SNOW MY GOODNESS!

Yeah...the snow we got the 3rd week in December was wild. I had to post it just for posterity's sake if nothing else. And for anyone who doesn't live in this area, you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. Apparently the Portland area hasn't had a snow storm like this in about 22 years (or so I heard). It started Sunday the 14th which caused school to be out every day that next week. Then another system moved in, a bigger one in fact, and we got hammered with more that following weekend.

Jared didn't get to do the snow cream with us during the week, so I put a bowl out there on Saturday morning 12/20/08 as the flakes started coming down heavy and thick. By that evening, the bowl was buried...I've NEVER seen that much snow here. If we do get it, it's usually gone in a day if not sooner. With the arctic blast of temperatures on top of the sheer volume of snow, we knew it was going to be around for longer than just a day.


Calvin got to enjoy his first taste of snow cream. Yummy!


Below are the pictures Jared took Monday morning, 12/22/08 while I was inside trying to get rid of what I thought was a gas cramp that really ended up being my IUD perforating my uterine wall. **I'm going to get off the snow subject for a minute. I've had several friends ask me if I would recommend getting the Mirena IUD as they are needing to make such a decision this year. My advice...you can't live your life in fear. With that said however, I have since received all the statements from the medical treatment I was given that snowy day. The grand total that insurance was billed....drum roll please....$15,300. (I recall being quoted $7,000 for a C-section with Calvin if it came to that--go figure!) The charges that insurance ALLOWED, were actually $9,000 and we will be obligated to pay a small percentage of that, thank goodness. So, I guess my best advice is, if you don't have an extra $10,000 laying around or insurance to pay for getting a wandering IUD out of where it shouldn't be, then I would go with a different form of birth control. The pain was more in the pocketbook than it was in my abdomen.**

This is the front of our house and then below that is the view looking south from our house. Everyone was pretty much snowed in, which made the IUD ordeal even more interesting. This was also why Jared and I were so giddy to be getting out of the house, even if it was to go to the Urgent Care, then the ER. I had been cooped up for much too long!!




This is along the north side of our house in the back.


And here's a backyard shot. I think this is way more impressive. This area would have been a great start for making some fun snow forts. Unfortunately, we were grossly unprepared. We have NO snow gear whatsoever. None of us. I had to take the kids to Fred Meyer the first day they were out of school due to the weather to get gloves and even then they weren't that great. Jake and Cooper both suffered from some minor frostbite a couple times, mainly in their feet and toes because they wanted so much to play outside. I felt so bad they didn't have any snow boots (they discovered rain boots don't cut it). Instead of feeling guilty, though I pretty much told myself that unless we go skiing or sledding every other weekend up at Mt. Hood (which we don't), I just can't justify buying snow gear that my kids will grow out of in 2 months for a snow storm that only happens once every 20 years.