We survived the dusting! HA! What a crazy few weeks of weather we have had! As I type, I am home from school again on an "inclement weather day" because of the threat of ice. No complaints here! My laundry pile is definitely benefiting from these unexpected days home! 2 weeks ago, I was at school when it started to snow. I took my students out to run around in it and stick their tongues out because I was just sure that it would be short lived and this might be the only chance they got. I figured it would be well over by the time school got out. Shortly after it started to snow, I looked out the window and it was really coming down hard. I remember texting John that it was "legit snow" and I wondered if it would stick. Within 10 minutes, I got a call from the boys school that they would be closing at 11:30, and then our school system announced we would close at 10:30 as well. As you can imagine, pandemonium struck at that moment. It was 10:50 and I was making arrangements to leave my class about 11:10 so I could grab the boys and get home to play in the snow! I was so excited to get to pick them up so we could play. I even told Shealy that if Clayton wasn't coming home from work they should just come over to our house and play! A few hours later, that statement proved to be very ironic. Shealy and I set out in our own cars following each other to get to our kiddos. Liberty Parkway was already a backed up nightmare. It was about 5 minutes after I was in my car that I realized this might be a very, very bad situation. We turned around and went back through a back way through the neighborhood to try and get out on a back road to get to the interstate to loop back around to get to their school. On the way out the neighborhood, my car completely lost control on a small hill and would not do anything. I couldn't get it to go up the hill, to brake.....it was like it just shut off. I rolled all the way back down the hill. By the grace of God, there was a man behind me that knew what he was doing and he threw his car in reverse and managed to get out of my way and kept others from turning in my direction. I couldn't steer...I was literally helpless and just praying to run into a mailbox or something so my car would just stop and no one would get hurt. At the bottom of the hill my car stopped sliding and I just got out. I did not want to get back in! The sweet man who was able to get out of my way got out of his car and got in mine and got it parked on the side of the street so I would be out of everyone's way. I called John and told him I was getting in the car with Shealy and we were going to try and get to the kids and that he needed to leave work. Shealy and I proceeded to try 2 other routes....both were a mess and she ended up getting a flat tire so we just parked her car and walked back to the school. By this time, it was about 12:45 or so. So in an hour and a half, we had gotten no where. John was going 10 mph on the interstate and I knew he would never make it to the boys before dark. After sitting at school for about an hour trying to figure out what in the world to do, I called my dad and asked if he could come and get us in his truck and try and get us to the kids. A few minutes later we were in his car and driving down Liberty Parkway completely on sidewalks and the grass. Cars were wrecked and abandoned all down the parkway. I have never seen anything like it. The weather became crippling almost as soon as it began. It took us a little while, but we made it to get the kids and we crammed them all in the backseat of Pops truck!
Shealy and I shared the front and we made our way to Overton to pick up Clayon who had left his truck at work, walked to their house to pack a bag, and had started walking/sledding our way to meet up with his family.
Pops entertained the kiddos while we waited by bringing some snow into the truck for them to touch! Shocker-Alex was not a fan!
He made it to Overton Road and we were starting the trek back to our house. Back on the Parkway we picked up our old neighbor's little girl who was at MDO at Liberty Park Baptist Church and they couldn't get anywhere near her. So with Clayton in the bed of the truck, Will, Alex, Ann Clayton, and Kate in the backseat, and Shealy and I in the front seat with Ally, we headed to my house and finally made it home about 4:00.
The whole crew-5 kiddos 5 and under-if you only knew the snacks that were consumed in less than 24 hours ;)
I was so thankful to just be home and now my focus shifted to getting John home. He ended up being on 459 for 6 hours! He made it off the Liberty Parkway exit and drove as far as he could until abandoned cars kept him from making it any further and my parents picked him up and brought him home. Sleepover at the Vakakes' ensued and the kiddos thought it was the most fun thing ever!
While waiting on our daddy to get home, Clayton entertained the big kids who were dying to get out and play!
John and Alex made a fort upstairs, Will and Kate slept in the boys' twin beds, AC slept in the crib, Shealy and Clayton slept on our pull out couch, and Ally and I slept in my bed. It was comical to look around at the stuff everywhere and the sleeping arrangements, but everyone did fine!
Obviously school was cancelled Wednesday (and would later be cancelled the rest of the week!) By about noon, Ally's dad had borrowed a 4WD vehicle and came to rescue her. John and Clayton were bored and antsy so they decided to embark on an adventure. They walked from our house to Shealy's car, changed her tire, and then drove on a SPARE down Sicard Hollow Road to get her some gas! That road is dangerous when it is sunny and 85 degrees!! I could not believe that they drove it in a car with no 4WD and that had a spare tire. Once they were back (bearing caffeine and candy bars!!!!!), the McKinnons quickly packed up and were going to make a run for it to try and get home before the sun went down and the roads completely froze up again! It took them 2 hours to get home (normally it would take them about 20) but at least they made it! The next day was fun! The snow was still here and pretty but it wasn't nearly as cold so we could get out and enjoy it.
Now that we've had some snow, I could not be more ready for flip flop season!!! I don't know that I will ever complain about the hot summer months again!
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