Here is our update from last week.

Another weekend filled with scouting activities. EAch year the cub scouts attend a Klondike Derby event where they visit different stations at a local park and work on scout skills. Each year the skills get more difficult and longer. Some years the event has been cancelled due to interfering snow storms or even rain storms(too much snow to keep the roads open or too muddy to hike through the parks). Tom and SCott have signed up for every year for the past 4 years, so this year was my turn. Since we had a big snow storm with a foot of snow, it certainly made for the feeling of hiking the Alaskan Klondike. The boys were pretty exhausted hiking through the snow since they had to push a wheeled sled along with them and the trails were blocked by a lot of downed trees due to the snow/ice storm and a foot of snow and mostly uphill. But we made it(I think their favorite stations involved lighting fires and eating chicken soup). I just can't believe how exhausted I was when I got home. We were gone from 830-3pm.

We certainly had a rough week getting to school and work. On Weds another big snow and ice storm blew in around 5 pm. It actually snowed a bit in the morning, so schools were closed. Then it rained all day-we even had a thunder snow storm in the evening, until it switched to a blizzard. Of course I left work right when it started at 5pm. I barely made it home-lots of cars sliding off the road or just stopping in their lanes. We had a white out and you really could not see the streets anymore, so people just stopped. Most of us kept going single file, even down the freeway. Before I left work, our boss told us if we did not come to work the next day due to snow we would be written up. This is the caring health field. They did offer to let us stay the night in the nursing home, but no one had come prepared with a change of clothes or even a toothbrush. Instead we all took our chances. Our boss is still upset that she had to spend several nights at the facility last year in the monster 2 foot and blizzard snow storm. When you spend the night you work during the day doing therapy, and usually are asked to assist at night as a nurses aid. Not much rest, and no extra pay. They did buy them lunch! Or last year someone offered to come pick you up and bring you into work in their SUVs, but not necessarily take you home again! I opted to take a chance on getting home. When I did arrive home, I noticed Tom had not yet made it home. It took me over an hour and usually only takes about 25 mins tops. I called Tom and he was still working. I warned him not to come home so he thought he would do some more work and then travel across the street to the Embassy suites hotel for the night. Instead, he worked until 1130 that night and thought the roads should be clear enough by then to drive home. He checked the road conditions on the computer and of course it said everything was "green"(that was because there were no moving or running cars on the freeway. Considering there were 50+ jacknifed trucks on the I-70 and over 800 cars stranded on the beltway, I would say the roads were not better. He found that out when he took about 2 hours to drive home and then had to snow plow a trail on the road in front of our house to park in the driveway. The next morning he complained about how poor the handling was of his little car. When I went out to shovel the massive snow pile at the end of the driveway in order to get my car out to go to work, I noticed he had a flat. Apparently he drove over a large piece of metal. I was just happy that Allison had shoveled the driveway and that I shoveled the driveway when I got home even though it was coming down faster than I could shovel. At least it wasn't quite as deep in the morning. I tried to start the snow blower but Tom did not tell me that you have to plug it in to use the electric start. I was trying to pull start it(Tom tells me that doesn't work). It is still a lot of work moving snow even with a snow blower!

So we had our share of nasty weather. The kids had two snow days after that storm, and Scott got a third since the power went out at school. All of the trees and power lines were heavy with snow and ice, and tree branches and whole trees were down everywhere so a lot of homes and businesses were out of power in MD and VA. I guess DC was really a mess(more than usual).

Allison had last MOnday off so teachers could grade midterms and fill out report cards. We also heard back from one of her applications for girl scouts for a shadow day. She tried to schedule a day where she would follow around a woman CEO/principal/senator, etc for a day at work and then give a speech at a dinner in April. She was not chosen for the shadow day program, but was asked to fill in at the banquet as a hostess. Tom and I also got tickets for the dinner that evening. It is a very nice banquet at an old country club just outside Baltimore. Allison and I have sang there with the GS choir for many of those events but never were invited to eat dinner. Finally we get to eat the dinner! It should be nice. It is right after EAster.

So I managed to get to work and did not get written up(this week). How lovely. And we did not lose power or any trees. All good things.

While I was busy playing in the snow with Scott at the klondike derby on Saturday morning, Tom was off getting his tire repaired. When he had it fixed, he and Allison and our friend John headed to Hershey PA to watch a hockey game. I pretty much slept the rest of the day when I got home.

On Sunday I took the kids out to the Pet Expo along with Cookie. It was incredibly crowded and some lady stepped on poor Cookies tail. Boy did she cry. We enjoyed seeing all the reptiles, exotic animals and parrots, plenty of dogs and cats too. We also enjoyed watching the dog agility courses(we would love to have Cookie try that). And we also enjoyed listening to a dog handler from Texas. He was very funny, and he taught us a new trick to work on with Cookie walking between our legs. Just like at the Seaworld pet shows.

So we will see what the rest of the winter season has in store! I sent a photo of the last snow storm. Many of the tree branches were actually touching the ground as they were so heavy from the ice and snow. Kathleen