Very cold and snowy

We got 6.5 inches of snow on Monday.  I measured it very directly by putting a ruler into the deep snow on our patio table. Startling! That's a lot more than they had downtown, and even Kari and Danny, over in Sammamish, only got half what we got.  We are quite socked in, not only because there's just a lot of snow and ice on the ground, but also because we live at the top of a steep hill.  Here are some folks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood last night:




I used this video to show the boys why we weren't driving to the zoo today.  They are home, of course; school closed at lunchtime Monday and will not reopen until after Thanksgiving weekend.  It's awesome to have a big backyard at a time like this, so that you can play in the snow and then go inside as soon as you get cold.

However, if you are willing to take a walk to Dahl Field, you get to some awesome sledding spots.  Did I say walk?

On the way, you pass groups of hardy teenagers sledding straight down the steep streets.  One guy was actually snowboarding and had built himself a little jump out of snow; we saw him jump it and them blam, on his belly on the sidewalk.  Ouch.  He seemed fine.  Another guy was riding what appeared to be a skateboard, but with a single short ski instead of wheels.  Others piled onto garbage can lids or what have you and went down the icy hill in piles, crashing into the bushes at the bottom.

The family-friendly zone is the big, not-too-steep sledding hill that curves out into a giant flat snowfield.  Dale took the boys there yesterday and they looooved it.  Today, it was pretty darned cold and they didn't last long.  It's supposed to get into the single digits tonight.

Finally, here's a picture of the boys on the way to school on Monday morning, when there was still school.  The trike did fine in the minimal snow we had then.