Winter Storm 2008

Hopefully you don't mind all the text and reading..for days! LOL

Well, it seems that snow has fallen in the Portland Metro area. There have been rumblings for several days that snow would be coming, along with ice, wind, etc..but I didn't really believe it because well, our weather guys are usually wrong! So you can imagine my surprise when Bill phones me on Sunday to tell me that Portland is covered in snow and that in order to drive on I-5, snow chains are required. I was in disbelief. Let me start from the beginning...

I went to visit my parents over the weekend (with the kids - Bill stayed home) to go shopping with my mom and dad and help them get gifts for the family. It was a long weekend to say the least. We went to the mall three separate times, with two kids. I'm going to go on a tangent about the kids...

Jae...moody! This just goes to show that boys do not like shopping or anthing that is associated with it (I'm sure there were other factors in play here too)! The entire time we were out, he sat in Hannah's stroller, he kept saying how tired he was, how he couldn't walk (he was laying and crawling on the floor while at the mall), how hungry and then how full he was. While at dinner, he started stabbing his rice with a spoon and then a fork and then a last final stab of his fork before falling onto the floor and curling into a ball undearneath the table. Then he insists that he wants to sit in the highchair that Hannah is sitting in and when told no, proceeds to wail and curl into a ball underneath the highchair. He did eventually come out from under the chair and sat on my lap as he finished his rice. This guy should be an actor for how dramatic he can get and then with a snap of a finger be back to normal.

Hannah...addicted..to me. The entire weekend was "wah wah wah..mama mama...wah wah wah". Can't a girl go to the bathroom without a baby on her lap? She just was not happy with either of my parents holding her. The moment I was out of site, made for a very unhappy baby. Jae was not like this at all when he was a baby, so I'm just not used to it. Since Jae was hogging Hannah's stroller, I had to carry her around the mall, until she fell asleep, then my mom held her. And mind you, this was three separate trips.

Anyway, so on Sunday I get a phone call from Bill saying that I will need chains if I want to come home. I'm in the middle of shopping so I tell him that I would call him later to discuss. I call him back and he proceeds to tell me that the Portland Metro area is a mess and snow chains are required. I tell him that there is no way I'm staying another day at my parents (no offense to them, but I was getting a bit tired with the kids and needed a little help with Hannah and I knew she wouldn't cry with Bill around). My dad had chains for his minivan (also a honda) and so I took those.

So I tell Bill that I'm driving down and he suggests meeting me to chain up before I get home. It is agreed and we decide to meet at Jantzen Beach and he would come with Jake and Barb (since they had chains). The drive from my parents to Jantzen Beach is a breeze. There is a little snow, but nothing compared to what I am about to see in Portland. I get to Jantzen Beach and you can see the wind blowing the snow and ice on the ground. My windows were freezing on the outside and my temperature gauge says it was 25 degrees outside! We meet and it turns out the chains that my dad had were a tad too small for the wheels on our van (after Bill and Jake tried for about 30 min in the freezing cold). So Bill and Jake go and buy new chains and although they were a bit pricey, it was worth it because it only took 10 min to get both on.

By this time, there were other couples in the parking lot doing the same thing and since Bill and Jake were done with the minivan, they decided to ask one of the guys if they needed help. After about 10+ minutes and getting nowhere, the guy tells Bill and Jake they can leave and he'd take care of it. At least they offered to help. The guy had the actual chains rather than the wire ones and those seem to be a lot harder to get on.

So we are on our way home when I get a text from Barb saying that they just lost their left chain! Bill and I pull over and wait for them to pass us so we can stay behind them in case anything else happens. We follow them to an auto parts store, but of course they are sold out of chains! We tried Les Schwab and they too were sold out. So Jake and Barb went home and called around, unfortunately by then, most places were closing for the day. So Jake had to go to work this morning with one chain on his car on some icy roads. Luckily, they did find some chains today and he is going to pick them up after work. Whew, I'm glad that worked out.

Today (Monday) is still snowy, icy, and cold. Bill and I made it to work and the kids are at school. The cold weather and snow are supposed to stick around all week and into the weekend, so we'll see how the week progresses..I'm just glad to be back home.

Hope everyone in Portland is staying warm and safe. We may have a white Christmas this year if this keeps up!