Snowpocalypse

Some of you may be waiting to see of these pictures. I appreciate all who have called and e-mailed to check on us. It really has been quite an experience, but we are doing just fine and choosing to enjoy it as much as we can.

We knew last Saturday we were receiving another storm this weekend. While shoveling the 10 inches we received that morning, I was talking with one of our neighbors and noted that I would see him same day, same time for the same purpose next Saturday. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, we received 4 inches of heavy wet snow. The kids were out of school as a result and enjoyed a neighborhood snowball fight. I was grateful they ran all through our yard, because it packed down and melted a lot of that wet snow before Friday and Saturday. By Thursday, people were hearing the weekend storm would rival the storm we received before Christmas, so grocery stores were hectic. Personally, I wanted a second snow shovel so that Trent and I could shovel at the same time and so that when he left to help dig out some of the families in our ward, I could shovel at home. Thursday, I went to 4 different stores with no luck. I tried two more smaller hardware stores the next morning, and I am glad I did. The 6th and final place I checked had some. Sammy and I stood in line for 30 minutes, but we were fully prepared. Thursday afternoon, the kids brought home notice that due to the early afternoon arrival of said storm, they would come home 2 hours early on Friday. Trent, who is so smart, asked his supervisor at the State Department if he could telecommute on Friday because of the storm coming in. An hour later, this man sent out an e-mail suggesting anyone with the ability to telecommute consider doing so. Even though government offices shut down at 1:00 Friday, getting out of D.C. was going to be difficult. The snow started as flurries around 10:30 but didn't start in earnest until noon. By mid to late afternoon, it was sticking.

When we woke up Saturday morning, it looked like this:

grill and trash cans

front walk

One thing I don't particularly love about my house is that the garage is not attached, and I don't have a pantry in my kitchen. As a result, a lot of our pantry items are in cabinets in the garage. Trent and I have been looking at options to remedy this but haven't found the solution we want yet. Anyhow, I needed to go out to the garage to get syrup for breakfast. I couldn't get the screen door open. We had one of the snow shovels inside, so I used it through the 3 inch crack formed from my attempt to open the door and eventually opened the door enough to squeeze through. I promptly shoveled the path between the garage and the house. At 8:30, that looked like this:

Around 10:00 or so, we decided to get out and start shoveling the walk. It was still snowing. The snow was pretty heavy at this point. The stuff that came later through the day wasn't as heavy, but this stuff was wet heavy snow brick, igloo making snow.

Saturday afternoon, while working on the driveway, we decided to clean off the car and dig out to the street. That was a crazy amount of work, but if we had an emergency and absolutely had to go out we could. Trent took the car around the parkway to check on the situation, and I dug out what drifted under the car during all the wind the night before. Some of our neighbors looked at us like we were crazy at this point, and several remarked that we must be used to this being from Utah. We let them know that 30+ inches of snow in less than 30 hours was a lot anywhere. The snow stopped shortly after 5:00.

Remember those garbage cans and that grill from 8:30? This is what they looked like about half an hour before the snow stopped.


The kids, with help from Trent, built a snow cave. They call it the hobbit hole. How fun.
For the second Sunday in a row we had no church. Next week is Stake Conference for us, so the bishop authorized home sacrament meetings. It was nice to have the sacrament with our little family. We then finished up what was left of the driveway. Isn't this fully dug out driveway beautiful? It feels beautiful having worked so hard to achieve it.
Through all of the predictions and even through part of Saturday morning, I was the crazy optimist. I thought since they would be more ready for the storm and since it was coming a little earlier than the last one etc. etc. that we might be going to school Monday with just a 2 hour delay. Um, yeah, when I finish laughing at myself, I will let you know. The National Weather Service reports the grand total for Crofton was 34 inches. D.C. got less, but the above ground metro service is still down, so there is no school today and no federal government either. We are expecting another storm Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. I should snow another 4 to 6 inches. That really isn't a lot I know, but on top of the rest it is and coming over night, that much snow would equal a snow day anyhow, so I am fairly certain Wednesday will mean no school. As of yesterday, the school was not at all dug out. No one had even started plowing the parking lots and bus lanes, so I am not confident there will be school tomorrow. We will assume there is until we hear otherwise though. Right now, most predict Thursday will be our first day of school this week. We are already one day over our banked amount of snow days. The Principal petitioned the School Board for a 2 day waiver. Even if they grant it, we are likely to nearly certain to go over it. That would mean school gets out later for the kids. There is an ongoing debate about what happens if those days are taken during a state of emergency. It will be an interesting debate to follow. For now, it is sunny and beautiful, and when Trent gets back from shoveling for one of the families in our ward, I am off to run a few errands. Sometimes it is fun to be a part of these kind of things. It is a big mess, and we will be cleaning up after it for a while. I already broke the screen door on our kitchen. Sigh. However, this is something none of us will ever forget.