Super White Christmas

I am not a cold weather person. I grew up mostly in warm climates (Honolulu, Key West), and would rather brace for an impending hurricane than live through a snowstorm. I do not like to be cold, I do not like to be wet, I really do not like to be cold and wet. We are on our 12th day of snow on the ground - an event that has not been seen in Portland, Oregon in 40 years.

My dislike for the snow does not extend to my family. The kids, like all kids, think snow is magical. I think snow is pretty, for a day or so. Twelve days is a bit much. This snow event was like that movie "Groundhog's Day" where the guy wakes up and the day is just like the day before. I do like the forced slow down that the snow creates. During the recent snowstorm I sewed 4 pairs of pj's for the twins, made chicken noodle soup, baked cookies, and watched the wall to wall news coverage of ARCTIC BLAST 2008! The planes can't go! The MAX can't run! The schools are closed! Timmy still made it to work, so everyone sitting in the snow storm craving a teriyaki chicken burger could get one at Red Robin! (if they had chains on their car) I slept better knowing our burger needs were covered.

Ruby was funny in the snow - she barked at it, ate it, and even got high centered in snow bank. I laughed a lot and took a picture. Tim took the kids on an adult supervised night sledding trip to the park - no teeth were lost! His comment when he came back - "I'm getting too old for this."

We were lucky to have Caitlin's company for Christmas - her parents are buried in 3 feet of snow at their house on the high, high, hill. I know she missed being with her family, but we loved having her here. She was able to stay in touch with the help of the amazing Blackberry phone which contained an email from her dad with a list of groceries she could bring up with her when the weather cleared, and pictures of giant icicles on the side of the house. Ah, technology!

Our good friend Carl called last night with a panicked message - the roof of his covered patio had buckled under the weight of the snow and collapsed onto the patio below. His unfortuante experience compelled Tim (and Parker) to get on our patio roof and clear off 2 feet of snow and ice. After they finished they called us outside. Up on top of the house roof they'd build a snowman, complete with OSU scarf and hat, arms outstretched to the world...welcome Christmas!