When we went to Wyoming in January, when we left to head home, we were told there was a big snow storm moving into Washington. But the whole drive home the weather was great so we thought everyone was crazy!! We didn't have to slow down until we hit Tenino, that was when the roads started to get icy and snow was on the ground. We made it home 3 hours before it all hit. School was cancelled for the week and we were without power for 4 days. Luckily we have a wood stove and a generator, so we were warm and able to shower thank goodness!!! Nate and I ended up having to go to Tacoma to find a gas station that had power to get gas for the generator, but it was fun. The kids started to get stir crazy every once in awhile, we played many games of Apples to Apples and twister, but in the end it was fun to spend time as a family.
Vanessa getting ready to go play in the snow
She ran out the door and dropped....she loves the snow
Snookums had issues trying to run in the snow, it was a bit deep for him
Mom went and got the sled and pulled Snookums around the yard, he was much HAPPIER :)
My lil snow bunny
It snowed and then an ice storm came through and everything became ice encased.
We brought the dogs in to thaw out and warm up by the fire
Everything was so heavy and thick with ice, that it sounded like gun shots going off outside as trees and limbs were breaking all around. Everything was falling over from being so heavy with ice.
This was our drive way. My uncle needed to get out of our drive way but it was covered in trees, so Nate and I went out with a chainsaw and started cutting. It was scary cause you would all the sudden hear a snap but not know where the tree or branch was falling from, you would stop and look up to see if you needed to run or not. At one point Nate and I were under a tree and I looked up and said I didn't like the way the tree above us looked, but we needed to cut the tree on the ground, so as he was cutting I heard a snap and told him to run, I got hit in the back of the head with the branch as I dove out of the way. Then as we were trying to move the branches we had cut out of the way, I was standing off the the side as Nate was pulling on the branch to get it to move and as it came loose it was long then we both thought and smacked me in the side of the head....my poor head, man did it hurt haha
As we would clear the trees and branches out of the drive way more would fall, it felt like a never ending battle to keep the drive way clear!!
Dad came home finally for more then a couple hours and made the kids an igloo :)
In the process of Matthew helping make the igloo, he somehow, remember this is Matthew we are talking about, laid down on the ground and hit his head on the edge of the shovel and gave himself a lil hole in his head. If it were closer to his face I would have attempted to take him in to get a couple stitches but instead I found super glue and glued it closed instead!!!
The kids were playing twister to keep themselves entertained, but kept having issues remembering their left and right so my highly intelligent children wrote and L and an R on their hands to help them remember and STILL had issues hehe love them :)
Vanessa is having her big birthday party in the summer so she just invited a couple of her friends to stay the night on her birthday. Of course she choose to go to dinner at Red Lobster. 
We stuck the children at one end of the table so they could giggle and be crazy
And then there's my short bus friend Janet and her husband helping to make the picture better with his hand in the middle of it....We still love her and take her out in public with us every once in awhile, even though she looks like this hehe
Vanessa and Makayla 
Janet look like her intelligent self and Justin trying to figure out the salt shaker
Me and my cutie pie husband :)
Matthew, Kelly and Jessica....I'm pretty sure Jessica was explaining something VERY important with her hands up like that, or they were playing football with the sugar packets ;)
Justin was so excited to get his cookie for dessert
Everyone singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Vanessa :)
Oh how the intelligence runs deep in these 3 :)
I bought her a cake and didn't really pay attention to it until I go in the car and realized how ugly it was haha....oh well at least it will taste good for breakfast!!! 
