Snowzilla!

On Thursday at preschool, Joergen's name was drawn to host "George" for the weekend and journal about his adventures with our family. Little did we know, George was about to get snowed in and extend his stay for an entire week of winter fun!

The blizzard was forecasted to begin on Friday night. Liam was supposed to go to a birthday party for two of his classmates at an indoor swimming pool that evening, but the venue closed in anticipation of the blizzard. On to Plan B-- Chuck E Cheese! What better place to wait out the last couple of hours before a major snow storm? So the four of us put on our boots, grabbed George, and off we went.

As the party was wrapping up, the white stuff began to fall. By the time we got to our car, there was already a half an inch coating our car and the roads. 

The next morning, I knew it had been a busy night for Mother Nature!

Liam and Joergen (and George) couldn't wait to go outside and play.

I had to laugh when I opened the garage door!

Dad starting in on round 1 of snow removal. The snow continued to fall, and he had to repeat this process a few more times!

My view of Liam from the kitchen window, where I enjoyed a second cup of coffee from the warm indoors :)

Joergen and Liam making their way through the front yard (!)

When we weren't outside playing, plowing, or shoveling, we (well, Dad) tackled a redo of our kitchen pantry. It had originally been a coat closet with a couple of shelves, which we had always used for pantry items anyway. I couldn't wait to get this space organized!  Good thing George was there to help, too ;)

Ta-daa!

The next morning: back to snow removal!

Our snowfall totaled about 30", but the strong winds made the drifts even more impressive. We couldn't believe the view from the sun porch!

My view from the living room as the boys attempted to shovel out the deck:

Dad continuing the dig-out effort:

Buried!

One of the best parts of living next to a dead end is the awesome wall of snow created by the snowplows after a big storm. This one was amazing! The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the No Parking sign just peeking out of the top left below:

Kings of the mountain!

It didn't take long for every kid (and most adults) in the neighborhood to hit the hills at the township building behind our house. Liam, Joergen, and Will had a blast sledding!  I took the boys back to the hill the next day, too-- I think it was the first time I'd gone sledding in 20 years and I had as much fun - if not more so - than the kids! Everything hurt afterwards, including my sides from laughing so hard.

Walking back from the library one night, I was struck by this eerily pretty sight: the light at the end of our driveway, still glowing while buried under 2 feet of snow!