Yikes, Ike...

Hurricane Ike, I am sure we will be talking about him for years to come. We left town before he got here. We headed to Dallas. D's office has a place there where they work from during disasters. He worked and we tried to stay busy. I was happy to leave because Judd freaks just at lightning so I think a hurricane would have sent him over the edge. The kids and I ventured out to Dallas with a vacation in mind - not what I think of as a great vacation destination, but since we were there we went with it. My childhood friend, Debbie, joined us since she is a local there in Dallas. We went to the Dallas Zoo and the coolest McDonalds EVER - it was like the Rainforest Cafe but with an indoor playground. Debbie and I also got to take Grace to the American Girl store which was fun, fun, fun. You can read more about that on her blog at http://sweetgraceellen.blogspot.com/2008/09/american-girl.html. We visited with lots of family and friends in Dallas and had a great time. We even got to go to a birthday party for a friend that had moved there.

It was just a bit creepy having a good time while knowing what Ike was doing at home and to the millions of lives he disrupted. We returned home to lots of trees down and a mess of a neighborhood but we were spared the wrath of Ike. Our house actually looked better when we got home than when we left - thanks to our neighbor who cleaned up the debris and mowed the lawn! Hurricanes have always scared me and Ike just further confirmed that fear!

Can you do this...

Check out the youngest citizen of Roth, TX. She is full of entertainment these days.

It's Fall Yall...

I certainly doesn't feel like fall outside but the fall schedule has begun. Today was the first day of school and so bedtimes are earlier as are wake up times. We celebrated the start of school with our annual trip to Waffle House on the eve of the first day. Grace is in first grade this year. After only her first day told me her teacher this year is the best one she has ever had - that is saying a lot because she has had some great ones in the past! Judd tried all weekend to convince us he was 5 and he too needed to go to school. I hope he is that excited when he really is old enough to go. Caroline, well, she is happy with whatever. Enjoy the pics but I wouldn't recommend Waffle House - next time I am taking my own utensils! It's not the cleanest place.

Check out the picture of our backyard blooms. I love them. They are beautiful and really require nothing from us other than a few cuts every few months!