Blizzard 2016 ❄️

The kids were so excited all week because they had heard that we would be getting snow this weekend. Early in the week, I checked to make sure that we were prepared and didn't think much of it. (*some perks of meal prepping,storing bulk items, and being married to an always prepared former military person is that we are generally prepared for any storm or natural disaster as far as food/first aid items/"bug out" items/van is fully stocked in case of being stranded). It wasn't until yesterday after seeing more weather predictions that I started to think "Ok, maybe this is going to be a few day thing and not just a quick storm"... So last night we filled the gas tanks, made sure all of the blankets were cleaned and dried, and grabbed a few treats for the kids if we ended up being stuck inside for a few days.

Last night, Papa had to work night shift and said that he didn't think he'd have a problem coming home in the morning. When I went to bed, there was no snow outside. A little before 6 am, I was woken up by the kids excitedly yelling that it was snowing❄️. For the next few hours they begged to go outside and kept checking how much we were getting. Around 7:30, Papa sent me a text message saying that he was WALKING home (He had his ski gear and other snow and safety items packed in his car)... He made it safely after his usual 5 minute drive took him a little over an hour and a half to make it home.

At 11 am, we checked outside an saw that be user it was so windy our yard and driveway was covered in piles but grass could be seen on our neighbors hill. Our back deck was almost empty so I cleared it off. At 2 pm, the kids were finally able to go play outside and we realized that the only place that they could safely play was on the deck which had been covered again. At that time, we had received about 23" of snow!

The kids played outside for about 20 minutes and then came in to warm up with some homemade hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup.

 The yard

 Front door

 And it continued to snow ❄️❄️❄️❄️
Papa had to go back to work again overnight so he bundled up and hiked his way back. He made it there safely and FaceTimed us as soon as he got to the parking lot to let us know that he was ok.

 5:30pm:
(Can you see the corner of the fence in the top picture? Almost covered thanks to the snow drifts!)

It's currently still snowing and The Weather Channel is predicting up to another 10" so I foresee us being home for a while! Our roads still haven't been plowed and we don't know yet if Papa will be required to sleep at work tomorrow in the day (between his shifts). 

The kids are still checking the windows for how much snow we have every hour or so and are always surprised! However, none of them have wanted to go back outside. So, we purchased Snow White (and extras) on VUDU and are having a movie night on the big couch while we wait for our pizza to bake and we'll air pop some popcorn before bed. 

UPDATE:

We ended up with 30 inches of snow!

 Sunday, Papa and the kids played outside for a while before he had to sleep for that night's work. They had a ton of fun making forts for snowball fights!