Snow!

Apparently mid-February is when we typically get snow, given all the "look back on these memories" notifications Google photos gave me of all our past snowstorms in the week leading up to our snowfall this past week.

We started with a dusting on Friday - at this point I thought we'd maybe get 3-4 inches, which would be a decent snowfall for Seattle. 

It started snowing again Friday evening and we woke up to a surprisingly decent snowfall the next morning. The kids were super excited. We don't own any sleds, so snowmen, snowballs, and snow angels are about all they can do. We did put them to work helping to shovel though (they need to learn how at some point and just don't get a lot of opportunity to practice).

I thought that was going to be it, but it kept snowing on and off through the day and then by the next morning we had accumulated a good foot of snow!

I was quite proud of our sidewalk care (even though we didn't get out to get salt before the storm came - thankfully, once it started snowing we only got warmer and things didn't melt and then freeze). We had, by far, the clearest section of sidewalk on the block. I'm grateful to have the sidewalk and therefore more than happy to take care of it so others can get around more easily in snowy weather.

Even though things were starting to warm up and melt by Monday afternoon, there was still a lot of snow on our street and a woman trying to get back to her home ended up with a stuck car. We were able to dig her car out and, with the help of neighbors, gave the car a push to get her going again. It was a little iffy watching her get down the hill, but she made it.

We realized that (especially now that we have this nice, wide sidewalk) we should get a second full size shovel (can only do so much as an adult with a child-size shovel) so we can get through the job more quickly. Maybe once Gareth gets more practice we'll be able to send him down the block to help clear more of the sidewalk.

It was fun to have the snow this year - coming on the holiday weekend where we didn't need to get anywhere - as noted by this article. Lots of sledders, skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers seen along our street throughout the weekend. Obviously much less fun for anyone who had to work through the weekend. And, of course, we are quite happy that it's mostly gone now so we can resume getting groceries and so on.