The White Stuff Cont.

The snow arrived this weekend, just as predicted, and we got a lot. The kids didn't have school on Friday which was probably a good thing. The snow started that morning and didn't stop for two days. We ended up with about a foot of snow here where we live, but probably less in other places around us. A friend of mine said that they only got about an inch. It seems that the weather is usually a bit worse on this side of the base.

On Friday I wanted to just stay home but Abigail had a bit of a tumble and we needed to go to the ER to get her tounge (that she had bitten THROUGH!) checked out. The drive to Landstuhl, where the hospital is, was so not fun. The snow was really coming down and there were drifts across the roadway. I saw two cars off the road in the first five miles we'd driven. When we finally got there the guy at the Triage station had her stick out her bloody, mangled tounge. Then he had a doctor come over to take a look at it, and then another doctor came to check it out. In the end they said "It will heal without any help from us" and sent us back home with a charge to feed her soft and not too spicy foods. So we began the white knuckle drive back home with Abigail looking forward to ice cream and pudding.

On Saturday we had plans to hike here, the waterfall in the valley by our house.

We bundled up and started off with a couple of sleds to pull the little ones on when the snow got deep or they got tired. We got about halfway there; to the edge of the woods outside of town when the whining, and to be honest, crying were too much for Jared and I to take. We were on the downhill part of the hike and were already having to convince the kids to just keep going. Really, just Emily needed convincing. The snow was really deep and hard to slog through so I can understand how someone with shorter legs than me would be frustrated. She literally laid down in the snow and gave up.So instead of going to the waterfall we decided to find a hill and use the sleds for . . . sledding! The hill found was nice and long, the only downside was that it ended at a street. Every run down the sleds would go farther down the hill and closer to the road. So we started bailing out of the sleds at a certain point so that no one would accidentaly launch themselves into the street. Everyone had a good time and the promise of hot chocolate when we got home no longer made Emily burst out into tears.

This morning it was still snowing and Jared and I were both worried about what the roads would be like on the way to church. In town here the roads aren't plowed, ever. My neighbor told me that everyone is supposed to clear to the center of the street in front of their house and that's why they don't plow anything more than the main street. We got a call around eight saying that church would be only Sacrament today and everyone was asked to come only if they could safely drive. I went out to start the car and get things cleared off while Jared looked for a road condition report. In the end we decided to stay here at home - the roads were just too bad to drive anywhere today.

We are supposed to get more snow over the next two days but I'm hoping it's not too much. At this point I'm ready to leave the house so that we can get a break from the same four walls, and so I can restock our toilet paper supply.