So it is not every day that something happens to you that you really feel needs to be written down. October 29, 2011 was one of those days. It was 5 o'clock and we had just finished moving into a house when it started to snow. Zoey had gone down for a nap and Shauna and I were putting stuff away as fast as we could while she slept. At about 7pm the power started to flicker and then all the power eventually went off. (which turns off all power, water, and heat) I decided to go out and shovel the drive way because there was already 12 inches. 2 1/2 hours later I came inside after finishing. I was soaked from head to toe so I went down to the basement and took all my clothes off and came up stairs in my underwear. Shauna had been talking to some friends that said we could come over and spend the night because they had a generator. We decided we would go but we needed to do something with the food in our fridge so it didn't go bad. We have a 3 season room on the back of our house that is attached to the kitchen. So Shauna, Zoey, and I went out there to see if it was cold enough to put our food out there. We all went out and to preserve the heat that was left in the house we shut the door behind us... and as you guessed it the door was locked. There we were, I am in nothing but my underwear, Shauna is in her pajamas and luckily Zoey had a jacket on. Shauna and I looked at each other and both smiled and thought this was not possible.
Shauna- maybe be the front door is unlocked
matt- I don't think so, but one of us should go check it out.
Shauna- I will since you are in your underwear
matt- I am not letting you go, I will go.
Shauna- There is a foot of snow and you don't have any shoes. Let me do it, we did this in high school for fun.
Matt- Stop I am going
So I open the sliding glass door and make a mad dash across the deck down the stairs around the corner down the driveway and up the stairs to the front door.Open the glass door and check the door...locked! Back down the stairs, across the drive way around the corner and up the stairs, open the door
Matt- it's locked
Shauna- Dang. What are we going to do?
Matt- (after I hit the door with my shoulder a couple times) I don't know! Looks a lot easier in the movies.
Shauna- I know the window above the garage is open because I didn't lock it after i talked to you when you were shoveling.
Matt-it's like 15 feet up in the air. There is no way that would work.
In the 3 season room there is some furniture.
Shauna- We could take the chair and you could stand on it and I could get on your shoulders and try and get the screen off and open the window.
Matt- what are we going to do with Zoey?
Shauna- We will barricade her in and go quick.
Matt- before we put this elaborate plan into play let me go check it out.
Shauna- okay, hurry
So off I go again, nothing but my underwear in the snow that now comes up past my knees. Across the deck, down the stairs, around the corner where I am standing in front of the garage. I look up to where the window is and it is a good 18 feet up from the ground. There is no way this is going to work. At that moment I look across the street and see a light on. I take of in a last attempt to SAVE my family. I run down the drive way across the street and up the neighbors long driveway. Their generator is on and is super loud. I start banging on the door, "help", "help". no answer. I run to across their yard to another door. Knock knock knock. The lights were on and as i look in no one is coming to help me.
After waiting a couple more minutes and screaming for help a couple more times I decided to try the people across the street. So I make a mad dash out of their yard across the street and to the door. Again I knock and no one comes. I look to my left and see the fire station. I take off up the street across the main street into the parking lot. Lights are on. I go to the first door. It's locked. I knock and yell for help. No one comes. I run around to the back. There are cars there but as I bang on windows and doors no one answers. I arrive back at the front of the fire station. I remember seeing a car drive on the main street when I was knocking on the first door. So I stand on the main street waiting for a car to come, Positive when a car drives by me, 27 year old male in nothing but his underwear, will stop and help me. Well, no one ever comes. I start running again down the street towards the house and decide to try one more house, but with the same results. By this time is had been about 20 minutes of me running around the neighborhood. I decided to go back to the 3 season room. When I arrive back Shauna looks at me with despair.
Shauna- Where have you been? I though you were just going to the garage and back? I was worried sick. I came out and looked for you!
Matt-I'm freezing!
Shauna- I barricaded Zoey in and came after you. I ran down the road and saw your footprints I was screaming your name. I didn't know if you had fallen and were laying there unconscious, but because I didn't see you I though you had found some one to help and would be right back, with clothes on and some one to help.
Matt- I ran all over. No one answered. I knocked on four houses went to the fire station and no one came. We are going to have to break the window.
Shauna- Here take Zoey.
Matt- What are you going to do
Shauna- Break the window.
Shauna hands me Zoey and grabs a towel and starts wrapping it around her elbow
Matt- What are you doing! You are not going to try and put your elbow through the glass.
Shauna- I can do it. This is how everyone does it!
Matt- In the movies!!! Grab the piece of wood and use that!
Shauna then grabs the piece of wood and begins to try and break the glass. After hitting it a dozen times and doesn't even crack it
Matt- We can't even break the window.
Shauna- I am going to break my hand before I break the glass.
Matt. Take Zoey, I am going to try.
After hitting it a couple times I break it! We get inside and my feet are red and I am shivering like crazy! Shauna runs up stairs and gets all the blankets we have. Runs back down stairs and puts them all on me. We took a while to warm up. By that time it was about 10pm. After getting warm we decided to call our friends and tell them we would just stay home tonight. We figured we did a lot to get in, we might as well stay there.
And that's the story :) And below is the evidence...ha ha
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| The start of the snow storm Oct 29th |
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| The door and the broken window that we broke :) We were only moved in about 4 hours before we ruined their perfectly good house! | |
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| And this is our new house! Matt took over 5 hours to shovel our super long drive way. 2 hours the night before and 3 hours in the morning. We got 21 inches of snow in a matter of hours! Look at all that snow, in OCTOBER! |
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| Our house was already freezing by morning, so we had to bundle up even for breakfast! The top right is a pic of the footprints from the night before! |
We were out of power for 5 days and had to stay at friends houses til we got it back. What a way to welcome us to our new house huh? :)
