Caleb gets the credit/blame for this one. He prayed SO HARD for snow.
Well, we got it. From December 14th through December 23rd we were pretty much housebound. I was glad for having both prepared early and for keeping things pretty simple this year. I was finally able to leave the house (in a vehicle) on Christmas Eve to go run the one essential errand... surprise parakeets for the kids.
And it wasn't just the snow that kept coming... if it wasn't already bad enough that here in the valley folks just aren't used to driving on snow and the city doesn't have the equipment to deal with it effectively... enter the ICE. Right in the middle of all the snow we got socked with some serious freezing rain, which left everything coated with almost a half an inch of ice. The kids could almost walk on it... but mostly they broke through. That part wasn't so fun...
We are SO grateful that Jonathan works for Kaiser Permanente now (has for the last year and a half)... so instead of him having to live at the hospital while cars were being abandoned left and right because the streets were so treacherous... he got to stay home all the days that clinic was cancelled. He did have to go in while he was on call (twice), but with chains on the truck he slid around but stayed safe. And he was our bread-winning bread-bringer too... so that I didn't have to get stuck in a ditch somewhere with a car full of kids. thanks honey! :) And the kids... got to have 3 weeks of vacation instead of 2... lucky them! We had a great time and really didn't get TOO stir crazy, although by the end Jonathan and I were singing "... and mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!..."
the "before" photo on the 13th... we had no idea what was coming...
(I just love Kizi's pink boots! and the boys have matching blue ones... which, serendipitously, I had bought only two days before...)
front walk "before"...
our road... yes, there were grown men sledding down it later...
AND... my Jonathan helped Jonathan Heder and his brother push their car up the hill past our house one dark and freezing night... (we're neighbors/friends/go to church with their folks). Yes, he prefers to go by Jonathan.
Caleb's snowman
Gracie had as much fun as the kids!
gettin' deeper... Calvin, Kizi and Caleb
front walk with lights under snow and ice
dogwood buds encased in ice
ice-encrusted Japanese maple
yes, that's ice... good thing we have DAD STRENGTH!!
our back yard...
... aaaaand there went the cherry tree...
and the maple...
o beautiful trees. please don't fall on our house...
the front walk lights under ice and snow... so cool!!!
broken cherry tree and dogwood...
frozen apple...
and frozen kiwi... the birds eat them like crazy
yup, another broken dogwood
broken Japanese maple and our bird friend
the kids actually got sick of playing in the snow.
this is of Calvin watching more snow come down...
well, this USED to be our front walk and our driveway...
our big strong sequoias and firs and our sturdy old oak fared just fine
winter wonderland view from our kitchen window... beautiful!
better to bend than to break... this tree is now at about a 90 degree bend like there's always a stiff wind blowing it sideways!
well, it was a fun snow fort for a while, anyway!
Calvin catchin' some air!
our neighbor's 100-year old oak lost a big limb
another neighbor's tree just split right in two.
Kizi and Gracie snugglin'
tired pups...
2 comments:
noticed in the pic of calvin that gma pug made your stockings too....I had one growing up so I wanted her to make one for my husband when I got married, and then one for each kid when they were born. so fun to have something like that made for them!
WOW--what BEAUTIFUL pictures!! You obviously live in a gorgeous part of the world! I bet it is green beyond belief in the summer too!
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