2016 Blizzard: 2nd Snowiest in NYC History!

We've lived in New York long enough to know that snow storms often don't live up to the hype. This time, as most, we figured we'd get about eight inches of snow, which is still great for playing and sledding and an enormous amount compared to the mild SC winters we grew up with. Remember when an entire county shut down for 1" of snow? 

Anyway, forecasters and city officials warned of harsh blizzard conditions with 10-18" of snow. We picked up a few extra groceries as and afterthought, and Judah and I even went ice skating in Bryant Park Friday night. 

Imagine our delight to wake up to 20" of snow with a full day of continued snow! 

It turns out this storm is the second biggest blizzard in New York City history. The entire city shut down by 2pm and banned any travel until 7am Sunday morning. As stores began to shut down, Andy ran out for a few more groceries *just* in case we really were snowed in by the next day. 

Saturday morning, and all day really, it was pouring snow and pretty windy. The only part of the boys to be seen was their noses. We headed out to Riverside Park in search of a sledding hill, which thankfully was right at 108th st where we typically enter the park. I sent each of the boys zooming down the hill solo right off the bat. We spent the next couple of hours sledding and trekking back up the hill (boys = sledding parents = trekking). Conditions began to worsen, so we headed in for lunch and hot cocoa. Around 4pm we headed out for another quick round of snow playing, this time right across the street from our building in a small park off Broadway. The snow was easily 25+" by now. We built a snow tunnel and ran around for another hour or so before calling it quits. Since there was a travel ban, it was eerily quiet, and also cool to walk through the streets! 

I took only one photo on my phone all day because it was snowing so hard. This is it:

Then, on Sunday morning, we headed back out. It was cold but beautiful and sunny. Correction, Andy and Gabriel headed out around 7 am for over an hour while Judah and I slept in. After they returned and everyone had breakfast, we headed back out.  We went back to the hill at 108th street, but after a while ventured North to see more areas of the city. Andy pulled the boys in their sleds and we forged new paths through the 26+" of snow. It was crazy. We made our way to Columbia's campus and did some more sledding down the old library steps. 

I managed to capture more pictures this time because the weather was much more conducive to having a camera out:

After a full morning, we headed back home for chili and hot cocoa and a re-boot. We played some games and read, but as this is the 2nd biggest snow in NYC history, and everyone has work and school starting tomorrow, we couldn't help but go out again. We contemplated Central Park, our old stomping grounds, but decided that was an unrealistic endeavor. So, back out to Riverside. We bypassed the hill at 108th as it was quite crowded, but just down the path at 103rd street was still plenty of good sledding, and a lot of young kids and families. Perf. We put in another hour and a half, which means we ended up twilight sledding after most families called it quits. The boys would have stayed out all night. I was so impressed with their stamina, and thankfully neither one endured any injuries all weekend. That should be unexpected, right? I hope they remember this snow storm, I know we will!