bLiZzArD!!!

 We were snowed-in for most of last weekend by a bLiZzArD! It's not all that often that we get a real, old-fashioned blizzard in Oronoco.  But this one was for real.  We got 20 or so inches of snow which turned into 4 foot drifts when the winds picked up on Saturday evening.  For the most part, I enjoy being snowed in.  There's something especially comforting about sitting next to a warm fireplace in my favorite chair when the wind is blasting snow against the windows.  Then again, the 7 miles to Rochester is never longer than when the snow plows are pulled off of the roads!  At one point on Saturday evening, Elizabeth tied her ankles together and was going to attempt to hop down the stairs (brilliant idea, don't you think?).  I told her to save that idea for later because there was no way to get to urgent care that night for stitches! Needless to say, Mike spent a lot of time over the weekend with this old friend:  

In the 10 years that we have lived in our house, Mike has stubbornly insisted that he will clear our driveway with a shovel--and NOT a snowblower.  Besides 2 occasions where a neighbor has taken pity on him and cleared out the end of our driveway for us, I believe Mike has kept his resolve.  Until...the...blizzard of December 2010.  Mike got the bright idea that he would clear the driveway on Saturday ahead of the winds--thinking that maybe it would reduce the amount of shoveling he would have to do on Sunday.  Well...okay, maybe not.  On Sunday morning, the driveway was completely drifted.  It took him 45 minutes just to clear the mountain of snow where the plow went by.  Defeated, there was a knock at the door...wondering if I could call my dad and have him deliver a snowblower.  Thankfully, Dad lives right down the street and loves to help, and he is always willing to borrow us equipment.  He has been sitting by the phone wishing Mike would borrow a snowblower for 10 years!  He was thrilled to bring it up...and a 3 hour job turned into 15 minutes.  And Mike was a very happy boy. 

So...we shall see if his relationship with a shovel lasts another 10 years??

This year's heavy snowfall has given a head start to another Amundson family tradition:

The Snowhill

Our yard doesn't have any large hills, so it needs a little help from Daddy's friend the shovel.  Every year, Mike creates a large mound of snow in the front yard for sledding.

Here, Daddy and Beth are breaking in the hill.  It always takes awhile for the snow to pack down and get slick enough for a fast ride.  Last year's conditions were amazing!  We had freezing rain which made the hill so slick that Beth flew all the way from our yard, about 75 feet to the outlot space, and another 150 feet or more all the way to the west ditch.  She had to bail out before she went up in the street!  Each year is different, but this year has given us lots of snow so there should be good sledding ahead.  :-) 

Here's Daddy and his girl dominating the snowhill.  It's a nice picture, isn't it?  But you know what's gonna happen, don't you? 

He's thinkin' it...

Yep.  Splat.  She was not impressed.  ;-) Daddy explained that it was important to pack the snow so that the hill would be sturdy and slick for sledding.  So, Beth Marie got to work packing snow...  

Blizzards are fun.  :-)