MARYSVILLE It was a dark and stormy night, but that just made for a sunny and cold play day as approximately five inches of snow shut schools in the north Snohomish County area.
Lakewood, Arlington and Marysville schools were closed for at least Monday, and depending on weather conditions could face further closures. In downtown Marysville children had a field day in Jennings Memorial Park, sledding and snowboarding down the hills by the Dinosaur Park and next to the Kiwanis Fishing Pond.
It was a busy morning as youngsters converged on the park; Dakota Rice was on his cell phone as he snowboarded down the steep slopes next to the barn, trying to coax a friend to face the elements. The Anacortes teen was in town visiting and said he doesnt always chat on the cell while snowboarding.
The Martin family made the trek from across the street to give their 2 1/2-year-old Aunna a chance to prance in the white stuff.
She likes it, we cant get her out of it, said mother Sarah, who was being pulled in a sled with Aunna by her husband Nick.
Rachel Fenner was sliding down the slope by the ball field with her three-year-old Mya in her lap. Fenner said her youngster was having a better time this year.
She went sledding last year but this is the first time shes been able to enjoy it, said Fenner.
Nearby on the path Barak Relyea was a basket case: the three-year-old was sliding along the footpath in a laundry basket pulled by his mother Teesha. She and husband Brandon also had their 18-month-old Benjamin riding on daddys shoulders, but Barak was getting all the laughs, with his ski goggles and gloves. According to mom he was new to snow, but a fast learner all the same.
He doesnt know what to think of it yet but he likes to throw it at me, Teesha laughed.
Linda Evansen and Amanda Strevey were sledding down the east slope toward the flooded Allen Creek when they were upended at the bottom.
Are you O.K.? Evansen asked.
Does a small concussion count as O.K.? Strevey laughed.
Evansens twin brother Greg was building a jump with two friends, Josh and Quinn Martin, but it was Linda who said she went into the drink with both hands.
Jared Ramey is an 11-year-old who attends Liberty Elementary School nearby, and he was wowing the crowd with his airborne antics. He got airborne several times on the slick slopes and said he bruised his lip when he came down to earth.
It was fun but it hurt at the end, Ramey said.