Home, Sweet Home

Nothing makes you appreciate home more than being away for more than a few days. So we left Conroe Friday (Sept. 12) afternoon before Ike hit Early Saturday morning. BYU was playing a game on Saturday and Mike really didn't want to miss it so up to Oklahoma we went. (BYU played UCLA and won 56-0 and I had a very happy Mike.) Our power was out and we had a neighbor check on our house for us. We were very blessed and our apartment sustained no damage. At first they were estimating the power to be out for 3-4 weeks but it started coming on fairly quickly. On Wednesday the 16th we got a call from my neighbor who had checked on our place saying that the power was back on. We were currently in Tyler TX so that Mike could go out to an oil rig to watch some drilling for work and since it was only 3 1/2 hours from home, me and the kids went home the next day while Mike worked to clean out the fridge.
Next time there is a possibility there wil be a power outage and we won't be at home, all my meat is going to be thrown out. But since I wasn't smart enough to think about it, all the meat that was sitting in our freezer had nearly a week to sit and thaw and produce a horrendous smell. You know, it's much faster and easier to clean out a fridge when you don't have to put the food back in. So when we got home, there was no power. The houses in our backyard, which are part of a different neighborhood, had power along with their entire neighborhood but our neighborhood didn't so on Friday we drove back up to Oklahoma.
Mike talked to his boss this last Monday, who said that his sister had a generator that we could borrow. In other words they wanted Mike back at work. so we pack up and drive home thinking that we are going to have to deal with no air conditioner and limited electricity but to our great surprise and pleasure we drove up to the house around 3:30 am and our lights were on!!!! So yesterday I spent time washing ALL the clothes we had taken in the hopes of getting rid of any ticks that had hitched a ride home with us, unpacking and doing grocery shopping. Pickings at the grocery stores were rather thin but we'll all get back to normal soon.
I feel very blessed that our home was undamaged. There were others in our town that weren't so lucky.
While in Oklahoma we did have lots of fun and Daniel and Emily enjoyed spending time with grandparents. We make a trip to the zoo and also to an elementary school fundraiser where kids got to see all kinds of big trucks such as fire engines, ambulances, a backhoe, etc. and to clomb in them. I also found out that our car is faster than the dodge chargers that many cops are now using!!
We are now all very happy to be home and getting back to normal. Emily is especially happy to have her bed back and not have to listen to daddy's snoring!!