunteering. It's not easy to organize and arrange with bad weather, but it's worse when your volunteers can't safely get there to help. I'm so glad we were able to be a part of this ministry this year. There are so many homeless in our area who so desperately need a place to sleep.

Snow Tubing

Peyton and Liam were incredible sports about the long wait. They hung out in the tubes and watched the other people in line.

We had a beautiful snowfall on Saturday, about 5-6 inches of powdery, lovely snow. We stayed inside almost all day and then went out around 4pm to shovel the walk and to get some air. I got 95% of the driveway shoveled when my neighbor came by with the Bobcat and did the last little bit. We had to shovel again today because it fell all night. Today all services at church were canceled, so Mark decided we should go snow tubing at Massanutten. We checked the guidelines and you had to be at least 36 inches to go and each person had to be in their own tube. They do allow an adult to go down holding the child's tube, so we figured the children would be fine. We got the tape measure and Liam was about 37 inches! We left the 'burg around 12 and drove up to the resort.

We got the final tickets for the 2-4pm slot and then went and ate lunch. We got all bundled up after lunch and rode the magic carpet to the top of the run. I had watched people go down but didn't realize how fast it was until Peyton and I went the first time. It goes incredibly fast and is crazy fun. I thought at least one of the kids would be nervous but they loved it! We only managed to get down the run 5 times in our two hour slot because it was so crowded. I think if we go again we'll go on a weekday. It's cheaper and less crowded then and would be even more fun. I get to go again on Wednesday night with the fourth and fifth graders from church. My children are not happy about that!

Blizzard 2009

We traveled to Richmond over the weekend, during the "Blizzard of 2009", to spend an early Christmas with my family. We left Friday afternoon just as the first flakes started to fall. It hit hard and fast and about 40 miles outside of town we thought about turning back, but decided we were committed and kept going. The trip was fairly harrowing. The snow was covering the roads fast and there were a lot of cars traveling. We made pretty slow progress and about 15 miles before our exit to Richmond, we had an accident. The car beside us started to slide and came into our lane right in front of us. Mark kept his cool as we bumped her, and then she kept going into the guardrail and we stopped on the shoulder. We exchanged information and had contacted the state police, but after 15 minutes or so we decided to keep going. We had no food or water in the car and the snow was falling very fast. As we turned onto the street that leads to my brother's house, the police called my cell phone and said they were trying to get to us, but that troopers had to keep stopping for other accidents! We told them we were okay and that the other driver had decided to stay and wait for her parents to come get her, but that we had made sure she was okay with us leaving.

We had a quick dinner with my brother, dropped our dog at his house, and then drove to mom's house. The drive to her house was incredibly slow going and we saw about 10 cars abandoned on the sides of the road. There were 6 cars on the exit ramp as we got off the interstate to go to the house! A trooper was there with a flashlight looking overwhelmed. I was so happy to finally be there, safe and sound. What normally is about a 2 hour trip took 3.5 hours! In hindsight it was pretty stupid for us to go. We should have stayed home, but we did enjoy the weekend. We opened gifts on Saturday and played in the snow. Then on Sunday we went to the mall for the annual Santa picture.

Going home Sunday wasn't too bad. The interstates we had to take were fairly clear, but we couldn't believe all of the cars on the road. The plows had plowed up to their roofs! I can't imagine how busy tow trucks are going to be digging out all of the cars left behind! We are expecting freezing rain this week and if there is even a hint of nasty weather, we are not traveling on Christmas Day! I told Mark I'd rather stay home and eat leftovers than put our family at risk!

Christmas program and snow day

He's holding a penny for the old man's hat

Liam ate the snow and ice off of the stick

Liam's preschool had their annual Christmas program on Friday night. His morning preschool class sang "Christmas is Coming" and did a poem about a snowman. All of the children were precious and funny. They don't really sing so much as yell their songs. I have a feeling the music teacher told them to sing loud so they did!

We woke up Saturday morning to snowy skies. It snowed all day and we ended up with about 6 or so inches. It was great packing snow and we had a snowball fight and built a small snowman. We also rolled down our small hill. The kids were so excited to see snow and they had a ball playing in it. It snowed all day on Saturday and stopped that evening. It is supposed to be warm this week so I have a feeling that by mid-week the snow will be gone.

Snow Day in March

We woke up to about 5 inches of snow today and it's a fine powdery snow. It flurried on and off yesterday but didn't really get going until about 8pm. We ended Bible study a little early to make sure everyone got home safely. I went to the grocery store at 10pm and was probably the only person buying actual groceries. A lot of college aged people were buying beer and junk food in anticipation of no school today! JMU is closed today so Mark and I took the kids outside this morning. They played while we shoveled the driveway and sidewalk. It was so cold and windy and we barely stayed out for an hour. Liam gave up quickly and spent a lot of time whining. He can't keep gloves on his hands very well and kept whining about being cold, not being able to walk well, having to wear a snowsuit......We ended the morning with some hot chocolate and a movie, both of which the kids loved.

My snow baby

Last year Liam HATED the snow. The few times we went out he cried because he couldn't walk well in his boots and he couldn't keep up with his sister or her friend as they played. So far this season we have just had about an inch of snow and another 1/2 inch or so of ice on top of it. Liam begged to go out the other morning to help Mark shovel the driveway. He had a little trouble walking on the ice, but he didn't seem to mind. He had to be convinced to come back inside!

Snow Day

I love how Randy is checking out Liam's Spiderman slippers!
Watching Mary Poppins for the first time

Finally wearing the Batman outfit that Nonna bought him

Playing doctor/ patient with dad

We had a snow day yesterday. The snow was falling when we woke up and it slowly began covering our trees and sidewalks. I think we probably got about an inch total, but then the sleet began to fall. Now we have a lovely crusty crunchy pile of snow/ice mix. Mark and Liam went out this morning and shoveled the driveway and spread some de-icing chemical on it. Liam was sliding all over the place because he's not heavy enough to break through the ice. He fell a few times but was mad when they came back inside. JMU was closed yesterday but is only on a 2 hour delay today. The city has not scraped our street, so I'm not sure how bad it's going to be for Mark to drive to work. The forecast is calling for more ice/ rain so it could get really nasty as the day goes on.

Peyton has a wretched cold. I took her to the pediatrician on Monday for a flu test, which was negative, but her cold is wearing on her. She got up at 6:30am and asked if she could watch PBS. I was doing my Bible study at the time and told her to go lay down on the couch. She fell asleep and didn't get up until 9am! Now she and Liam are watching some PBS and hanging out in the playroom together. It will most likely be a slack day of TV watching, coloring, resting, reading books, etc. My library books are due today, but Mark is going to return them because I don't want to haul the kids out in the weather.