Snowmageddon 2019

It snowed!  And then it snowed some more.  And more.  Seattle has broken all the snow records this year.  Well, at least the records that are about 40 years old.  We've been dumped on again and again.  The boys have missed so many days of school I'm hoping they just decide that making up the days is impossible so we can carry on with our lives.  Or we could go to school until July 3rd but that's not ideal.
I won't bore you with all the details but let's just say that people around here don't even own snow shovels and the three plows in our big city are completely inadequate for heavy amounts of snow.  Throw in the steep hills and 8 inches of snow in one storm and it is a recipe for disaster and a literal "state of emergency", which was declared last Friday.

 I forced my boys to shovel some of the neighbor's driveways.  It was a great way to serve.  But then the snow kept coming and I realize I should've hired them out.  They could've earned a ton!

The good part about all this snow is that Randy has been able to take a few days off work, church was canceled, and the gym was closed so we've had lots of together time as a family.  We've done a lot of sledding at the house up the street and even in a big meadow we found hidden behind the park on our street.  But its location is secret along with the amazing tree house so if you're reading this don't tell anyone!
The bad part is that school has been canceled six days of the last nine days.  At the end of February my boys will only have attended seven days of school and two of those were early release so not a lot of school has happened at all.  And now we are on day two of winter break.  Yes, you heard me.  A week of no school followed by another week of no school.  My sanity is slipping and my patience is long gone.  But I'm coping.  The boys are currently at the elementary school playing lacrosse and basketball while Henry naps and I blog.  I'm so thankful Marcus and Ethan are old enough that I can just drop them all off somewhere and not have to stick around and monitor them.  It's something I will never take for granted.

Henry wouldn't walk in the snow at first.  Could be the giant snow pants pulled up to his armpits.  But now he loves it.

He's so soft and squishy in his snow clothes

Here he is watching the kids sled.  Then he slowly tipped over.  It was hilarious!

Sledding at the neighbors.  They truly have the best sledding hill.

Day 4 of snow.  Hot tubbing is the best when there's snow.

I triple dog dared him to sit in the chair

Day 2 of winter wonderland

Landon sipping hot chocolate before more sledding on day 2

Our street after the second storm, snow day 4

On our way to the secret sledding hill

Can you believe this is just across the street from us? I love where I live.

Trespassing so we can check out the amazing tree house.  It was built by a guy from the Tree House Builders show.  It's amazing!

The city can't open it to the public until they build wheel chair access.  Stupid rules!

I think this was after the third storm

Here's some of us sledding in the meadow before the last storm hit.  We ended up throwing an impromptu sledding party and it was probably more fun for all the moms who hung out at my house all day.  One of my friends actually called me and invited herself over.  She was that desperate. We were all going crazy!

We were so bored I helped Landon build this fort that he and Parker slept in.

After six inches of fresh snowfall, it started to rain.  All night long and into the morning we could hear the sound of branches snapping.  A huge limb fell on our Narnia lamppost in the backyard.  So sad!

and our driveway was blocked.

One thing is for certain.  The Pacific Northwest is absolutely stunning covered in snow.  We've had a great time playing in the snow, drinking hot chocolate, and enjoying being less busy.  Also, we are happy Marcus is alive after walking home in a blizzard due to a dead cell phone and a miscommunication on pick up times.   We are also happy we haven't lost power!