The first I heard of an ice storm coming was on a warm (in the forties) day when I was helping a sister pack for a move. That was a Monday and while we were packing, someone mentioned that there wouldn't be much help after Wednesday because of the storm we were supposed to get. Guess I better check weather.com on my phone, I thought.
The freezing rain started Tuesday night and it didn't stop. I wasn't sure what the school situation would be (usually they don't cancel for much) until we got the phone call after the kids had gone to bed. That was the first call of the week. The school remained closed for a week due to ice and snow. When the sun did come out, after the two days of freezing rain and then covering it with snow, there was no school because roads and parking lots and sidewalks were covered in two inches of ice. We went outside with flatheaded shovels, the kids had some hammers and I used a heavy mallot to uncover the driveway. Thanks to the missionaries, we had almost two car spaces ice free, down to the street, in about 30 minutes. Alone it would have taken me at least two hours. It took me over a week to clear off all the way to the back door.
The
kids had a blast skating in the back yard after their "school work" was done. Yes, I'm a mean mom and made Xela and Aurora work on science fair and Graigry due some math and writing for just a few minutes each day. Here are a few pictures of the kids sliding down the missionaries' back door stairs, "sledding" in the yard. You had to tread carefully or your backside would end up kissing the ground unexpectedly.
Graigry trying to climb up the ice covered stairs so he could sit and slide down them.
Xela would push the sled ahead of her then jump on it and it would slide some more feet.
I think she had just dump Nate after his slip and slide adventure.
Nate just laughed when he couldn't stay up.
He's such a happy kid.
Here is a picture of the big green van window decorated by Mother Nature.
Eric started to scrape the windows so he could drive it to work and leave me the little van,
but he called it quits when after five minutes there was no progress.
Sunday, February 6 there was still so much ice that church was cancelled stake wide. President Sinclair gave families permission to do the sacrament within their homes and home teachers could take it to families, if it didn't endanger anyone.
Having church at home was an interesting experience. All the kids sat on the couch, Eric had a glass with water and a plate with a slice of bread on a side table that was covered in a white cloth. He was dressed in a suit and tie and it was great to watch him bless and pass the sacrament to his family. It was the most reverent sacrament I've been in ever. The kids were SO quiet and the spirit just filled our living room.
When we were done, I asked the kids if they'd felt that and I asked if they knew what it was. It was a good experience to recognize the spirit and let the kids know what it was they were feeling. Aurora made the comment, "we don't feel that very much at home." Eric and I gave each other a look, like "Great. Just great."
We sang songs and watched the testimonies of President Hinckley, Pres Monson, and a few of the apostles. I had time to make a decent dinner (meaning fresh made from scratch rolls) with the kids. It was a good Sunday. Sometimes you just need a day of rest and sometimes church does not help one "rest."
So that was just the first week of February. I'll have to refer to my camera and facebook posts to see if there is anything else worth blogging.
