Snow Madness

Posting things a bit out of order here. Eventually I will write about my birthday. In the meantime, I just had to post some pics from all the snow. It was seriously crazy. Combined with our 2-foot storm in December, it has officially been the snowiest winter in DC since they started recording in 1899.

Timeline:
#1 Feb 3-4 A couple of inches, enough to cancel school one day and throw everyone off just a little.
#2 Feb 5-7 A massive dumping - started out slow, picked up speed overnight and unloaded for 30+ hours. We got about 22 inches; other areas got up to 3 feet.#3 Feb 9-10 Another hefty dump - we got about 8 to 10 more; just north of us got even more. I think this one was even officially called a blizzard because of the high winds.

The combination of #2 and #3 closed school for an entire week. The federal government was closed almost all week. Don't get me started on what happened when they reopened. Potholes, visibility and lanes hindered by mountains of snow, absolutely no street parking, major issues with Metro (so what's new?) A complete disaster. Local governments are already over-budget on plowing and salt. Fire stations, post offices, schools and other cheap public buildings sustained major roof damage, some collapsing.

We lost power for about 10 hours during storm #2. It went out overnight and was pretty cold when we woke up. But we bundled up, had cold cereal for breakfast. Ed shoveled a path to the shed for some firewood (it was a cozy thought even though our fireplaces don't seem to provide any actual warmth.) We played some board games and I started to make my way through a huge pile of magazines I've been meaning to look at. The girls got to use their princess flashlights they got for Christmas. I panicked a little when the fridge started to smell - to lose all that food I stocked up on! But then the power came back on late morning and in the end it wasn't a big deal. Especially compared to people we saw on the news who were without power for 4 days or more. Ed's boss in McLean moved her whole family to a hotel for the duration.

But I promised pictures so here they are!

Saturday morning, Feb. 6 when we woke up. I thought it was so amazing that Ed's car (across the street) was almost buried. Little did I know it was just the beginning:
Ed and the girls got out in the snow almost every day. Ginger's stamina is pretty good for a 3-year-old but Hazel is a complete Eskimo! She could stay out in it ALL DAY (if she never had to pee.) I'm so glad I took action after the December storm and got her some proper snow pants, boots and mittens:
Sunday, Feb. 7:
Ed's car on Feb. 7:
By the time storm #3 came around things were getting a little desperate, so we built a blanket fort. Gave the girls a whole day of entertainment (the picnic lunch inside was especially popular):
After or during storm #3:
Ed's car on Feb. 10:
Remember that snowman from this post? Here he is five days later:

And check out this igloo our friends made - they even slept in it!

Me, I like being snowed in. Everything is cancelled. No obligations, no errands, no schedules. No having to worry about what to wear (it's getting pretty bad at 7 months pregnant.) I'm a home body. It's not like I got a lot done. Having everyone home all day makes more work for Mom - food to make, entertainment to provide, messes to clean. I still liked it, though. I hope it snows again soon!