The Snowy Weekend Continues!

Good Tuesday morning!

I probably don't need to announce that we were snowed in all weekend -- and yesterday and today.  Schools and federal building were closed yesterday, and again today -- the roads are getting cleared and the temperature is actually above freezing, but we got A LOT of snow.

The pictures will pretty much tell the story themselves, but I'll throw in a few more tidbits of information:

1. The snow first started Wednesday evening, around 6 p.m., just as Chet was on his way home from work (the Pentagon is only three exits from our house, so it's a short commute).  His travel time wasn't affected, but you may have seen on the news that there were a ton of accidents that piled up in the D.C. area (nothing horribly life-threatening to my knowledge, just an inordinate amount, which made traffic extremely heavy).  It took many people 6-7 hours to get home Wednesday evening (commutes that would normally take an hour or less during rush hour).

I was unaware of all of the accidents, and needed to get out of the house as soon as Chet walked through the door that evening (it had been one of those days).  So I drove over to HomeGoods and shopped for storage baskets for Baby while the snow continued to fall.  It took me a little less than a half hour to get there and the same mount of time to get back (which isn't too much longer than it normally would have been at that time).  I didn't encounter any accidents; people (including me) were driving slowly and carefully.

2. School was cancelled for Sydney and Lorelei Thursday (understandably; the roads were probably icy after the snow the night before), but gymnastics was open, so we were able to get out of the house for the girls' 3 p.m. class.  By Thursday afternoon most of the snow had melted.  Chet was home early from work, before 5 p.m.

3. School was cancelled again Friday for Sydney (Lorelei doesn't attend school anyway on Fridays).  The roads were perfectly clear Friday morning; nearly all of the snow had melted.  But the "real" snow started falling just after noon on Friday, and it didn't stop until late Saturday night.  Federal buildings closed at noon, so Chet was home by 1 p.m.  We had all of the groceries and supplies we needed for a snowbound weekend, but Sydney and I went to Target in Chet's truck as soon as he got home before things got too bad.  As I posted on Facebook: "Sydney and I had to make a last minute trip to Target for some snowstorm necessities: craft paint, Valentine candy, and a decorative bin."

So, truly, the Target run was completely unnecessary, but it was interesting to get out of the house nonetheless.  Target was quite crowded; the store had shifted into holiday shopping mode by blocking access to the checkout lines, forcing everyone to form a single line and then directing each person to an open register.  The line was super long and snaked around the store, but truth be told I think we got through the line faster that way than had we been in line on a regular busy Saturday or Sunday.

We haven't been out of the house since then.  Outside, yes, but not anywhere via vehicle.  We've heard that the major roads are plowed, but our neighborhood streets are completely invisible under about 18" of snow.  I thought I heard plows in the middle of the night last night, but apparently not.

Picture time!

Thursday morning we went outside to play in the 1-inch deep snow -- it was quickly melting, but still fun for a while.

Not so sure about all those layers

Saturday morning:

Saturday night I pulled Sydney's top right front tooth.  It's been quite loose for days, and we finally got it out.  I love kids with no front teeth; there's nothing cuter.

Sunday morning:

View of our backyard from the kitchen window

Our driveway (Chet had already started to dig his truck out, but the van was completely covered)

Backyard again, later in the day

The girls and Ford had different reactions to the waist-deep (for them) snow:

Happy

Not Happy

Lorelei has enjoyed playing in the snow this year (she's sometimes freaked out by things like this), but is always happy to warm up inside afterward.  She found one of Ford's baby towels in the linen closet and donned it as a robe.

One of our neighbors graciously gave us their old crib.  Chet put it together this weekend to make sure we had all the hardware, and it made a fantastic drying rack for snow gear.

Sunday afternoon Chet and Sydney were outside for hours, being social with the rest of the neighborhood (Lorelei, Ford, and I remained anti-social inside the house -- we had fun though!).  Our street was not even close to being visible under all the snow.

Hopefully school starts tomorrow (Sydney's birthday)...as nice as it's been to be home together, it's time for some routine!