Portland Winter

I'd say we've had a pretty mild winter here in the Pacific Northwest Before the past two weeks.

 

The week of the  boys' birthday there was an imminent threat of winter catastrophe in the Portland area. People were stocking up on bread, milk, kale...the lines in Fred Meyer were 1.5 hours long and schools were cancelling scheduled weekend events days before the predicted snow to ensure that everyone could be safely at home.

There was talk of school being shut down for a whole week. There was a news article stating that this was looking like it could be the biggest snowfall for this area in 100 years.

So we waited. All was calm and peaceful the morning of the foretold snow storm. We all kept looking at the sky, waiting for the flakes to start.
The entire city waited with bated breath.
We panicked silently in the comfort of our safe homes.
Like Noah waiting for the promised rainfall, kids waited with their sleds and shovels for their anticipated days off of school.

Late afternoon came.
No snow.
Evening.
No snow.
In fact, the entire weekend came and went without any snow accumulation.
Monday morning, disappointed kids and teachers filed into their classrooms, silently grumbling.
Life carried on normally that entire week in fact.
 We had rain.
There were some grey skies.
But there was some sunshine and blue skies too.
And we laughed. Laughed at the absolute absurdity of once again preparing for a 'Snowmeggedon' that never happened.
We laughed at our rotting kale. 

The great thing about living in Portland is when you want snow, you can get snow most of the year, but on your own terms.
Presidents Day we took the day and took the kids to Mt. Hood to do some sledding. I haven't been up the mountain in years, so it was very exciting for me to see the landscape gradually change from green and healthy to a white, icy world of snow.

Out our front door

The mountain

We slowly made our way up through the plowed banks of snow that closed in on our car. It was a winter wonderland!
When we arrived, it was a chaotic few moments as we assembled ourselves outside, pushing on boots, securing hats and finding finger points in gloves.
 Our car was carrying an arsenal of clothing. We also managed to cram four saucer sleds into the trunk. I bought these in January at Fred Meyer on clearance, as everyone thought our threat of snowfall for Portland winter 2019 had ended.

We began our trek up the frozen land to some popular sledding hills. The kids shrieked about the sun. Yes, I'd forgotten that against all reason, the sun on a snowy landscape could be torturous. The glare that bounced off the snow seemed to blind the kids at first. I had guiltily put on my sunglasses I kept in my purse.
Nonetheless, we encouraged our kids to keep on trudging to the top. When we reached the point of descent, there was shear terror in the eyes of all the kids. The uneven frozen landscape appeared threatening and intense. We knew the kids would have fun if they just went down; so, we plopped them on their sleds and away they went.
Evelyn screamed the whole way down and crashed into a fir tree (which I felt bad about).
Caleb laughed with absolute joy.
 Levi needed someone to go with him.
And James decided that he would try it one time before he decided if he liked it or not.

They sledded for an hour before they all decided they were hungry and cold. We had lunch in the car and then headed out again. After few moments Levi decided he was cold and done, and I happily volunteered to sit with him in the car while the rest of them continued to play outside. Soon enough, everyone decided they had had enough of winter and we stripped off soggy clothing and loaded up the car.
John decided to take us on one more stop before heading back home. We ventured up to Timberline Lodge at the top of Mt. Hood. The kids were absolutely ecstatic about being at the TOP of the mountain. The lodged was packed with skiers. There was so much energy up there. We opted to take a break from the cold and sit inside the cozy lodge by the fire and drink hot cocoa.
John surprised me and brought back to our table a glass of dark red wine.
 He told me wine was better on top of a mountain. I do agree.
However, it John the sole person wake during our car ride home again.

Fun in the lodge

Although they had fun, I think that day satisfied their desire for snow and ice for the rest of the winter.

We eventually had some "snow days" a few weeks later. They played a bit in the snow and Evie sold some hot coca at the end of the driveway. But in the words of James, "I wish the snow would melt. It's too cold."

Yes, school is closed for THIS.

I agree James.
Snow is over rated, although a glass of wine does taste better while watching it from inside.
In fact, as I write this now, I'm all cozy inside my home watching some thick snow flakes fall. It does make me feel warm and secure.
Just don't close school.
😜😛😩😵