My babe....

Happy (LATE) Birthday, Love!

What would I do without my Spenceman! He celebrated is 42nd b-day last week! I love this guy with all of my heart! Here are some of the reasons why...
1. He's a GREAT smoocher! (that would gross my boys out, but it had to be said!)
2. He sacrifices daily to provide for our family.
3. I love his GOLD eyes! :)
4. He puts up with my eXtReMe moods...NO ONE else on the planet would do that!
5. He's beyond supportive of me and the kiddos.
6. He loves to spoil me...and I love to be spoiled, so we make a great team!
7. He is so in tune to the Spirit- he gives the most beautiful priesthood blessings.
8. He has GREAT legs!
9. I LOVE his shiny naked head!
10. He's like a kid in a candy store at Christmas time! (Which balances out my Grinchness)
11. He's one of the best Sunday school teachers out there...he knows & loves the scriptures.
12. Not a day goes by that he doesn't kiss me and tell me that he loves me...and I know he means it.
13. I love that he uses his c-pap and doesn't snore anymore!
14. What a lover!!
15. He adores our kids and supports them in all of their MANY activities.
16. He buys the greatest gifts...he listens to what people want.
17. He gives great back and foot rubs.
18. He's my best friend!
19. He has great friends...and is a great friend to many.
20. Did I mention he was a great kisser???

The list goes on and on and on....I LOVE YOU BABE!!

Back to Normal

So the kids went back to school this morning and I guess things are 'back to normal' again! Being without electricity for a week was most certainly a challenge, but there were some truly great memories made and there was such a wonderful attitude of peace, relaxation, and unstructured time. No one had to BE anywhere. No one was rushing to GO...we just enjoyed the lack of routine and schedules. I never even knew what time it was or even sometimes what day! Don't get me wrong- I wouldn't want it to last forever, but I truly treasured this little BUMP that woke us all up from our routine driven lives!

So this morning I pay tribute to good ole Ike by listing a couple of those treasured memories:

CANDLES: Each night as it was getting dark, I'd go around the house lighting candles. All I have are Gold Canyon/ Salt City candles...so needless to say my house was full of fragrance (which wasn't a bad thing with no circulating air!) It was the most HOMEY and comforting feeling. We all talked more softly...and the kids went to bed SO great at night. It was so dark with nothing to do...Good night, ma. Good night, pa. Good night, John-boy.


GAMES! GAMES! and more GAMES! No TV, movies, video games...all of a sudden we're left to our own devices. We had so much fun playing with family this past week. Again, no one was in a hurry to get anywhere...so we just enjoyed each other's company.


COUSIN TIME. We LOVED spending time with Hayley this past week. (And you, too, Leah and Gigi!) It's hard for me to express in words how wonderful it was to be together. We just took turns dropping by each others houses and hanging out---all day sometimes. Going to parks, raking pine needles, sleep overs in the tent...it was just so GREAT! And I know the kids will never forget it! The memory just makes my heart smile!


DOWN TIME! I know this photo may be shocking to some of you...but yes, Spencer does read for pleasure (especially when there's no TV). I finished two books last week - I think Ty finished one as well. It was so QUIET in my house~ I LOVEd it!

There was something so inexplicable that happened when our lives were "put on hold" last week and I'll be FOREVER grateful for it. It's amazing how 'negative' experiences can really help put priorities back into focus and fill us up with gratitude for the blessings we enjoy. So all in all.... THANKS IKE!!!

The things I missed....

Living without power for seven days was an educational experience and sometimes challenge. I feel in small ways, I was really changed. Like - will I ever be able to not feel the urgency to fill my gas tank when I see no line at the pumps??? My tank never went below 3/4 full. I don't know if it ever will again! :)

I found out how much I really take for granted in this 'high tech' world we live in. On the flip side however, I am realizing now how much I'm going to miss the simplicity of those days without the daily distractions and rigorous routine that returned the moment the power flipped back on.



Here are a few things I missed....



1. ICE!!! After three days the ice we had in our ice chests had melted and there was NONE to be found. We had to throw away EVERYTHING from the fridge and freezer. All I had left in my fridge for the next four days was ketchup and baking soda. Occasionally a store would get a shipment of ICE, but it was one bag to a family and it meant standing in line for over an hour. Chic-Fil-A opened on Tuesday (I think the entire city of Spring was there for the opening) and, oh, what a lovely day that was. Air conditioning and a COLD ICY drink!!!! I'll NEVER EVER take Ice for granted again!


YUMMY SCRUMPTIOUS ICE!!



2. HOME COOKED MEALS! You can only eat so many crackers and trail mix.



3. WASHER AND DRYER Of course, I knew I'd miss these, but I had no idea how much. By Thursday morning, after my kids asking me repeatedly "mom, do I have any clean shorts?" (Apparently they think I magically create clean clothes) we heard about a WASHATERIA that was open for business. So Thursday morning, kids in tow, and with the company of my sis in law Leah and niece Hayley - we made an afternoon of it! Clean laundry---mmmmm....yummy~! However, it's been since the college days that I've had to use a laundromat - the prices have gone up a bit. 14 quarters to wash a single load! And 6 more to dry! Wow - $20 later I had four clean loads of laundry! (Not only did i miss my washer and dryer....but now I miss my QUARTERS as well!)




4. MY VACUUM!! Oh, my gosh! Have you ever had to go SEVEN days without vacuuming???? I don't think I hardly ever even go one. It was TORTURE!!! It was the first thing I did (after getting my house alarm disabled...that's another story) after the power clicked on!



5. The garbage disposal! How silly is this?? It was such a task to make sure nothing went down the sink that we didn't want stinking up the house. I had no idea how much I ran that little friend.


6. My COMPUTER! ( And I'll lump the phone in with that.) I rely on my computer for entertainment, news, and connections with family and friends. I felt isolated without it. Spencer did have his battery powered laptop that he was able to charge on the generator at work, so I was able to check in a couple times during the week. However, I did find myself getting used to being in the dark- literally...and it's true what they say...Ignorance is bliss...

7. And of course, AIR CONDITIONING. No explanation needed...

And NO, I can honestly say, I did NOT miss the TV. (maybe a program here and there - but overall...not a bit.)

The aftermath....

Ty and I standing in front of the roots of a 60+ foot pine that fell across my parents driveway. The hole beneath it is probably 3 feet deep. So lucky no homes or cars smashed with this one! It missed my brother's car by a couple of feet.


Common site...chainsawed trees lining the roads....

The streets, especially in the older neighborhoods are just lined with trash bags, limbs, and chopped trees. It'll be a LONG time before this all gets cleaned up.

It's late...all for now. Just wanted to get these pics posted. I wish I'd had my camera with me everywhere. There were some incredible things to see!

IKE continued...

A few more from the day of the storm and then a week later...
Our canoe house...

All cleaned up...

The golf course... The water was so deep that some kids were swimming in it. My kiddos were begging to no avail...I've heard too many water snake stories...

No water - exact same location as above. So amazing to me.

More on IKE...

A couple photos I took right after the storm & then a week later....

Our tennis courts were a disater...


I took these from the same locations a week later.


These two don't even look like they are similar...but I stood on a bench and took the pics from the exact same spot. Above and below...amazing.


A tree that fell in front of the canoe house.

IKE came and IKE went...

It's hard to believe over a week has come and gone. We picked a banner time to move to the outskirts of Houston! I woke up last Friday around 4:30am in the dark and noticed that the ceiling fan was very slowly taking that last spin. Power was out. (Little did I know that was the last time I'd see that fan spin for SEVEN days!) I ran up to Rydge's room to look out the window. This was probably the most terrifying, spectacular, and awesome natural event I've ever been apart of. I wish I could have captured in on camera somehow. The little trees, pictured above, were literally bending and touching the ground, then a gust would come and they'd bend another direction. It was phenomenal. Almost tornado like. The gusts actually shook the upstairs level of the house...the kids woke up not from the wind, but from their beds shaking. WILD! Our little street did amazingly well. Very little damage. Several little trees downed (like above) and some fences, but overall it hung in there with the 65-85 mph winds.




Spencer feared the worst for his building in downtown Houston, but when he tried to get into work the next day (and the next day after that) he was stopped...too much flooding.


Common sight for the first few days. The above was taken on Sunday - pine needles EVERYWHERE!


There were downed pines all over the place. This is just a bitsy one. They were just snapped in half. Several were actually uprooted. Many blocked roads. Amazingly enough, with hundreds of downed pines in our neighborhood, there were hardly any that hit homes...they just fell in the roads and yards.



We drove around Saturday afternoon to survey the damage (along with many others). These pictures obviously don't even do the scene justice.

I'll post more later....

FOOTBALL MOM???

Rydge and I ready to go watch some FOOTBALL!! Okay- so I know NOTHING about this sport. Give me baseball, basketball...I'm all over it. I'm a first season Football mom. I don't understand the positions (strong-side linebacker...what the crap is that??) or the rules or anything, but I'm going to give it my best! Even in this Houston HUMIDITY! Photo taken PRIOR to my make-up melting off and my hair frizzing into it's Afro form.

How cute is that blond kid?? I was worried that he'd be a little pee-wee twerp out there...but he's such a cute football dude! Tyler had a GREAT first game (or scrimmage I guess this was) ---a touchdown, a sack, and two tackles - he was all grins!

Getting his helmet fixed....

Baby Brother....

MY BABY BROTHER JOE!! I was nine years old when he was born. He was MY baby!! He's 28 today!! (Go ahead, do the math.) It's such a blast living by my brothers! Happy Birthday, man! Love ya!

Rydge loving on Shea's dog, Petey. No, that's not a booger in Rydge's nose...just some Chocolate pie!

We spent today with the Elmer's...started by setting up a surprise trampoline for my niece, Hayley. SO FUN!! Then Leah BBQ'd some hambugs and we ate, celebrated Joe's b-day, hung out, and then came back to our place to go swimming. It was a GREAT day!