November 22nd we were hit with our first storm of the season. There were storm warnings for about week letting us know that it was coming, but really I think we all thought it was going to be no big deal. This is actually the first time that we have lived in Western Washington that really truly warranted the warnings.
It was supposed to start Sunday morning. The same morning as Maddie's birthday party, in another city about 45 minutes away. The only thing I was really worried about was her friends being able to make it.
On that end we did get lucky & thankfully the weather people were wrong about the time & the day.
Once we were all home & the grandparents were safely on their way home, I very happily did the "Let it snow!" dance. Sunday evening it did snow a little, just enough for a couple of dedicated little girls to make teeny tiny snowmen.
It was actually snowing Monday morning & if the girls had to ride the bus for longer than 5 minutes I probably would have just kept them home. I'm still not sure what the school district was thinking. As it turned out it continued to snow all day and around noon the district decided to send the kids home early.
This was about 8:30 in the morning before we went to the bus stop.
This was about 3:30 in the afternoon.
What you can't really see is the wind was already blowing & it was really really cold!
Zander's first time playing in the snow.
I still think no one knew what was coming, but around 3 the tempature dropped even more & the roads got nasty. Thankfully I was about 5 minutes normal time from home, because I slipped & slided the rest of the way.
I tried to let my hubby know it was time to come home now, but he too thought it was no big deal. He didn't end up getting home until 4am. His work is only 15 minutes away.
Our power flickered off for a few minutes long enough to get the girls all freaked out about 5. I quickly finished dinner and while we were eating the power went off for good. Looking out our window we could see the glow from transformers exploding. The wind was blowing like crazy & the temperature was around 20 degrees.
I ended up playing Mouse Trap with the girls by candlelight while Matthew & a friend played on a laptop.
The game ended up being a lifesaver, keeping the girls from being distracted from the storm outside.
Maddie actually told Matt it was the best night ever!
When it was time for bed, the girls made a nest in front of our gas fireplace ~ seriously I don't think I will be able to live in another house without one of these. It has kept us warm on too many powerless nights!
We just started reading Little House on the Prairie & it was kind of fun to read with real sound effects in the background.
The next day the wind died down but the temperatures remained low. We were about 30 degrees below our normal temps and still with no power. We got about 5 more inches of snow. We spent the day just hanging out. What chilly day would be complete without a few games of Icebreaker. Or how about watching Frosty the Snowman on a laptop. Except for getting a little chilly the I think the girls enjoyed this little break.
All in all our power was out for about 28 hours, on some of the coldest days we have had while living here.
I think if my hubby could have made it home before the storm hit it would have been quite the fun adventure for the girls. We got lucky, and thankfully nothing was damaged or broken.
A few of my friends weren't so lucky & their pipes burst.
The schools closed for the rest of the week, which made the kids super happy.
Now I'm ready for a nice normal snow, just let me keep my power!!
