This is completely for my own memory, could put anyone else right to sleep-
Seriously, while I was mostly prepared for the storm that hit last week I don't know what we would have done without electricity. Our neighborhood was the only housing area in our entire ward to keep lights, heat, cooking ability, etc... the entire week. I truly believe this was one of my Heavenly Father's tender mercies. I know I could have kept us warm. I had planned where I would hang blankets so the gas fireplace could heat the kitchen and the living room, but I think with Ellyn and the kids and no dad last week would have been incredibly difficult.
Once again we were blessed, instead of shivering and breaking out food storage we were having game nights with the Coleman's and the Lundholm's, play dates, big group breakfasts (we had 24 of us in all- waffles, pancakes, two different kinds of homemade syrup, bacon, sausage, hot chocolate, orange juice, whipping cream, berries, I think that covers it. Oh, and butter and baby formula). We kept blowing the fuse in the kitchen because we had so many things plugged in and working, that took a little adjusting:-) We slept in, read books, took naps, watched movies, cooked and ate and ate and cooked. I loved it. We had no Internet and no cable and couldn't leave our driveway for four days and I didn't mind a bit, until Friday. Ellyn was done being cooped in the house and not being able to watch Dora. She started getting very upset very often, but we finally found a Dora DVD in the van and she started finding her way back to happy. If Ellyn would have remained happy I could have done another few days. Our good neighbors dug out behind my van for me so that Saturday morning at 8:00 Ellyn and I could take off for a drive around town and a Jack in the Box milkshake. We took a second trip to Costco Saturday evening and Boo was back to her happy self.
A little timeline- Saturday I was supposed to go down to Battle Ground/Vancouver after we woke up, worked out, etc... The prediction was snow and I decided I had better not risk it. I called my parents and told them we weren't coming. Mike studied the weather radar and told me if I left within the next half hour we could make it (while I was still on my spin bike). We got out in 40 but everything was blue skies and sunshine until we hit Battle Ground. We hung out with mom and dad and the Allen's, dipped chocolates, watched a little football, and had a great time. Sunday night we almost stayed at Stinchfield's, after a very fun night, because I was worried about black ice. We made it home and I planned on leaving early Monday, but there wasn't supposed to be snow for awhile so Meagan, mom, and I went to Ikea. We got back to Meag's and loaded up the kiddos. We hit snow here and there and had a dusting when we arrived home. Supposedly it was supposed to snow 9-12" Monday night but when I went to bed at midnight there was still nothing. However, we did wake up to this-
I was so happy that I had decided to buy all of my kids snow clothes this year. We hadn't needed any in California but I was hoping we would at least drive to snow this winter. All my kids were able to bundle up cozy and warm.
We got out our sled and our neighbor got out theirs and we played. We built snow forts and snow balls and Dave, our neighbor created a hill by piling snow up on top and beside his car. It was pretty funny. We had so much fun. The all of the little kids started getting cold and wet and so we brought them in for lunch and dryer load of wet clothes. Jane had taken a nap through the morning so when the kids clothes were dry she Sadie and Sawyer into the back yard for more snow adventures. It was such a great day.
The rest of the trouble began Wednesday with freezing rain. I heard three huge crashes (breaking branches) just while I was brushing my teeth. There were thick sheets of ice on everything. That is when everyone else lost power. Of course the kids couldn't play in the snow but they did such a nice job playing together. Seeing as how I had a mini van (that I had dug out enough to drive out in snow but not ice) I knew that we would be staying put, but so was everyone else. Even Costco and Home Depot were closed, so I heard. Roads were treacherous, ice and slush and trees down everywhere. So it proved a bit more each day. By Sunday many had their power restored although there are still some without, including schools. We had two hour late starts on Monday and Tuesday, easing us back into reality. I'm a little sad that it's gone. I know that is selfish, considering what so many have had to suffer through, but I loved the breather, the time with my kids, the knowledge that I had plenty of food on my shelves. It did remind me that there are gaps in our emergency preparedness. I want to get those covered, peace of mind during a crisis feels really good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Seriously, while I was mostly prepared for the storm that hit last week I don't know what we would have done without electricity. Our neighborhood was the only housing area in our entire ward to keep lights, heat, cooking ability, etc... the entire week. I truly believe this was one of my Heavenly Father's tender mercies. I know I could have kept us warm. I had planned where I would hang blankets so the gas fireplace could heat the kitchen and the living room, but I think with Ellyn and the kids and no dad last week would have been incredibly difficult.
Once again we were blessed, instead of shivering and breaking out food storage we were having game nights with the Coleman's and the Lundholm's, play dates, big group breakfasts (we had 24 of us in all- waffles, pancakes, two different kinds of homemade syrup, bacon, sausage, hot chocolate, orange juice, whipping cream, berries, I think that covers it. Oh, and butter and baby formula). We kept blowing the fuse in the kitchen because we had so many things plugged in and working, that took a little adjusting:-) We slept in, read books, took naps, watched movies, cooked and ate and ate and cooked. I loved it. We had no Internet and no cable and couldn't leave our driveway for four days and I didn't mind a bit, until Friday. Ellyn was done being cooped in the house and not being able to watch Dora. She started getting very upset very often, but we finally found a Dora DVD in the van and she started finding her way back to happy. If Ellyn would have remained happy I could have done another few days. Our good neighbors dug out behind my van for me so that Saturday morning at 8:00 Ellyn and I could take off for a drive around town and a Jack in the Box milkshake. We took a second trip to Costco Saturday evening and Boo was back to her happy self.
A little timeline- Saturday I was supposed to go down to Battle Ground/Vancouver after we woke up, worked out, etc... The prediction was snow and I decided I had better not risk it. I called my parents and told them we weren't coming. Mike studied the weather radar and told me if I left within the next half hour we could make it (while I was still on my spin bike). We got out in 40 but everything was blue skies and sunshine until we hit Battle Ground. We hung out with mom and dad and the Allen's, dipped chocolates, watched a little football, and had a great time. Sunday night we almost stayed at Stinchfield's, after a very fun night, because I was worried about black ice. We made it home and I planned on leaving early Monday, but there wasn't supposed to be snow for awhile so Meagan, mom, and I went to Ikea. We got back to Meag's and loaded up the kiddos. We hit snow here and there and had a dusting when we arrived home. Supposedly it was supposed to snow 9-12" Monday night but when I went to bed at midnight there was still nothing. However, we did wake up to this-
I was so happy that I had decided to buy all of my kids snow clothes this year. We hadn't needed any in California but I was hoping we would at least drive to snow this winter. All my kids were able to bundle up cozy and warm.
We got out our sled and our neighbor got out theirs and we played. We built snow forts and snow balls and Dave, our neighbor created a hill by piling snow up on top and beside his car. It was pretty funny. We had so much fun. The all of the little kids started getting cold and wet and so we brought them in for lunch and dryer load of wet clothes. Jane had taken a nap through the morning so when the kids clothes were dry she Sadie and Sawyer into the back yard for more snow adventures. It was such a great day.
The rest of the trouble began Wednesday with freezing rain. I heard three huge crashes (breaking branches) just while I was brushing my teeth. There were thick sheets of ice on everything. That is when everyone else lost power. Of course the kids couldn't play in the snow but they did such a nice job playing together. Seeing as how I had a mini van (that I had dug out enough to drive out in snow but not ice) I knew that we would be staying put, but so was everyone else. Even Costco and Home Depot were closed, so I heard. Roads were treacherous, ice and slush and trees down everywhere. So it proved a bit more each day. By Sunday many had their power restored although there are still some without, including schools. We had two hour late starts on Monday and Tuesday, easing us back into reality. I'm a little sad that it's gone. I know that is selfish, considering what so many have had to suffer through, but I loved the breather, the time with my kids, the knowledge that I had plenty of food on my shelves. It did remind me that there are gaps in our emergency preparedness. I want to get those covered, peace of mind during a crisis feels really good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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