The Blizzard of 2013

On Monday we started getting some grumblings of a big storm coming our way and by Wednesday people were talking about closing schools and postponing dance classes. By Thursday the grocery stores had not one gallon of milk or loaf of bread on the shelves and the panic had hit epic proportions. On Thursday evening the kids school was canceled and Griffith Academy cancelled all Friday and Saturday dance classes and the Annual Ceili scheduled for Saturday night!We went grocery shopping, got gas in the cars and the snowblower, planned a few fun family activities to do in the dark and braced ourselves for the storm - half giggling to ourselves about how weather people always get these things wrong. The joke was on us! The Blizzard not only came, but it was even worse than expected, dropping 30 inches of snow on Rocky Hill and essentially shutting down the state for three days. We are still shoveling out today and school is canceled again tomorrow to allow plows and trucks in Hartford the chance to clear roads and make them safer. We made out better than most with our power never going down once and our kids in great moods thanks to the new rule of the house - "Watch as much TV as you want!" Just kidding - sort of!

This is our yard on Friday morning just as a few flakes started falling.

This is Bob trying to get a jump start on the driveway and sidewalks at 10 pm on Friday night - we had no idea how useless this would be after another 12 hours of snowfall!

The girls saw the first flake of snow and wanted to go play outside.They were so excited about a blizzard the likes of which they have only heard about in stories about our weddin day. Bob and I got married on January 22, 2005 as 24 inches of snow fell on CT and more than 100 people canceled on coming to the wedding. The great news was that the wedding was still a huge blast, the hotel gave out free hotel rooms, we awoke to breakfast with about 75 people from the wedding the next morning and at the end of the day we were FINALLY married! Still the best day of my life and, as you canimagine, the girls hear about it lots!

There is something about these girls in their snow hats with just those beautiful faces showing that just melts my Mama heart!

Annie and Lizzie - my two snow bunnies!

Annie was dressed up like a little babushka - with a smile that makes my day every single day!

We started our snow day with  some painting and art projects. The little girls love anything messy so they could not have been happier!

I love the concentration on their faces while they paint!

And then there is those tiny little fingers working so deliberately to make a beautiful pictures for Daddy while he shovels outside for us.

We even managed to keep things pretty clean for the first part of the day.

Later in the evening we had another special treat provided by KK. Ellie has been wearing big girl underpants even at night for the last 4 nights so KK brought her all of the makings for smores to share with her siblings during the storm. They loved every minute of it and we ate smores until we ran out of chocolate bars - and there were ten of them!

The kids thought it was so cool to toast their own marmallows in the fireplace!

Daddy had brought up enough wood to keep the fire going for two days before he left to go shovel outside for a while.

In our house we find all sorts of reasons to celebrate and have fun but Ellie really worked hard on this feat and we flet it was really important to let her know how proud we are of her! KK made sure we had the fixins to do it right!

Ellie Bean loving her smores!

Annie thought the combination was a bit weird but once she tried it she was in heaven!

Molly Girl has loved smores ever since she was introduced to them a few years ago - she was also the perfect big sister helping everyone make theirs and being very patient.

Lizzie Bug - she just toasted marshmallows and ate them straight up - so Lizzie!

We were one of the lucky families that did NOT lose power. It was glorious because we were expecting to lose it at any moment so we treasured the convenience whenever we could. On friday night we watched a movie in preparation for losing power SAturday and Sunday.

The girls love nothing more than to snuggle on the couch with Daddy and watch a movie before bed. Since our cable had been turned off for many weeks before this but turned back on the week before in time for the Superbowl we really lucked out still having cable.

Bob had to start on driveway early Saturday so that he could get out to work and shovel out there. The girls were  banished to only the porch and stairs at this point because the snow was so high and powdery that we were worried we might lose them or they might get a drift blown on them. They lasted for ten minutes before they ended up in the snow buried up to their necks!

The sad reality of my life is that I have a son who loves to play in the snow but can't fit into snow clothes. I have tried everything but the only thing I have found is men's snow suits which are 100 dollars or more and we can't afford that. Pete is a great kid so he makes do with what we can handle.

Trying to run across the snow before he falls in!

The girls eating the freshly fallen snow.

Sweet snowy faces!

Loving the snow!

Lizzie stays outside for hours at a time and usually she tries to help Daddy.

Peter getting buried in the snow while Daddy snowblows......again!

Can you find Peter?

Lizzie doing her share to help Daddy.

Can you find Bob??

My hero - In total by 5pm on Sunday Bob had spent about 24 hours outside shoveling, snowblowing, checking on neighbors and making work safe for customers. He rushed out to Riverview early both mornings hoping to ensure that Papa didn't have to do alot of work out there but made sure that we could get out if we needed to. Bob never complained once about all of the work he was doing and he came in each day with a smile and cuddles for the kids and I.

I'mnot sure what we did to deserve this strong and kind man but we think we are going to keep him!

This was about our fifth time outside playing the snow and it was as fun as the first time!

Bob had icicles in his beard and foggy glasses but he could not have been happier to be home with us for the night!

At one point when we got bored of all of our projects and games I went down into the cellar and found two gingerbread house kits from three Christmases ago. The girls thought it was great to decorate them for Valentine's Day and it certainly took up sometime!

Lizzie spreading her frosting to get ready for the fun part - decorating!

Love those tiny fingers!

I'm not sure what this face was for but someone was having fun!

Our only low point of the weekend was when Annie got a huge shard of glass stuck in her foot. I tried tweezers, peroxide, icthamol cream (My grandmother's remedy for everything!) but nothing was working and it was bleeding like crazy. I finally had to dig out the glass and put some steriglue on it to keep it closed. Annie was a trooper but we had a few moments of wondering if might end up in the ED. As a result of the "trauma" Annie earned herself a princess seat on the couch with treats and fuzzy drinks!

Much of Sunday afternoon was spent playing school thanks to Auntie Ann and all of her worksheets that she gave us to work with Annie on. We got lots of extra practice on letters, numbers and writing and had some fun in the process.

Lizzie did a great job practicing her cutting skills and her name - which thanks to Bob and I is so long she has trouble remembering it all.

The weekend ended up being fun for those of us who got to hang out in the house with power and lots of food. Bob probably has a different story about the Blizzard of 2013 but all in all I think we made some great memories for the kids! I hope all of our family and friends were safe and warm during the Blizzard and as always each night we said a special prayer for those people who are not as fortunate as we are and were in shelters or worse during this storm. GNM - ILY!