Seattle and the surrounding areas just experienced two of the worst winter storms we've seen in a very long time.

First, we had a snow and ice storm that paralyzed traffic and stranded people in their houses for the better part of a week! About 5 inches of snow feel at our house, but surrounding areas saw as much as a foot or more. It was bitterly cold and once the snow feel, it turned to ice and wrecked even more havoc. People were abandoning their cars on the freeway and walking home. Buses were kicking people off onto the street because they couldn't safely make it up even mildly steep hills. It was nuts. Porter loved the snow. It was hard to get him to come in from outside. Hayden, on the other hand, declared that "actually, I don't like snow". We did go sledding with friends, which he enjoyed, but for the most part we were stuck inside for about 4 days!

Then, a few days ago, the second bad winter storm hit. Nearly hurricane force winds, and almost every form of precipitation rocked the area last week. So, no snow in the lowlands this time, but we did see lots of rain, hail and sleet. Then there was the wind. It knocked down trees, caused thousands of people to lose power, and it even pushed our BBQ off of our deck! We were VERY lucky. We only lost power for about 4 1/2 hours (from 4:30-8:30pm on the day of the storm, which was weird because the real part of the storm came later that night and we never ended up losing power again). Some people are actually still without power, several days after the storm ended! They aren't expected to get their lights back on until the middle of this coming week. This obviously poses a major problem with heat since it is extremely cold outside. Those people are having to leave their homes and stay in hotel or with friends and family.

Hayden was frightened when we lost power just as the sun was going down. He lasted about 15 minutes before suggesting that we "take a drive". We did, but didn't make it that far since many of the traffic lights were out, and it was, of course, rush hour to boot. We did a big ole U-turn and ended up grabbing some dinner, eating in the car, and then making the trek home (Hayden, Porter and I, that is...Cameron was still making his way home from work at this point). We came home, and Hayden decided that he wanted to take a bath by flashlight. He just didn't grasp the concept that we didn't have power, and that we couldn't turn on the Christmas tree lights or watch a movie. He did manage to go down to sleep ok, and he actually slept through the night. I was amazed he did! He can't sleep through a normal quiet night these days without waking up, but add hurricane force winds and falling trees and limbs and he's golden!

Well...we sure have had quite the interesting weather this winter...I hope the worst is over. But, maybe the best is yet to come?!? -- mam