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Irene came......and went.

For us it was just rain, rain and more rain.....and a little wind. 

No power outages, no flooding, no downed trees.

 I am not complaining one bit.  I am quite relieved about the whole thing. 

We played it safe and prepared and just rode out the storm which for our area, ended up being much milder than originally predicted.   That was very good. 

We just spent the day playing games, watching movies, talking and eating.  And Taylor had her friend Shen over, so they were mostly hanging out in her room (which is why she's not in any pics).

Skylar and Alexa worked together in their room for a time, making some videos together.  Some of them singing, some of them just being silly.  It passed the time, took their mind off any worry about the storm and they had a good time together.  (And the silly videos are hysterical!)

Our damages were......very little  nonexistent.
. 
See for yourself....

Nope, don't think we'll be sending these pics into Nationwide to make a claim.  Don't think they care much about that tipped plant on my front porch or the "leaf damage" on my back deck.

 No damage. 
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We are fortunate and I thank God we are OK.  I know many people are dealing with major damage to their homes and property and lives were even lost due to this powerful storm.  My heart goes out to them and their families.

 A local girl, about my daughter's age, was coming back to Manassas from a vacation with her family.  Due to the power being out, the traffic light wasn't working and she lost her life in a tragic car accident. 

My prayers go out to all who are suffering from the ravages of Irene.

Hope this next week is filled with beautiful (and safe) weather.

TTFN
~Tina

Waiting for Irene

Irene is chuggin' up the coast.  I am hoping and praying for the safety of those in the direct line of fire.  Sadly, there have already been some casualties in North Carolina. 

We here on the western outskirts of DC are under a Tropical Storm Warning.  So we made preparations, but we aren't going to panic.  No need.  I filled all of our flashlights/lamps with batteries.  Hard to find D batteries as of yesterday, but after 2 stores, we managed.  I thanked God for that one. 

We have 2 cases of water.  Not really sure why that's necessary for us, but we do drink bottled water even when we're not under the threat of severe weather.  So it will not be wasted.

 I have lighters and candles.  We have gas in our vehicles and plenty of nonperishable foods.  I also have charcoal for the grill in case the power goes out for a few days.  We'll be fine. 

I ran to the store this morning for some Tropical Storm Yummies......ice cream and cones, chips, and the makings for home made pizza.  Now we just wait and go on with life as usual.

I took some pictures on my way back.....

 Dreary and dismal, but rather uneventful so far.  I am not complaining.

 Uneventful is good.

So in the meantime, before Irene arrives, I thought I'd let the kids have a little fun.......

They got a little wet, but it was warm, so I'm sure they'll be fine.  Better than fine, actually, because they needed that little bit of fresh air and freedom.

It's been an interesting weather week here on the east coast.
Hope you are safe and sound, wherever you are.

TTFN
~Tina

 

Soakin It Up While We Can.....

We were taking advantage of an absolutely beautiful day. The kids thought it was pretty cool that they could take a stroll across the country before we even walked into the park. :)

  Alexa catchin' some rays in Florida ;)

We went to the playground on this gorgeous, sunny, low humidity day. 



Perfect day for swinging and climbing and sliding and enjoying the last rays of the warm summer sun. 


It was just slightly breezy and the sky was so blue, just a perfect clear blue. 

After many hot, humid days that kept us stuck inside, I think the general consensus of this day was, "WAHOOOO!"

So much swinging for Evan. "Push me higher"......."higher, Mommy, higher".  

Then the earth shook. I literally looked at my feet to see if I was imagining the movement. It felt, perhaps because I was standing on mulch, like the earth got jiggly....kinda like I was standing on a soft mattress and someone else jumped on. 

Then I heard loud noises behind me. I turned and saw the large metal poles of the basketball hoops rattling back and forth. I looked up, thinking there must be a helicopter flying VERY low overhead. 


But no, that wasn't it. All of my children were on swings, and didn't feel a thing. There was no one right near me that I could exchange looks with. The kind of looks that could confirm that I was not losing my mind. 


Luckily, my sister saved me from questioning my sanity any longer. 

She called, from Pittsburgh, and said, "Where are you?" I said, "the park". 
She said, "did you feel that?". 

I was thinking how in the heck could she know the earth just moved under my feet here in VA, the whole way up in Pittsburgh....within a few minutes?! 

Apparently the earth shook her up there, too. And she confirmed her suspicion online. 

Yay for me being sane! Yay for my sister helping me to realize it! And yay for a beautiful (end of) summer day!

Oh.....


and before we left the park, we came across this little guy. 

Maybe he came out because he was as freaked out as I was when he felt the earth shake.

We didn't take him home, but I named him anyway.  I was gonna come up with something "cheesy" dealing with Earthquake.  Something like Shakes, or Quakes, but I like just plain Herbert.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  We are expecting some sort effects of Hurricane Irene.  We are under a Tropical Storm Warning.  We are prepared, but not expecting much in our location.

Happy weekend!
Stay Safe!
TTFN
~Tina

Just Ducky

These little guys crossed our path this morning. So adorable! They reminded me of a class of young children, the way they were all in line, single file. And yes they did safely make it to the other side.

TTFN

~Tina

Their Moonlanding

When I was a kid, growing up in small town, PA, we looked so forward to our summer carnival. It was for one week every summer, third week in July (and still is). It was the highlight of the summer, especially when I was a teenager. It was full of games, rides, familiar faces, cute boys, great food and fireworks (on the last night). It was a blast! Excitement seemed to fill the whole town as evening approached and the carnival was about to begin. It was referred to as the Moon Landing celebration, appropriately named for our town. I have made the trip to PA at the right time some years, and have taken my children to this exciting event. Only it wasn't as exciting for them as I remember it being for me. They enjoyed it very much, but it isn't "theirs".

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My children don't have that annual carnival here where we live. We have The Fair. It's about 5 minutes from our house and I've taken the kids almost every year since they were really little. We missed last year and when I mentioned to Taylor that we were going this year, I saw it. I saw in her the same excitement I used to feel, back in my home town. She was pretty happy about my decision to make a point of going this year. We ordered the tickets ahead of time, so I couldn't change my mind. ;)

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We went on Wednesday, before the rides opened so we could continue our tradition of visiting the animals first.

These were my favorites! The three little pigs! So freakin' cute! I know they are pigs and will grow up and more than likely be pretty stinky buggers, but right now I could just pick them up and snuggle the cuteness right out of them!

This mama and baby were precious, too....

On to the rides! Taylor was planning on meeting her boyfriend there, but he was coming a little later. So Taylor and Skylar took off for a while to ride the big, fast, you're-out-of-your-mind rides, while I took the younger two to the sane rides.The one below looks like a regular round the track car ride, but it's actually like the whip at Kennywood in PA. He loved it! And poor Alexa was a teensy bit jealous that she was too tall.

Evan's favorite thing in the whole place. Yeah, he loved being able to jump, and jump and jump. Wish I had a room in my house for this.

Game time......go fishing and win a

light saber. okay.

Or a cute little purple monkey. Alexa won the banana at a different game. Look at the expression on the banana's face. He's like, "I knew she couldn't resist my charm". Little does he know, he's just a food source for that monkey.

We caught up with Taylor and Sky at this ride. I remember riding this same ride at our carnival with my big sister. It was my first fast ride EVER. She kept telling me to laugh.....instead of panic and embarrass her, I assume. But it worked. And I loved it after that.

Tattoos....panda for Sky

Malifiscent for Alexa (it glows in the dark)

This very cool contraption is an old fashioned homemade ice cream maker. The ice cream it makes is quite yummy.

Sky and I had the peach, Evan and Alexa had chocolate. Wish I had a spare room for that machine.

We took our ice cream over to wait for a magic show. Got great seats that way, and had a place to sit down to eat. Sky volunteered to join in the show. I have a whole video of it. She had fun with it.

A very large balloon.....he used a leaf blower to blow it up. no joke.

Alexa got to pet the little magic bunny used in the show.

This lovely "hat" was from her role in the show. Oh yeah, she got her cow groove on. Really, you'll have to see the video. I'll try to get on that.

There is a ride I've seen at the fair many times. I wouldn't have even rode it as a teen, during my bravest years. It looks like a nightmare to me. It combines spinning, jostling around and very tight spaces. No, no, nopety no. Sky was game. She begged me to let her go on. Well, I can't let my fears influence my children, or at least I shouldn't. So I let her go on. Wow. (found out later that Taylor rode it too)As you can see, she survived. And then went right back on. You go girl! Better you than me.

Bumper cars! Who doesn't love bumper cars?!A fun house....they said it was fun, anyway. I didn't go in, so I couldn't say. I'll take their word for it.

We met up with Taylor and her boyfriend. They reminded me of my teen years, going to our carnival when John and I were dating. Ahhh....the good ol' days. To be young again.

Getting late.....time for some final rides....

We spent several hours at the fair, and made lots of memories. The kids all thanked me profusely and said what a fun day it was. I think we need to go back again next year, too. I'm pretty sure they'll agree.

Hope your summer is still a blast! Enjoy every second of it! Make it special!

TTFN

~Tina