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With this much snow, and with me out of town, Jen was not looking forward to shoveling the driveway. Fortunately, she found a connection to someone to pay to do it. We weren’t sure how they’d get to our house, but she signed up. They made it, and this Bobcat cleared the driveway in 10 minutes flat (sadly, it was too big to do the sidewalk as well).

The truck carrying the Bobcat had a plow on the front, which is how they managed to get to us. That meant they partially plowed our street - right up to our house. For the next day, we’d occasionally have people try to drive down our street, only to find that they could not make it past our house.

Here’s our plowed driveway. The Bobcat even cleared space on the sides for car doors to open.

The next day, the girls were out to play in the snow again. They were excited to see that the Bobcat had left some giant chunks of snow to play with.

The piled up snow from the driveway made a great snow slide.

The girls decided bringing their sleds in all the time was wasted effort. So, they instead tied them up at our back porch sled dock.

Our street was plowed Monday night, after three and a half days since the start of the storm. That was much earlier than a lot of folks around here, so we’re not complaining.

What was I up to while the girls were enjoying the snow? I had hoped to drive back on Sunday. I figured we’d leave Savannah Sunday morning, and the roads would be mostly clear by the time we got to the Washington area Sunday evening. Unfortunately, the storm was so bad it was clear that was not going to happen. So, we decided to wait another day for the roads to clear. Also, by waiting till Monday to come back, that meant Grams could ride back with us as well (taking Aunt Caroline’s seat).

That meant some more family time. I also took the opportunity to take some pictures around Grandaddy’s house. Sadly, I didn’t have my camera with me as I’d left it with Jen. I had brought my old camera and a couple lenses, but forgot the battery to it. So, all these pictures were taken with my phone.

I first headed toward the dock. This dock was a very prominent part of my childhood. Whenever we came to visit, I spent as much time as I could on the water. Water skiing was my favorite activity, but I also enjoyed swimming, crabbing, sailing, fishing, tubing, and more. And just sitting on the dock is one of the most relaxing things you can do (though swinging in the hammock that used to overlook the dock was even better).

Here’s a panoramic view from the dock.

And another panoramic view looking back at the house from the dock.

And a non-panoramic shot of the house from the dock.

When I walked out to the dock, there were 4 dolphins playing there (only two made it into the picture, though).

So many memories at this house.

On Sunday, church was cancelled (since no roads were passable). The girls were ready to have some fun in the snow, and the snow was ready for them. Molly and Leah grabbed their sleds and waded through the snow.

Molly found a good spot to chillax while taking a break from shoveling.

Jen and the girls in the snow, making do on their own while I was away.

The girls got tired of going out the front, so Jen shoveled a path on our back porch for them to get in and out.

Unfortunately, that didn’t last. A few hours later there was a sudden crash outside. All the snow on the back side of our roof had slid off our solar panels onto the porch and ground below. Sadly, this was enough to break the railing on the back of the porch.

The crash also broke the bottom rail on the gate.

Jen eventually went out and shoveled the back porch again, so the girls could go in and out there. She’s such an awesome mom.

Friday rolled around and the snow started. Winter Storm Jonas (aka Snowzilla) came in with full force. School was cancelled (just like my trip home from Georgia). Lots of snow and wind - not something you want to be out in. The girls did manage to get out of the house in the morning before the storm got going, but they were not going outside after it began.

When stuck at home during a snow storm, make Star Wars Perler bead projects! First up, Leah made Princess Leia and Molly made BB-8.

Next, a green lightsaber (Molly) and a purple lightsaber (Leah). Oh, and a viola with bow (Molly). Not sure which Star Wars movie that was in :)

Saturday morning came, and the storm only got stronger. It was going to be awful outside, so the girls stayed inside in their jammies all day. Of course, that meant it was time for more Perler beads! Leah made Luke Skywalker, while Molly made R2-D2 and C-3PO.

That evening it was still snowing, so the girls played some games. Here they are playing Trouble.

And then they played some Uno Attack.

While they stayed inside in the warm, the snow kept falling. Here’s a view of the door in our basement toward the end of the storm. I don’t think we’ll be going out that door any time soon.

The screens on our screened in porch stopped most of the snow, but the finer stuff still got through.

The snow finally stopped late Saturday night. According to reports, we got around 27 inches of snow, setting a new record for a single storm.