Post-Mandatory Evacuation

Thankfully, Isaac was no big deal for us.  To sum it up, it was just another rainy day.  The "worst" was Tuesday, and it rained off an on throughout the day (and when it wasn't raining, it was sunny skies) and there was one 25 minute period where it rained really hard.  The power flickered once, and it was windy, but the leaves all easily stayed on the trees.  Our house didn't flood.  In fact, the water didn't even come close.  I did notice that the water was about 2 feet above where it usually is, but that isn't even close to topping our little sea wall.  But, just in case, we were super ready.  We got everything up off the floor and took off for our friend's house.

 Don't worry - the TV went up and in our closet later.  I just didn't get a picture.
This was the worst rain of the day, and also when I realized that it's really hard to get a picture of rain falling.  It doesn't look hard, but it was raining HARD!!!

 Luckily we were high and dry and all of these kiddo's had a blast playing together!

 These kiddo's also loved playing together on their day off!

 I know that Jaden LOVED the extra Daddy time he got!

We are very glad that the storm was very minor for us, but we are always mindful of those that didn't fare so well.  Please keep Louisiana and Mississippi in your prayers!

Pre-Mandatory Evacuations

Well, the order has been given - we are to evacuate.  We kind of knew this was coming since we live right on the water (picture evidence to follow) so it wasn't a big deal.  We were ready!  One of Jake's Navy friends offered to let us stay with them for a few days while the worst of it blows through.

We found out yesterday afternoon that we would have to evacuate so we packed the car up and then planned for all possible scenarios and then watched some TV, played some computer games, and went to sleep.  This morning, Jake had to go to work so Jaden and I just hung out, and then when he went down for his nap I started putting together some clothes and toiletries.  When Jake gets home in a few minutes we'll roll up some of our rugs, put some trash bags around the TV, maybe put the couches up on chairs, pack up more food and games, and head out.  It's a very gradual evacuation - nothing like in the movies! :)

Here are our pre-evacuation pictures of some of our house:

 Yep - that's the water.  We live on an island, so the water here is technically an Intracoastal Waterway, it will still be affected by storm surge.

Those tall buildings in the background are the condos on the beach, so at least that is a mile away.

Basically we are in danger of flooding and not much else, but back in June we got 14 inches of water in a day and everywhere in Pensacola was crazy flooded but our house was fine except for a little water in the garage.  We are sandbagging in front of the garage and everything in the garage is in water proof containers.  Gotta go roll up some rugs!

Please Stay Away Isaac

Tropical Storm Isaac is headed our way, and I'm not going to lie - I'm getting really nervous!  Originally it was only supposed to be a Category 1, but the newest models say it will probably be a Category 2 when it makes landfall.  It is headed right for us here in Pensacola, but we are just praying and hoping it shifts a little to the right because the best place to be in a hurricane is on the left side (less  severe wind and lower tides and storm surges).  We live practically on the water, so chances of flooding are high.  We have done all we can to prepare:

• 72 hour kits are packed and ready to go
• sandbags are being filled
• plenty of non-perishable food
• plenty of water
• a propane powered stove
• propane
• both cars are gassed up
• an extra five gallon gas can filled
• an evacuation plan in place
• all important documents in one place ready to go
• dry ice in the freezers to try and keep everything frozen for when the power goes out
• flashlights with extra batteries
• a hand powered radio
• a car adapter for our cell phone chargers
• extra cash on hand

If you are prepared you shall not fear, so I am having faith in that!  Now I just obsessively refresh the hurricane path maps to see if anything has changed!

Best Day EVER!!!

Men: Imagine that the NFL has decided to have a post-Super Bowl scrimmage near your home and not only are some of the big players from the Super Bowl going to be there, but some other players from other major teams as well, all in one place!  Then, when you go, you also get to meet your absolute favorite players that you follow all year long and get pictures and autographs!  Awesome!

Women: Imagine that your favorite movie stars/authors/designers are all going to be together in one place and you get VIP tickets to a dinner in their honor and then get to meet them and get pictures and autographs!  Awesome!

Teens: Imagine that Justin Beiber, One Direction, Adele, Carly Rae Jepson, and Taylor Swift are all going to be in a concert in your town and you get VIP tickets to go!  You are then lucky enough to have them autograph t-shirts and signs and hats and then you get your pictures taken with each of them!  Awesome!

So many people don't understand my obsession with cycling (which I understand) so I tried to put what happened to me in ways that other people will understand just how amazing it was!

A couple of week ago, the Tour of Utah started and my mom got her and I VIP tickets to the team presentation.  We went up to Ogden (thanks again Ana for watching Jaden!!!!!) and had a small dinner and then took our VIP seats for the introduction of the teams.  The Tour of Utah has been happening for some time, but this year there were some REALLY BIG names in the cycling world coming, including Jens Voigt, who is my mom's favorite cyclist by far!  She had promised him via Twitter that if he came, she would get him the best cookies he had ever eaten.  He agreed to come and she delivered on her promise!

We were pretty much stalkers and went crazy tracking down all of our favorite riders, but in the end, it was worth it!  Here are some of our pictures, but I won't tell you who they are, since most people really don't care and that doesn't bother me because I know who they are!

It was seriously one of the best days of my life!  I feel a tradition starting....

18 Months

Weight: 17 pounds, 7 ounces (0%)
Length: 28 inches (0%)
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm (0%)

So he is tiny.  He has never shown up on the regular weight chart, but this time we are getting really close to the 3rd percentile for his head circumference, so at least he's got a lot of brains!  His pediatrician isn't concerned because he is a healthy looking baby, he's just really small.

He:

• is walking
• is climbing on EVERYTHING
• is talking (he has about 4 words)
• is able to put really big legos together
• is sleeping really well (we are consistently back on 2 naps a day)
• is eating many small meals instead of three big meals
• is drinking lots of milk and apple juice - he only wants water if it's from my water bottle
• has 4 teeth
• loves to read books
• loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• is loving Nursery!!!
• is seriously the cutest baby ever!!!!!!
  

Utah!!!

Jaden and I just returned from a quick and fun trip to Utah!  We mainly went for the Cuthbert family reunion up in Park City and it was such a blast!  It was so fun to show Jaden off to everyone and see all of Jake's family.  It was very different from reunions past since I now have a child.  And not only do I have a child, but I have a child who wants to just walk and explore all the time!  It limited my talking time with everyone, but there is nothing better than spending all of that time with my little boy!

We loved spending time with everyone, and especially riding the Coaster with Claire!

We also loved spending time with my family!  My dad loves to take Jaden on walks, and it got to the point that if my dad walked into the room, Jaden would immediately run up to him asking to be picked up to go for a walk.  They were so cute together!

It's always fun to see everyone interact with my cute son!

P.S. Thanks Mandy for unknowingly letting me steal some pics from your blog!  I appreciate it! :)