Blog-slacker.......

I've totally been a blog-slacker lately! We stayed home for Hurricane Ike. So glad we did. It was just really windy in the night. Our power went out around 3:00 am and came back on around 6:00 pm. It was actually so fun to watch the trees out the window. We are SO thankful that we were spared damage this time around. Not to wish bad luck on others, because it has to hit somewhere, but just feeling so blessed.

Random stuff:

I'm working full-time at Maplewood. I've been subbing there for a few weeks and have been offered a position as an aide in a Pre-K classroom. I'm not used to getting up early everyday so I've been tired but really looking forward to this.

Whitney's cross-country track season has started. Their first meet was canceled due to Hurricane Ike so her first one is tomorrow in Baton Rouge. She has to be at school at 4:00 am! Yuk!

I finally got all the flower beds cleared out this week. They were absolutely embarrasing. They look better. I just "weed-eated" (is that a word? maybe it's "weed-ate"...)all of it down. It will all come back next year. All that is left to chop in the purple fountain grass. Everytime I operate the weed-eater for any lenth of time, my forearms feel numb! Isn't that weird??

Got a nice email from Evan's algebra teacher telling me that he was one of two to score a perfect score on his test Wednesday! This teacher really goes the extra mile. And so proud of Evan for picking up the pace. He's learning that he actually has to study this year!

Taylor is still doing great in France. Check out his mission blog. Ivy and Calder are busy with school and work but doing great. They got to go to two nights of the Republican Convention there in St. Paul! Check out their blog.
Things are rocking right along at our house. Can't believe it's already 9/19! The first football game was tonight and fall is in the air (every once in a while....) I'm so ready for some hot chocolate and some fires in the fireplace. That'll be right around the corner!

GO AWAY, IKE, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME EITHER!

We're home....

Our little hurricane evactuation turned out ok! We packed up the camper and truck and headed out about two o'clock Sunday afternoon. Church had been cancelled. A mandatory evactuation had been enforced at noon. We headed to Brad's parents house in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
We spent Labor Day at Magic Springs. It's an amusement/water park there in Hot Springs. And yes, I actually rode the Gauntlet, the rollar-coaster in the picture! Monday evening after we got back from Magic Springs, Brad's parents had invited some friends over for home-made peach ice cream. It was soooo good!
Evan and Grandpa got in some fishing. Even Whitney enjoyed some night fishing.
Chelsea had a great time hanging out on the dock and running around the neighborhood. We just stayed tuned to the Weather Channel.
Pretty soon we realized that things were going to be ok at home. Brad got a text that he should try to get back to work. We headed out about two o'clock Tuesday afternoon. It was a kind of scary ride home. It stormed the whole way. Most of the towns we came through had no electricity. Nothing was open. No stores, no gas stations. We filled up with diesel in Arkadelphia and then luckily found some more in Bossier. We stopped in Natchitoches to eat. Only McDonalds and Popeye's was open. We opted for Popeye's since we could pull the camper into a lot next door. I bet there were 300 people in there! They were down to bare basics but we were happy to get a piece of chicken and a few fries to eat! We made it home around 11:00 pm.
We were thrilled to get home to a house still in tact. We had been really worried about Evan's fish. First of all he wasn't there to feed them. Secondly, with no power the pump wouldn't run and they wouldn't survive long. So that was one of the first things we checked. One of the fish did die, BUT also in the aquarium were nine brand new baby fish! We are shocked and amazed! Not sure what to do to protect them or if they will even survive but they are so fun to watch. We aren't even sure who's babies they are! We are so grateful that our city was spared alot of damage. We are so grateful that we had a safe trip and that we got to spend some time with family. Now if we can keep Ike and Josephine from blowing this way, all will be well!