Surviving the Hurricane

Two of our children, Son #1 and Son # 4, and their families live near the Texas coast and both sons sent their wives and children (four of our seven grandchildren) to stay with us several days before Ike made up its mind where it was going ashore. My sister and daughter-in-law and her two grandchildren live near Houston, but they elected to stay put for the hurricane--otherwise, we might have had them here also. What a grand party that would have been!

We had fun while everyone was here! The first morning Miss Ella Bella woke up and climbed into bed with Aunt Tammy and a bag of books to read. Then she helped Granddaddy feed the deer before breakfast.

We decided to go to the zoo and met Miss Ella Bella's best friend (and mother) there. We visited the animals, oldest grandchild helped with youngest grandchild while some of us rode the train.

Back home, Miss Ella Bella wanted to have her own "glubs" so she could help Granddaddy work. He put her to work pounding nails into an old piece of wood while he helped Grandson #1 get a bike ready to ride. And Aunt Tammy got some quality time with her youngest nephew. We ended the day with cousins watching a movie together.

That night was interesting because Grandson #1 began sneezing and having chills and fever and Miss Ella Bella threw up most of the night, so the mothers and grandmother did not get much sleep. However, Miss Ella Bella was completely recovered by morning and Grandson #1 was relegated to a bedroom and with the TV for most of the day. The rest of us had some shopping excursions and fathers joined us to wait out the storm. We spent the evening glued to the various TV reports about the storm, wondering what it would do and whether property would be damaged.

I am happy to report that the hurricane completely missed the areas where our sons live but went right over my sister's house with no apparent damage. Thus our family hurricane watch was over this morning and both families began making plans for a quick return to their homes and lives, leaving us with a quiet house again. I am thankful that we all had this time together and even more thankful that everyone is okay!

I reminded my children that it is these events that make the stories that they will tell and retell over the years.

A Weekend Visit

This past weekend we met Son #1 and family for fun and work. The guys did the work at Uncle P's Place and we girls had fun down by the river and shopping. Grandson #1 joined us on Sunday for a trip to the Zoo. It was HOT, HOT, HOT, but Daughter-in-Law #1 brought wonderful spray sunscreen so I believe we all avoided bad sunburns--except I forgot the part in my hair! Ouch! This first picture shows Granddaughter #1 by the river.

The next picture shows Grandchildren #2 and #1 at the entrance to the Zoo.
The next two pictures were taken in the Butterfly Garden. That blue butterfly really liked Granddaughter #1!

We had to stop for Mexican Food because Grandson #1 looked weak from hunger! Yum!

And then we checked up on the workers and their progress.

We were all hot and tired when we headed home! But the workers seemed satisfied with their progress and the rest of us had fun staying out of their way while exploring stores, new eating places and the Zoo.