Snowmageddon

After December’s record snowfall (see Winter Wonderland/Snowstorm from Hell), we thought we had seen the worst of winter. Then the storm that became known as “Snowmageddon” hit. Round One started on Friday afternoon and dumped over 12 inches of snow in Alexandria. Further north, they received as much as 18 inches. When the blizzard finally tapered off on Saturday evening, our front yard, walkways and cars were completely buried. The streets were impassable, and the trees and power lines were sagging (ominously) with snow and ice. Fortunately, our power remained on throughout the storm; many people in the area lost power and had to temporarily relocate.

Not surprisingly, work and school were cancelled for several days, leaving us stuck indoors to spend some “quality time” together. Somehow we managed to keep Henry occupied (and away from his sister) while we slowly dug out. Many a time during the ensuing week, we would wonder aloud: why couldn’t we have experienced back-to-back snow days before we had children?

By Monday, when the sunshine finally returned, we were able to get outside and enjoy the snow. Elise bundled up Vivian in the Baby Bjorn, and we stuffed Henry (somewhat unwillingly) into his snowsuit. Then all of us trekked to the grounds of the George Washington Masonic Memorial for some sledding. Henry was up for several runs on a small hill and then decided he had seen enough of the snow. After all, it was up to his waist! Back at the house, he was more at ease playing with the giant icicles that were forming on the porch.

Just as we were getting back on our feet, Round Two hit. Another snow storm developed on Tuesday night and continued through Wednesday, dumping another foot of snow on the area. All total, we received 24 inches in our front yard. Our 80-year-old neighbor said it was the most snow he had ever seen in Alexandria.

Henry did well throughout the week, but by Thursday, cabin fever had set in and he was climbing the walls. When they announced that the government would reopen on Friday, we took Henry into school, even though we were planning to depart at noon for a weekend getaway. Apparently lots of other people felt the same way because the morning commute was terrible. As a work colleague noted, it was probably the first time before a long weekend (Presidents Day) that the federal workforce showed up en masse!

Click below for more photos from the blizzard.