Snow Day!!

Okay, so it's MAY 2nd and here's the view we woke up to this morning:

We had a MAJOR blizzard here in the hills last night and today - the higher elevations got 3 feet of snow, and here in town it was virtually impossible to tell how much snow we got because the wind was blowing at 53 mph - and that's the SUSTAINED speed - they clocked gusts at 70 mph. Now, we are accustomed to some serious wind here, but nothing like this - it was just amazing. I heard several creaks, cracks and moans in the house that had me concerned several times throughout the day. Haven't found any damage yet, though. The wind has finally ceased and the silence here is almost deafening! School was obviously cancelled for the kids today, but Mark thought he should still head into work . . . mid-morning they decided to close the bank so he headed home shortly before noon and got stuck coming up the hill to our house - even though he had the truck with the 4WD engaged. I, of course, had to get a picture:

Two guys had to come out and help him - took them 30-45 minutes to dig him out, at which point, he had to back down the hill and leave the truck parked at the bottom of the hill until the plows came through.

And here's Jack and Noah, lounging around watching cartoons, looking really bummed about not having school today:

Here's a drift right outside our front door (hard to tell, but it was about 3 ft. deep) . . . .

Early in the evening, the plows finally came through, which we were thankful for, but they did leave a nice little mess at the end of the driveway - a 3 ft. mound of snow. Jack and Noah were all excited to finally get their snow gear on - they've waited ALL winter to do this - and carve out a path for the suburban. They obviously had some help from Dad, but they had a great time, playing outside for almost 2 hours.

Anyway, we made use of the day by relaxing, playing some games, etc. but by the end of the day we were all a little stir crazy. We'll be heading out to do SOMETHING right away in the morning! :)

Conversation between me and Jack tonight:
Jack: "How long does it take to grow up?"
Me: "Not long enough - why?"
Jack: "Because I want to be a claw-machine professional when I grow up!"

Oh great, this is why we're paying for private school! :) When he says "claw machine," he's talking about those money pits you see at the entrance to various restaurants, grocery stores, WalMart - where you maneuver the claw in an attempt to pick up a stuffed animal. Jack's become slightly obsessed with these, and has managed to collect 6 animals from them over the past several months. He even has strategies! I'm thinking I need to start worrying about this . . . .

Happy weekend!