The end of October brought a really interesting experience for our family. Well, and the entire state of Connecticut. We had a major snowstorm hit us that resulted in extreme power outages. We were out of power for a whole week! There was so much snow that trees were falling all over the state. On powerlines, buildings, blocking roads, etc. A tree even landed on our house in the middle of the night, scaring me half to death! It took out the chimney which I think actually ended up protecting our roof. The chimney was destroyed but our roof was just fine!
Having no power for such a long time (if you ask me, a week without power is a LONG time) made me realize how much we take for granted. We had to haul stored water to the bathrooms just to flush the toilets. We boiled water to wash our hair and bodies. We had to think of ways to use food in the fridge before it spoiled. We bundled up during the day to keep warm and even more so at night. We had many friends look out for us when their situations were just as difficult. Luckily, we were able to keep track of each other and help each other in different ways. One of our close friends invited us to stay at their house because they had a gas fireplace that helped heat their house. This was so nice and did help us keep warm. Others came to help chop down fallen trees. Another friend was lucky enough to not lose her power so she invited us over to do laundry and have our kids play and watch movies. I was truly grateful for the giving spirit of others. I was also grateful for the things that we had that made us feel somewhat prepared. The whole experience was a great testimony builder of being prepared. The prophets have always counseled us to be prepared with food, supplies, etc. and I am so grateful for that counsel. Don't get me wrong. There were many things we were not prepared for. BUT now we can work to get better prepared! Anyway, I'm rambling. Here are some pictures...
This picture is of our driveway. I know you can't really tell but it is. The tree that is laying on the ground is actually blocking our driveway. We were trapped until the tree got chopped by a neighbor and his chainsaw.
In this picture you can see the tree that landed on our house. The tree that's split down the middle is the one I'm talking about. The curved part landed right on our roof. Over Robb and my bedroom to be exact. It was so loud and scary when it actually happened!
This picture is of some trees in our backyard. The branches on the ground were actually a tree. It's so heavy with snow that it has fallen. This was pretty much what a lot of our trees looked like. There was so much snow where it was early in the year, there were so many leaves still on the trees. Let's just say they were very top heavy!
This is the other side of our backyard. You can't really see it but right where that mess of trees has fallen is our backyard fence. It was a real mess to clean up all the branches and fallen trees! We were so grateful for all the help that we got!
Robb sure worked hard to get the yard back to normal.
Since the storm took place the weekend before Halloween, there was no power for Halloween activities like trick or treating! SO...our town decided to postpone Halloween until a couple weeks into November. The kids went trick or treating with some friends and the schools arranged a giant trunk or treat. They definitely did not miss out. We still have Halloween candy left that I'm thinking of secretly throwing away. Hee Hee. Here are the kids in their costumes:
Kate as my little Lovebug.
Jake, the ninja
Banana Josh
All ready to collect gobs of candy!
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