"Winter Storm Jonas Rivals Biggest East Coast Snowstorms on Record" (weather.com)

 CNN: "A massive winter storm clobbered the East Coast on Saturday, dumping more than three feet of snow in parts of West Virginia and Maryland, tying up traffic on highways, grounding thousands of flights and shutting down travel in the nation's largest city."

"More than 28 inches of snow at Dulles International Airport, the second-largest snowfall recorded there. Baltimore's BWI notched 29.2 inches"

The end of January it snowed. And when I say snow, I mean big snow! Almost 30 inches in less than 24 hours is no joke, snow plows just cannot keep up. Our yard became a winter wonderland and I quite enjoyed being snowed in and having no place to go. Devin remained quite on the go. With his two snow plows and shovels, he and Scott were plowing out the neighborhood and ward members. They worked the days away, always coming home sore, but they did earn some money as they went.

The best part for us was being snowed in with the Tanners just down the street. And when the snowplow got stuck at the bottom of our lane, sledding was perfect because there was no chance of cars or plows coming, and the kids were able to use the road as a sledding hill! I did try to take them sledding on my own a couple days later, but 30 inch deep snow makes the hike up and down the hill exhausting, especially when carrying two kids and dragging a sled to boot. I was morosely wishing for a snowmobile!

Devin helped the kids build a snow fort. It was pretty awesome! Actually, he made two... complete with stairs, snow benches, and towers for hurling snowballs... they had wars between the two forts, somehow it usually ended up with the boys against the girls and Scott. The kids loved it!

 vs.

The snowstorm was the perfect time to fix our neighbors 4-wheeler. Devin repaired it and then they allowed us to use it. The kids rode the sled behind Devin pulling them and had a lot of fun until the plows came and laid sand on our cul-de-sac.

Hiking through the snow.

Basketball Boy

 A proud mama watched Bridger's last basketball game. It's not because Bridger was the best kid on the team, rather it is because he was having so much fun out on the court! He improved so much over the course of the basketball season. He started this season without knowing anything about basketball... the rules were many and complicated, and during the first games we'd cheer him on from the side lines and yell "Rebound!"... He'd do his best but, unsure of himself and what he ought to do, dejectedly he'd run to the side and wrap around my legs until we could encourage him to go back out and keep playing for one more minute.

To encourage him and celebrate his effort during the games, each week we would go out as a family to "Duck Donuts" or "McDonalds" for donuts or an ice-cream cone. Ice-cream for breakfast always improves spirits.

A brilliant strategy they employ is wrist bands, so Bridger knew he was always guarding the guy/gal with the same wristband color as him. As the season progressed his confidence grew and he started having fun on the court! He developed a skip in his step, and chased the ball more aggressively. He was never too proud to pass the ball, he improved in his dribbling ability, and at his last game he went for the shot and made it!

Devin often wondered why we had signed him up at such a young age, he wondered if it was a waste of money. I signed him up because Bridger had begged me daily to play. I didn't know if it was going to be worth it, but watching the clock count down to the final minutes of the season, I was a bit sad for it to end. The season paid off!