Frozen weekend

This weekend was unlike any we have seen here in Oregon.  Casey has lived here is whole life (40 years) and he has never seen weather as cold and icy as it has been.  What made it worse (and more fun) was that the record low temperatures stayed for an entire week.  We are talking temps close to zero at night!  As a result, the kids have been out of school for five days.  You see, here in western Oregon, we do not get eight inches of snow in one day and then have it stay on the ground for a week.  As a result, due to the lack of snow plows (and competent snow drivers in general), schools close for even a skiff of snow.  I grew up in Spokane where snow days were rare.  (We had to get at least a foot for them to cancel school and even then, I remember trudging through the snow to the bus stop in my moonboots.)  The good thing about growing up in a snowy climate is I have experience driving in the snow.  I was wise enough however to not drive the first day to let all of the inexperienced snow drivers do their thing.  Eugene/Springfield had 160 accidents on the first day of the snow.  

Instead, I took the girls to the park behind our house to enjoy the beauty!  The snow was powdery and soft and coming down in buckets.  They only lasted out there for about an hour and then needed to come in for hot chocolate.

Here is the park in its' winter glory.

Lydia and buddy Lexi spent the whole day together going in and out of the house to enjoy the snow

 On one of our no-school days, we took the kids for their first ever sledding adventure.  I know that sounds sad but we rarely have a chance to sled as we rarely have snow.  The hill at Quartz park wasn't huge but it was FAST!

My friend Pamela brought this toboggan sled that she normally uses as a Christmas decoration.  Again, she has never been able to use it as it was intended until now.

The laughs and smiles were abundant!  The teenagers lasted about an hour before being done.

Lydia and Allison stayed with the Farleys for a few more hours.  They had so much fun but were totally exhausted by the end of the day.  Bedtime was a breeze tonight!

Casey had an event on the coast this Saturday that he does every year. (National Electrical Contractors of America) Even though the roads were treacherous, he had no choice but to brave the icy roads and drive to Newport.  We had always planned on taking the whole family as we received two free hotel rooms for our trouble.  The horrible weather almost made us leave them home but at the last minute, we decided to bring them anyways.  We said a few prayers, put chains on our tires and braved the icy drive.  It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be as the roads were pretty empty.

When we got there, we dropped Casey off at his event and I took the girls to the "Sea of Lights" event at the Oregon Coast aquarium.  With a can of food, we got in for $2 a piece.  It was really fun.

After the aquarium, we went to our hotel rooms and enjoyed the view.  The Shilo inn rooms all face the beach. It was weird to see snow on the beach.

For the record, we did get up and try and go to church.  We got dressed and ready and when pulling into the Newport Ward's building discovered that the whole Stake had been cancelled.  Oh well, we get blessings for the effort right?

What a weekend!  We have had quite an amazing start to December for sure!