A look at our 9 days with not a bit of exaggeration, for real!

So I'm a bit behind.  The power was out and we were in survival mode for two weeks.  Even after the power came back on it was all about calling tree companies (not a fun way to spend $1,000), refilling the fridges, and waiting for school to start again.  (it finally did today)  I'm also taking an awesome photography class and I had to catch up on my "homework" after the lights came back on. 

It all started last Saturday, October 29th.  I knew that the forecast was for a bunch of snow; the girls were excited!  Anna had 'art school' Saturday morning and I did a bit of Christmas shopping while she was in her class. 

As soon as we got home the snow started falling.  I called to check in with my church to see if I had to teach Sunday school the next morning.  After I knew that was cancelled I seized the opportunity to get a Christmas Card photo shoot done in the snow.  When has it ever snowed in October?  Perfect. 

Not so perfect.  The snow was falling harder than we thought and I had the girls in silk party dresses without a coat.  After 5 minutes we went back inside.  I dressed them in warm clothes, snow pants (which were not ready, I had to do some digging in the cedar closet)  boots, hats, etc.  We took some time playing in our backyard, but the girls didn't last long.  It was howling windy and oh so cold.  The snow was coming down so fast it was almost a white out. 

Abigail getting pelted with snow...





And then I heard some strange sounds. Creaking is really the only way I can describe it. Loud creaking and trees moaning all over the neighborhood. In our 10 minutes out back I saw the trees with their leaves still on getting lower and lower with the weight of the snow. And then some of the creaking turned into cracking. I was outside alone with the girls knowing that there were huge trees all around us. We literally ran for it. As soon as we got inside our power clicked off.

Here's a picture of my backyard before we headed in...  You can barely see my house... look in the arbor, that's my kitchen light. 



The girls in the snow...



It got dark quickly after that. We were able to find the flashlights and candles before dark, and the girls were so excited about our night without power. We had dinner by candlelight. Can you even find the girls at the table?



And then a candlelit bath





The flash went off in this one, but we are sitting near the fireplace in our family room. I'm reading our latest 'Little House' book to the girls with a flashlight.



And Anna read Abigail some stories before bedtime too.



We put two blow up mattresses on the floor in our bedroom because of the huge tree outside Anna's window. We also needed to shut their bedroom doors to keep all of the fireplace heat only in our bedroom. We thought it would be fun for "just one night". It ended up being eight.

Out of time for tonight. I'll finish up tomorrow...