Luck...

Well, seems we dodged another bullet...This weekend we spend riding out Hurricane Irene. We went to Richmond, not knowing how the tides would affect us at home. I knew it wouldn't get into our house, but I still didn't feel good about the possibilty of the Chesapeake Bay running beneath my house while I was in it. We came back to Mathews yesterday morning to find everything exactly as we left it. I couldn't believe it. I actually think the damage in Richmond was worse than in Mathews! The beach erosion really wasn't even that bad. We will have to replace the sand fence, but other than that, things seem to be in good order. We had lost power, so we finally got to use that big old generator that we put in 2 years ago--the power was restored around 9:30 last night. Some of our friends and neighboring communities weren't so lucky. Our friends in Jarratt (close to Emporia) have extensive damage to their house and they aren't likely to get power for about 2 weeks. And the Outer Banks has taken a huge blow and basically been re-shaped.

Do you know how many times we've traveled this road... It's so sad to see the destruction caused by this storm and to think about how many lives it's affecting. We'll be keeping everyone in our prayers and praying that any other storms this year go in another direction!

IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE!!

OMG!! Did you feel that?! I was sitting at my desk working away and my chair started moving and I thought I had lost my mind...until I realized the whole house was shaking...I didn't know what to do, so I jumped up and ran outside and stood on the sidewalk--I'm not sure why, I guess I've seen people in the movies do that, so I thought that was what I was supposed to do...Annie says that plates fell off the shelf at Linda's house in Richmond--Rhonda is in Mathews today and she says the building shook there and she took off across the hall to another office when it was happening--Mom says the windows rattled and the pictures on the walls swung around at her house. WOW! If this is what an earthquake is like, I do not want to live in California! That's for sure...

Busch Gardens

Ok, so here's the pictures I promised from Shane's first ride on the battering ram at Busch Gardens...

Busch, Babies, Smurfs & Birthday!

Whew! I still don't think I've recovered from this past weekend...After work on Friday, we headed to Busch Gardens (for the first time this year) with Annie & TT. It was great to finally get there and we had a fabulous time!! Shane is such a little thrill seeker. We rode most of his regular rides, but threw in a new one this time, The Battering Ram. He LOVED it! :) I'm sure now all the kiddie rides will lose their luster after riding a big person ride. We had a wonderful dinner in Italy and pretty much ran out of time before making it all the way around the park. I'm looking forward to using our passes much more in the next couple of months before the season is done.

On Saturday, Rob & Shane went to take the boat around to Allie's house so we could help shuttle people out to Hole in the Wall beach for her birthday party. But, the boat broke down on them half way there--not a fun afternoon for either of them. While they were dealing with that, I went to the first baby shower for Walter & Betsy. Betsy looked so cute and she got so many nice things to get them started. This little guy better like rock n roll....ha! After all the craziness with the boat and the shower, we went to Gloucester Point to see The Smurfs. We all loved it! We'll be getting that Blu Ray as soon as it comes out.

Betsy showing off her custom crib comforter :)

Sunday, the day of the birthday party. We headed over to Ro & Les's house around 1:00pm to help them get things in order to head out for the party. Shane & I were on the first boat trip out to the island to get things ready. After Ro left us there, it began thundering & lightning....and there we were, with no way home and no phones. Everyone seemed to take it in stride and Allie & Shane both enjoyed the time they did have together to play in the sand. Soon, the boats came back and we all piled back in and back to the house. Of course, as soon as we got back, the sun came out--so, the kids had a great time playing in the sprinkler :) After we got home, we got showered and all gussied up and headed to Davis Creek Marina for this years family pictures. Deanna Harris took them for us this year and I cannot wait to see them! It looks like she got a lot of nice shots. And, in 30 minutes, it was all done--we headed home, completely worn out and steamed up some clams for dinner, then called it a night. It was another whirlwind of a weekend and there's another just on the horizon!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Annie took Shane to Richmond today to pick up Ginny, so I asked her if she'd take him for a haircut at Pigtails & Crewcuts---the only place that seems to know how to cut kids hair...He was overdue, but I hadn't had a chance to get to Richmond for him to get his haircut and after the last cut/chop job that occurred from the Supercuts in Gloucester--I wasn't taking him anywhere else around here.

Here's what it looked like before...

And, here's the after...

One happy little boy, that can see now and just in time for our family pictures!! :)

A little weekend R&R...

Not really much to report from the weekend. It was the last weekend that I think we had to ourselves before Labor Day, which will be upon us in the blink of an eye. We were hoping for some boating time on Saturday, but the wind wasn't having it. So, we broke out the old slip and slide for some good old fashioned fun. Shane wasn't sure how to use it, but Daddy quickly jumped in to give some lessons to the lad...I was highly amused, to say the least...Nothing like watching the 37 year old love of your life, who already has numerous bionic parts, sliding down a Cars slip and slide in your front yard....priceless.

For dinner, Rob smoked some delicious ribs and an up the butt chicken (more couth people probably call this beer can chicken) and I made crock pot macaroni and cheese. Delish! We all ate dinner together and watched Furry Vengence and then called it a night. On Sunday, it was a bit overcast, not a good beach/boat day so we ran some errands and then stuck close to home--we finally finished watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Then after Shane was put to bed, Rob and I watched Hall Pass. We laughed our butts off at that movie...very funny and amusing to us. Now, it's Monday again, back to work...Shane started his second session of swimming lessons today. He was excited and looks like it's going to be a great week for the pool!

CROCK POT MACARONI AND CHEESE

8 oz. macaroni
2 c. Sharp Cheddar shredded
1 c. mild cheddar shredded
2eggs, beaten
1 lg. can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
Fresh Pepper to taste
Dash Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Cook macaroni and drain. Mix all ingredients in crock pot. Mix and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. Do not open lid while cooking!!