Boys camp out

While Carrell and I went to host Rebekah's Birthday party at The Chiller Ice Rink, Todd took Nathaniel camping and invited Brad and Isaiah Baldridge and Howard Free (who apparently was the photographer).

The mornings were cold which was good because the pit toilets are less stinky, then. They really roughed it! There was no running water. Good thing Todd took a shower after our 10 mile run on Saturday morning!

First order of business - send smoke signals to neighboring natives. Can you say... pyromaniacs...?



The scenery was beautiful!







Isaiah and Nathaniel play lawn jarts.

You can see the damage from the wind storm 1 week before. The huge tree in the background BROKE felling the tree!



The Men, the boys... is there really much difference??

Rebekah's party at the Chiller

A month before Rebekah's Birthday Todd and I ran in a 5k where Rebekah won a Birthday party at the chiller in a raffle. We invited all the girls from her class and Sierra from next door. All the girls, their siblings, and their parents got to skate for up to 2 hours. Everyone had a great time! In the end we paid less than $40 for the extra guests. Great deal - pizza, cake, drinks, skates, and skate time were all included!

Post Hurricane wind storm

3-4 days before Rebekah's birthday there was a huge hurricane in Texas. We expected some rain and a little wind but what we got on September 14, 2008 was more than anyone anticipated.

At about 1:15-1:30 the wind started beating up and ripping our shelter on the deck. We took it down. Shortly, we realized we needed to batten down everything outside. At 3:15 the electric went out. The Burkes left partly for Kate's nap, partly to see if they had electricity. My parents had left already. Todd's parents left around 4:00.

Church was canceled that evening because of power outages. Jerry later told us that their mileage gauge said they were getting 92 miles to the gallon on the way home.

Schools were closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as the city recovered. When Todd and I ran in the mornings, there were huge limbs everywhere (for about 2 weeks). Thousands of people in the city were out of power for up to 2 weeks!

These videos don't even tell half the story. I saw trees bending down 90 degrees to the ground. But I couldn't seem to catch it on film. You can hear the power of the wind whistling past the camera.

Rebekah's 7th Birthday family party

Sunday, September 14th was Rebekah's 7th Birthday so we had the grandparents, Aunt Lisa/Uncle Albert, and the Burkes for a Birthday Celebration. It's hard for me to believe 7 years ago I became a mother and held this tiny baby which now is in first grade.

Matthew Burke - 6 1/2 years old
(Rebekah's future husband!!)

Grace Burke - 4 3/4 years old

Rebekah - 7 years old