Beer and PopTarts

Last night we ventured out to Wal-Mart. Not because we really needed anything, we have plenty of food and water. I just thought it would be nice to have a few new games, books, and craft items to keep us entertained while we are cooped up in the house. We also got some unhealthy snacks.

Let me tell you, Wal-Mart is a very scary place to be the day before a hurricane. There were no parking spots available and no shopping carts. When we walked in the doors we almost turned back around because the lines at the checkout were at least 15 people long. Here is a little hint for the future: if you are preparing for a natural disaster and need to go to Wal-Mart, use the register back in electronics. We were in and out in under an hour.

After Hurricane Katrina I heard a statistic that the two most purchased items in preparation for a hurricane are PopTarts and beer. Sure enough, it seemed like everyone had a case or two of some sort of alcohol item in their cart. And when we went to the PopTart aisle the only thing left was a few boxes of blueberry. It is a good thing we went when we did, we almost missed out. So we got our version... PopTarts and sparkling cider.

Hurricane Ike is supposed to make landfall late tomorrow night. Thankfully we are pretty prepared. We are not in the evacuation area and after hearing horror stories about people being stuck in traffic for 14 hours trying to get to Austin (normally a 3 hour drive), we have decided to stay put. We have plenty of food and water to last about a week. The only thing we are worried about is losing electricity. Several days in Houston in an unairconditioned house could make for a very grumpy family. Later this afternoon I'm going to the store to pick up some fun games and activities to do while we are stuck inside. Hmmmm, I wonder what Sean would think about repainting the living room this weekend?

One of the things they advise you to do is fill up your gas tank. If you live in a hurricane prone area you are actually supposed to keep your tank at least half full. Even if you don't evacuate it will often take days before gas stations have any gas because the trucks can't get into town. I'm not very good at doing this. With gas prices being so high and having to deal with two kids in the car I try to put off this chore as long as possible... sometimes I wait a little too long.

Well, with the hurricane coming of course my tank is almost empty. So I ventured out this morning to fill the tank. I passed a station and the lines were HUGE. I found another station that was virtually empty, I was so excited and was feeling a big smug that I wasn't going to have to wait in line. Nope, no luck for me, they were out of gas already. So I waited in line for 30 minutes like everyone else. But now our tank is filled and we're ready.



On another note... Some of our family members have been complaining about cold weather and a few of them have even had their first snowfalls. Doesn't this look like it should be bringing some nice cold air and maybe some snow? Nope, the only thing it has for us is wind, rain, and probably more humidity.

Adeline Conaway Airport

If you ask Addie what her full name is she will tell you, "Adeline Conaway Airport!" You can argue with her all you want, but she will insist that it is Adeline Conaway Airport, not just Adeline Conaway.

On another airport note - we were driving yesterday and Adeline saw an airplane overhead. She got very excited and said, "See the airplane? It's going to Colorado. It's taking people to Grandma's house."

.... Grandma, I hope you are ready for lots of guests!

Addie's Smile

It has been difficult to get decent pictures of Addie recently. Anytime I take out the camera she says "Smile!!" and attempts to smile. This is what it looks like:

It is cute that she likes getting her picture taken and that she tries to smile, but it doesn't make for the greatest pictures. Here are the only two pictures from the last few weeks that aren't "smiling."

Tired Charlotte

My girls aren't the greatest sleepers when they are little, so imagine my surprise when Char started nodding off at dinner tonight. I was even more shocked when she actually fell asleep! Of course it only lasted about 5 minutes until Addie bumped the high chair.

We have a tooth!

It's a top tooth, and it is on the side, so no pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it.