Wednesday, July 15, 2009

They are calling this one Hurricane Elvis II


We had a pretty tough line of storms come through here several weeks ago that reminded me of Kansas weather!! When I went out in the front yard to check it out I saw soooo much fast, rolling rotation that I went in and grabbed the two youngest up out of their naps and took them to the bathtub!! (Isaac was already in there playing his DS)this is a house on our cove during the storm


The sirens had been going off, and as all my plains states relatives know, that is the time to go outside and see what is going on. I have lived in this area for the better part of 30 years now and I've only seen skies like that maybe 2 other times in the south. Normally the worst weather in these parts splits up around the bluff and hits north or south of us. Nothing like in the plains states. Anyhow I started pointing out to Jeff the areas of rotation that I saw coming towards the house then we loose power and he says, "this is not the time to panic, Alecia." I know what he meant, and I love him for having a cool head, but I had to explain to him!! I grew up in tornado alley, I've stood beside adults looking straight up at a funnel discussing calmly wether a cyclone spins clockwise or counterclockwise, and I know when the time to panic is, and it is right now!!!!

He humored me and helped me get all the kids in the bathtub, and we actually did hear the sound, some of you know what I mean. It was muted, but it was THE sound. Jeff went and took a few pictures while I squished the kids in the tub. Afterwards we found out that the air pressure was so tremendous that it blew open the INTERIOR DOORS that cover our AC, heater, and water heater. Those doors are a tight fit.

Anyhow, we were mightily blessed with His protection. The storm shoved our 15 foot trampoline about 12-15 feet across the yard, but it was upright and unharmed. Some friends of ours had one go through their neighbor's fence AND get mangled.

Our swing got flipped around and mangled, but Jeff was able to fix it! Way to go, Jeff!!

Power was out around here, but you can get it turned on really quick if you go to wal-mart and spend 30 bucks on flashlights and batteries! Some people were out of power for 3 days. Our cove was the clearest street I saw anywhere, and of course we drove around and surveilled the damage afterwards. There was nothing else to do with no power! Mom's neighbor lost their entire privacy fence and there is alot of roof damage around town. There were various touchdowns in Olive Branch and Memphis, too, I think.

Street crews were busy for weeks picking up huge piles of limbs, and you could hear chainsaws going everywhere that evening! We lost about half of our willow tree, but amazingly the pear tree was unscathed. We were blessed!! Our cove was mostly free of leaves and debris, but everywhere else we drove, we could barely see the lines on the road for all of the leaves and limbs!!

kaplink, kaplank, kaplunk!!

Last week we read Blueberries for Sal, the Blueberry Mouse, and Blueberries for the queen, and today we finally went blueberry picking!!

We got a ride on an atv out to the current picking spot, an racked up 3/4 of a gallon in about 1/2 an hour. Then the heat got to most of us, and a little rebellious attitude in one child got contagious!! It took another half hour to help them all get their hearts back in the right places and finish picking the gallon!!


Alyza probably picked a quarter of the blueberries all by herself, serious as can be.

After that she got overheated, took off her shirt and pants, sat down on an overturned bucket and ate a whole bunch of blueberries. That made the boys a little crazy, and I had to convince them that I was outpicking what she was eating. They were getting worried that we would never fill a whole bucket and go home to the air conditioning.

It wasn't just them, I got so hot I started to get pretty nauseas, too. It was fun, and if we still have another picking day without a HEAT ADVISORY, I'll go pick another gallon to freeze for winter coffee cakes, smoothies, and cereal! We were out of there by 10:30, but the heat was so intense that it has pretty well shot our day, and the kids are cranky!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Oh, and another thing...

"TRYSTAN?? We do not eat pancakes on the couch. EVER. Yes, mam?"

Saturday, July 11, 2009

From Camp...

Isaac told us,"The people who owned the horses said that there were ticks on the trees and that we shouldn't touch them. That's why we had to wear the helmets."

Glad he is home. Even if he and Trystan started fighting instantly, we are still glad that he is home. Really.