Because I live in Minnesota

Yesterday was a blizzard.

An actual legitimate blizzard.

Worst storm since 1991, in fact.

Wind, ice, and I don't even know how many inches (which turned into feet) of snow.

Our day went something like this:

Paul shoveled the driveway in the morning while the kids played in the snow.

Then decided to brave the streets and weather and take the kids sledding, since they were already bundled up and it was only going to get worse.

You see, Paul has the entire weekend off (unheard of!) and Noah has been dying to head over to the big sled hill in town

Noah loved it, Alex made a few runs too, but didn't love the spraying snow.

So they made a little shelter for her underneath a pine tree, where the branches protected her from the cold and wind and she was happy as could be.

On the way home the roads were worse, but still do-able.

That afternoon Noah and Alex were invited to play at a friends house - on the other side and very edge of town. We had to wait for the call that the snowplows had cleared their streets before Paul could take them over.

So he shoveled the driveway again.

And on the way home...he almost didn't make it.

I was stressed out that our kids were going to be stuck at our friends house until the next day.

But a few hours later Paul made the trek again (which required more shoveling) and they all made it home in one piece.

Barely! Paul said it was treacherous. He had blankets and everyone's snow gear in the car in case they got stuck.

(Noah probably could have handled it, but Alex?? Paul was praying he would not get stuck with Alex.)

They eventually pulled the snowplows off the roads yesterday - they couldn't keep up.

Our ward Christmas Party was canceled.

Church was canceled.

We stayed in, stayed warm, made cookies, and ate grilled cheese and homemade chicken noodle soup.

This morning the sky is clear, the roads are plowed, and we have "arctic temperatures" for the next few days.

Right now it's 0 degrees, -25 with wind chill.

And Paul is out doing this:

Shoveling the driveway yet again, and trying to clear away the wall of snow taller than my kids that the snowplows left at the bottom.

The kids didn't last very long out there, even Noah who loves the cold.

Paul? At this point I've lost track of how long he's been out there.

Tomorrow the High is -2.

Welcome to the North Pole.