We got a record amount of snow in the Chicago area.  12.9 inches.  It was really fun and even shoveling it wasn’t too bad.  Here is a photo of Ashlee’s car just about buried.  Another little known fact is that there was a 4.2 magnitude earthquake too.  Maybe the weight of all the snow triggered it.  The dogs and Hannah are loving the snow, but it is too deep for everyone except Cinder.

Just a reminder, as we are about to get a bunch of snow, that it is still winter in Chicago. I woke up and the weather report was all zeros. The temperature was 0, wind chill 0, wind speed 0, wind gust 0, UV index 0 (a dermatologist’s dream), and visibility 10.0. I thought that was pretty funny to see at 7am.

Today is a very fitting day for the first day of winter. We started out the morning by trying to go to church and being stuck in our parking space because the snow plow blocked us in with icy snow. We eventually just decided to go get in the truck. When we got back from church, with the help of my neighbor we freed both our cars from the ice with a pick. That Ashlee calls an ice pick. Check out the pictures and video. There are wind chill advisories out and even the salt is not keeping ice from forming on the roads. It is -6 right now with wind chills in the -30 range. Pretty cold, but at the same time, I am always happy for the winter solstice. Even though I know the worst of winter weather is yet to come, the thought of the days getting longer really helps me feel like I made it through. Unfortunately at the summer solstice, the best part of summer is still to come, but I start to get depressed. Anyway happy winter and I hope it is warmer where you are.