Unexpected Workouts

The snow out here in our little area of Western Washington has been nearly non-stop for the past 4 days. I haven't left the house in a vehicle since last Wednesday. Our neighboring towns haven't gotten nearly as much as we have - we're up to over 20 inches so far, and the snow continues to pour down - so even folks just 8-10 miles from us have only seen 4-10 inches. Ours is truly a winter wonderland.





On Monday morning my son exclaimed, "This is the coldest day EVER!" Turns out he was right. At 17 degrees Fahrenheit, it WAS the coldest day ever in his 4.5 years . . . until Saturday when the temperature dropped to 3 degrees. Not dropped 3 degrees, dropped TO 3 degrees. Brrrrrr!







With all of this snow, what better to do than get out and play in it! Little sister wasn't too thrilled with the whole idea, but she is pretty keen on the snow pants and boots. And since the rest of us were interested, she decided to join in a bit for the sledding. That's my girl - up for the best part of the adventure!












(Hard to see the smile under her coat, but it was BIG!)






Even Albus played for over an hour in the snow on Thursday, running up and down our hilly street, playing with other dogs and the kids. As a lab mix he just ADORES the snow! Sadly his fun came to an end when he me up with a dog who wasn't so interested in romping. They got into a fight and Albus came out of it with a nasty gash (that we didn't discover until bedtime). My husband and my dad walked him down to the local vet's office (about a mile) the next morning for some staples and antibiotics. Thankfully he was able to make the walk there and back without much trouble. Whew!


So, with all of this time on our hands, both my husband and I have gotten in some extra runs on the treadmill. The sledding and hill climbing in the snow are great for cardio workouts, too! He took our son for a mile-long snowshoe trek up the hill to my parents' house on Friday (and back!), so Mr. Music is getting good physical release in all of this, too. This morning I took him out to crunch around on the icy snow for a bit and we collected big chunks of ice along the way. I can honestly say I've never had an ice collection until today!


My parents are the ones getting the best workouts in all of this. They've snowshoed down to our place 3 times in the last 3 days. My dad also made the extra trek to the vet's, so as he puts it, "I've worked out more in the last 3 days than I have in 3 months!" I think this is just the experience to get them both back on their fitness paths. Sort of a jump start for the New Year!

That being said, I should probably see about getting my balance ball workout in for the day. I finished the 6 week Bounce Your Body Beautiful plan by Liz Applegate and am 2 weeks into doing the workouts for a second time. I'm really into this strength training stuff and am kicking myself for not giving it a shot sooner!

Have a wonderful Christmas week, everyone!

Oh, and I'll see if I can add a picture tonight to show you the full 20 inches of snow. All of the photos above are from early in the storm experience.