Snowmageddon Refugees

So I posted that it was snowing. What I didn't know that it would continue to snow.

Lea and Daddy came up to lunch at my work and we went down to the courtyard to play in the snow. Little did I know it would snow all day, and night and again the next day! Here I am catching snow flakes on my tongue and holding a variety of make shift sleds.

We tried to sled in boxes down the hill in the courtyard at work. It didn't really work, I mostly just pushed Lea down the hill.


When I got home that afternoon we had 6 inches of snow if not a whole foot. Lea was up to her knees in snow in front of our house!


Here is our snow angel. Everyone in the family made a snow angel.


In my last post you saw the piddly little snowman that Lea and I made in the morning. Well, Lea and Daddy built a REAL snowman... taller than Lea in his weather proof hat. This was Thursday Feb. 11.

He lasted for almost a week! This was taken probably Monday or Tuesday afternoon.
A slowly melting snowman after the weekend. See the carrot on the ground.

Then Thursday Feb. 18 the last remains of our snowman... the snow triangle. Lea ready for gymnastics in her pig tails.


So it snowed all day and accumulated on trees and power lines causing all kinds of problems. At work several people were without power. I happily offered for them to stay with us, fortunately no one took me up on it because our power went off in the middle of the night Thursday. I heard huge thumps on the roof which I thought were whole trees falling on our house. But no it was just clumps of snow. Dan went out to shake snow off our large Live Oak in the back. He got on the roof and shook branches with a rake. I don't know if it saved the tree, but we had no broken branches like the other houses on the streets. In the morning Dan went two houses down to help a neighbor with a branch that had fallen on his car.

This is a photo of our backyard at about 10 pm as Dan went up on the roof.. It was so beautiful, the sky just glowed with all the reflected light from the white snow covering. It was hard to shoot without a flash so everything is blurry, but the light was just beautiful.


So we woke to a winter wonderland in a cold dark house. The roads were slushy, but not icy.
Snow day video


So we decided to travel as a pack in one vehicle. We went to breakfast with our friend Michael Hopens who was staying home from work. Because the restaurant we chose (Barbec's) was one of the few neighborhood places with power so it was PACKED! But our tummies got full and we were ready to face the cold roads. But the main road to my work was blocked off with road partitions. It was a 3 lane road by the lake so I couldn't imagine what had happened. I took it as a sign that I shouldn't go in to work, a weak sign perhaps, but I felt like sticking with my tribe on the snowy day. It turned out to be a large old tree that had fallen across the road. While I kept saying my way to work was closed, Kris would later be quick to correct me with "One of your ways to work was closed."

We were slated to go out to my mom's house for the weekend, a perfect refuge under normal circumstances. But, alas, she was without power on Friday also. No since in going from one cold dark house to another, so we become snowmageddon refugees at Uncle Michael's house. He had toys, cable, lights, fireplace and wi-fi. Everything a displaced family could want!

We were not alone. The Scott clan sought refuge with us so Lea got to play with Hunter and WIlder all day and night.

They played in the snow at least 3 separate times. Long enough for pants and gloves to get soaked, fingers and toes to start to sting and then it was time to warm up by a roaring tv filled with sponge bob! Uncle Michael kept handing them cookies and marshmallows. They were in heaven! Here Lea and Wilder have one of many snowball fights.



More than anything Lea loved throwing snowballs. For the most part there were no snowballs to the face, just a friendly game of snowball to the back. Kris invented a game of throwing snowballs into the trees to get an avalanche to fall. I was not very good at it because I always managed to be under the branches I was dislodging snow from. Lots of snow down the back of my coat!



Uncle Scumfy and Hunter



Lea & Wilder Video


So we settled in, talked the Scotts into staying the night, like a giant slumber party. It was mostly fun and games. Hunter (age 2) took a shine to Lea and followed her around and wanted to play with whatever toy Lea was playing with and sit where Lea was sitting. I could see he was honoring her, by mimicking her, but of course to Lea it was "Hunter it taking my toys. Uh... Hunter is sitting on me." Well, it just so happened that the night before while reading a story, Lea told me she wanted a baby brother or sister. I took this teaching opportunity to point out to her that THIS is what having a brother or sister is like. She decided being an only child was fine.

AND THEN... it was time for bed. Well we let the kids stay up a bit too long, they got over tired and while Lea was actually willing to lie down (a rarity) Wilder got (like Lea usually gets) more active the more tired he got. So of course they played off each other until it was determined they could not sleep in the same bed. Lea became almost inconsolably frightened for little 4 year old reasons that boiled down to "I want to be in my own bed!" Finally, after taking her to the bed we were sleeping in and back to the kid cot again I got her to sleep, only to be awakened at 2 am. All three of the Neals ended up sleeping in one bed my the middle of the night. We managed, but were a bit tired as the sun (and kids) rose. I was fortunate enough to sleep in thanks to Dan and Lea having other people to be interested in. Michael might have gotten the short end of that stick, but I takes my sleep when I get it!

The really great thing for me was that all the grown ups got to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics together. We joked about Canadian celebs, chatted about our friend Sherry being there and oohed and ahhed or mercilicly mocked as things happened, failed to happen and were commented on by tv personalities with too much time to fill. It was a lot of fun for me.

The next morning the Scotts took off for less crowded digs. We made Uncle Scumfy pancakes and played in the snow one last time.

Breakfast at chez Hopens with Tim Horton coffee
We greatly enjoyed the comfort and hospitality extended to us by good ol' Uncle Scumfy and chez Hopens.

Our power was still out on Saturday, but Mom's power in Emory had come on about midnight. So we headed out there, as previously planned. That Saturday night Mom and I went to a church supper of lasagna and wine, hosted by the women's club. It was very nice to see her friends again (I had gone last year). And while I cherish my husband, it is a nice tradition to go to dinner with my mom for valentine's day. Something we don't do (without Lea) very often. I enjoy her company and cherish her as well. So a couple hours of free box wine and conversation and we went home to warm beds and scattered patches of snow in Emory.

Then Sunday our power was on so Dan and I headed back to Dallas, while Lea stayed with Grandma. It was not exactly the original plan (Lea was going to stay with Grandma on Friday), but it allowed Dan and I to celebrate Valentine's day all by ourselves. He made a delicious beef Wellington, parsnip puree and roasted asparagus. It was so yummy and we were so glad to finally be able to sleep in our own beds after two nights as snowmageddon refugees.