It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...too much so!

Let's start at the beginning shall we. Last Sunday (12/14), we awoke to about an inch or two of snow. Not a ton of snow, but enough to leave the roads really icy. Here is a picture of the kids playing out in it that day. Now I know that doesn't look like much snow, but they don't have the equipment here to take care of the roads and all of Duvall is set on the side of a mountain. The only way to go anywhere is to brave massive hills. I slid down a hill backwards (I was trying to go up it) on Monday and that wasn't a pleasant experience. The temperatures have also been very low so the snow and ice were not melting. Now that brings us to Thursday morning. We woke up to this view on our back deck: We stuck a ruler in the snow and it had snowed 9 inches over night and it was still snowing hard. We continued to take pictures of the back porch throughout the day to see the difference in the snow levels. My favorite view is on the table behind the closest chair. Here's the deck later in the day.

Here are some views of the table taken at different times of the day.

I put my camera on the ground in the garage and took this picture of the snow outside.

Here are some pictures of Jason out playing in the 9 inches.

We kept measuring the snow throughout the day. When it stopped snowing that evening, we had 12 inches. That's beyond unheard of for around here. Here's some proof. Look for the white ruler in the snow.

So that was fun for awhile! When after 2 or 3 days, the roads still weren't passable, the snow was getting a little old. My birthday was on Saturday, and I was a bit tired of staying home. Our stake choir was having a choir practice that morning and I wanted to try to make it, but I was nervous after watching my neighbor not even able to get out of his driveway the night before without chains. Jeff and I at the last minute got a babysitter then walked down to the bottom of the hill to downtown Duvall where some friends picked us up and took us to choir practice. I'm glad I went because that was the only activity I was able to do on my birthday. We got hit with another snow storm that night. We woke up Sunday morning to another 4 1/2 inches. I went out and shoveled it up just in time for the snow to start again. We got another 5 1/2 inches after that. So if you're keeping track, that's 10 inches on Sunday plus the 12 inches from Thursday. That's 22 inches. Beyond unbelievable for Duvall. Only a handful or roads had been plowed or sanded as of yesterday. Plus no mail has been delivered for over a week. I feel like I'm living in a tiny bubble and this is the worst time of year to be stuck at home. I'm feeling rather sorry for myself. Can't you tell.

Sorry. Rant over.

Here are some pictures of the back porch on Sunday. These first two were taken Sunday morning.

These last two were taken Monday morning. I call our table Marge Simpson now.

I wanted to try to take a picture with some perspective, so the shadow is Jason. The snow really does come up to his shoulders.

Here are some pictures of me shoveling for the 5th or so time. This was shoveling the 5 1/2 inches on Monday morning. You can see the results of the previous shoveling on the side of the yard. Jason was "helping" with a little toy rake. He liked to put the snow in the garage. Not very helpful.

This is Jason on the little sidewalk that I shoveled. The snow is about half as tall as he is.

The good news is that the daytime temps have begun to reach above freezing so the snow is starting to melt. A plow came by and sanded our road for the first time this morning so maybe we'll be able to get out soon. Jeff chained up and went into work today (which is why I have computer access today :) ) and he said the roads are still very icy. And of course we're supposed to get more snow over the next two days. I'm really hoping that our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day plans won't be cancelled like everything else has that I look forward to. I love my kids and all, but it would be nice to look at someone else's face for a change.