We're OK - Power is Still Out

This is Ron making a quick post from work for Danielle.
We're without power but the crews are working fast. A cool front came in last night which cuts the edge off the heat. She's pretty happy about that.
We're essentially disconnected from the world right now. When we get power, broadband, home and mobile phone service again Danielle will update the happenings. It's almost like everyone outside Houston knows more about the state of the city than we do.
Thanks for everyone's concern.

Wind is picking up...

The wind is beginning to blow outside. Sometimes the gust is strong enough to hear the walls creak a little. No rain as of yet (8:44pm CST). The girls took some time to play in the wind after dinner. They made kites and paper airplanes. It was all fun until the airplane blew down the street and one of the kites blew away! It caught a gust and was gone!

I am only worried about one large tree in my neighbor's yard. It is a tall, long needle pine. Most likely it would just break in the center, not fall over. The root system on these pines are huge. Not sure if it will crack off and drop or hang there? Most likely, we will be lucky and the tree will survive. I am just be paranoid! lol!

The wind is coming in from the north. (not the south) we stood out in the back yard at sunset watching the clouds above. It was fun to watch the swirling clouds overhead. You could actually see the swirl of the hurricane clouds.

We are ready to jump in the master closets if needed. The girls are all sleeping downstairs tonight with us. Our food storage and water is also in the closets with us. We will fine. No worries ya'll! :O)


Homemade Kite Flying


The Tree next to my house. (gulp.) The pinecones keep nailing our kitchen windows. It's making us a bit jumpy.

Waiting...

So, we wait.

The wind is beginning to pick up outside. They say that it is the tropical storm force winds beginning to come in. The hurricane will be over us around 1:00am.

We spent the morning talking with neighbors and picking up the yard and seeing how much stuff we can squeeze into the garage. One neighbor came over and asked us to take down our trampoline, because as he puts it,"(speak like a Texan) I have been in Texas all my life, and you just can't take Hurricanes lightly. These trampolines become missiles in wind storms like this. Please take it down." I just smiled at him and told him, yes we would do something with it. We seemed to do fine wedging all of the planter boxes, toys, swing, BBQ, and basketball hoop in the garage.

We spent time filling (6) 10 gallon water jugs. We also filled the bath tubs, and I checked on our (7) 50 gallon water drums, they seem to be fine, and of course we have cases of bottled water. Lots of comfort foods and foods I can cook either on my gas cook top or BBQ.

I spoke to a neighbor this morning about the storm. They told me to prepare to be three days with no power and no water. They asked if we needed any food. I chuckled and said,"Ah, I'm a Mormon. I have so much food storage, we will be fine for quite sometime...by the way if you'd like to plant 50 acres of wheat, I'd be glad to donate the wheat."

I see Galveston is flooding. They expect a 22 foot wall of water to come in and flood 20 miles inland. It seems crazy people down there are staying. The city Mayor said, if you stay you will die. We are in Northwest Houston. If any flooding occurs up here, it is due to the bayous backing up. I don't foresee and flooding at my or my parent's homes.

More later...

xoxo

Glad I am not sitting in this...

Last time we evacuated for a Hurricane (Rita) I was huge and pregnant and Caitlin had a broken leg. It was very nerve racking to be sitting on the freeway either going no where or going 2 mph. for 6 hours. Some people sat for days. It was scary to see people on the side of the road, out of gas, with no help in sight and gas stations along the freeway with lines and lines of cars waiting and some gas stations with signs that said,"out of gas". I am so glad we are staying home!

The photo above are of Houstonians evacuating today.

Hurricane Ike

Seems strange that the first 6 or 7 years we lived in Texas all of the hurricanes that came barreling across the Atlantic made landfall on the east coast. But, these past few years they have been drawn up into the Gulf, due to the warmer waters.

Houston is preparing for the storm. The coastal communities are in the process of being evacuated. Therefore there is a huge influx of people up here in the northern communities of Houston. We will not be evacuating this time. We will be sheltering in place. We have food, water and fuel. So, we are ready for whatever this storm brings.

This morning I sat at the Wal-mart gas station waiting in line for 15 minutes. I went into Wal-mart afterwards and got the last few bags of ice, last few bags of bread. It is so eerie looking at the grocery store shelves...BARE. My heart went out to the sweet little old people of our city who were just driving into the parking lot as I was leaving...I knew when they went in they were not going to find much left.

My Dad just called me from Costco. He said the check out lines began at the back of the store near the meat department. It is just crazy here!

The school just called and said Victoria's volleyball game is cancelled tonight and all schools are closed tomorrow.

I found this at a local tv internet site, they gave a break down of what each area around Houston can expect from the hurricane. It said this about my area...
http://weatherblog.abc13.com/2008/09/hurricane-ike-1.html

"Liberty, Cleveland, Livingston, Huntsville, Conroe, Spring, the Woodlands, Katy, Sealy, Hempstead, Navasota, Wharton, El Campo: Sustained winds 75-100 mph, 5-10" rain with flooding in poor drainage areas, isolated tornadoes."

I am glad we live far enough inland that we won't get the brunt of the storm.

Here is another great website for tracking the storm:
http://www.stormpulse.com/

Well, if we have power I will post again after the storm or soon after.

Just Look in the Water?

So, last night I gave Tiffany a bath in my jacuzzi tub. I washed her and played and then I decided to give her a few minutes to splash and play alone.

Of course the 2 year just has to play with everything they can reach around the tub. One thing she enjoys playing with is the bar of soap. She likes to feel independent and wash her toes and arms with the big soapy sponge.

As I sat on the counter reading my book, not really paying much attention to her, she says to me,"Mom, I lost the soap!" So, I said as I am reading my book, "just look in the water and you will find it." Next thing I see out of the corner of my eye is Tiffany literally splashing her face into the water to"look" for the soap! She came up about half a second later, choking on water. I had to stop and rethink what I had told her to do...Well, I did tell her to "look in the water". She stared at me like, "Duh, Mom, I did what you told me to do! That was a dumb idea!" I then helped her wipe her sweet little face and said, "honey, lets feel around in the water for the bar of soap." Sure enough she takes her little hands and begins searching for the soap.

Possibly this one should go under my "Mother of the Year" Category.

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!

Yesterday was National Grandparents Day. So, to all of our grandparents, we hope you had a great day!

We decided that since we have Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter living so close by, it would be fun to have them over for dinner. The girls all made cards and the twins made a huge banner.

Sending love to all of our Grandparents! xoxo

Piggy Tails

I am not sure what it is about piggy tails on a two year old but I just want to hug her and squeeze her little cheeks! Tiffany is such a sweetie pie and she makes me smile. Here she is playing her "fishy" game. She matches colors and of course fishes with her pole.

Volleyball Begins!

Thursday afternoon, Victoria and her team were excused from school early to travel to a city north of us. Her team played 3 games with other schools from all over the area. Some teams I had never heard of before. Anyway, here is a video of her in action. (The ball comes to her on the second serve and she bumps the ball.) And of course when she made a great block, the camera was off. Possibly, I will get lucky one of these games and get a good video.

She Did it!

Victoria just got home from volleyball tryouts! 76 gals tried out, there were only 24 openings and Victoria made it! YEA!!! CONGRATULATIONS VICTORIA! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

No Dumping?

I found this photo in my files. I took it in Cedar Falls, Iowa this summer. Earlier this summer Iowa had terrible flooding. While we were there, we drove around downtown looking at the flood damage. I spotted this photo opp. Click on it to enlarge pic.

Surviving...

Day 3: Back at school.

The house is so quiet. I am really enjoying myself. However, the younger kids don't feel the same way. Brianne isn't too sure about riding a bus. She just doesn't like it. As a mom I'd love to just drive her to school, but as a mom I also want her to learn how to step out of her comfort zone and do something that makes her feel uncomfortable! She did make it on the bus this morning...yea!!

Caitlin is having a fight with her locker. She can't seem to get it open, however everyone else can. mmm. Hopefully, she will get the hang of it today.

The twins did find time yesterday to trick their teachers. They share the same two teachers, however they attend each class at a different time of day. One goes to one class in the morning and the other class in the afternoon. Yesterday Caitlin was in the afternoon class and switched her name tag to say Courtney. The teacher called on her and said, "yes Courtney?" The class all laughed and it took the teacher a minute to figure out why. Before school got out the two teachers called the twins out into the hallway and decided they were going to study them to see if they could someway tell them apart. The teachers were stumped. Then one of them noticed Caitlin's freckle on her neck and they both decided that would have to be the way to tell them apart. At lunch yesterday one of the students said to Courtney,"Hey Caitlin did you save me a seat?" Courtney said "what?" She said the kid was confused and just looked at her funny. The kids in their classes think it's cool they look so alike. Caitlin and Courtney said people just kept staring at them as if they were some freak show!

Victoria is really enjoying Junior High. Not one bit of anxiety is coming out of her. She seems happy to go. She said she is figuring out where her classes are and doesn't need the map much. She finds it weird that there are police dogs sniffing lockers each day looking for drugs and other items. She said it's weird to have two cops in the lunch room watching the students and she said it was weird to hear her teacher tell them to keep their lockers locked so that the drug dealers couldn't put drugs in their locker. This is all so new to me. I guess living in my Mormon bubble, I tune out so much of this stuff that when I hear about it, I am amazed. I have to say Victoria just takes it all so well. Nothing bothers her about school.

Today are volleyball try-outs. I heard 50-70 girls are trying out and there are only 24 spots. I have to say Tori has tried really hard. Even thought she broke her arm this summer and was unable to attend the volleyball camps, she has been outside whacking the ball against the side of the house every day. I am proud of her for trying so hard. Way to go Victoria!

A bit of a scare...

Last night we were trying to fix the blog. I had a Pyzam background that just wouldn't go away. I asked Ron to "hack into it" for me, being the geek he is. We were hacking away and gasp, the blog was went blank. We both looked at each other and then back at the white screen. No matter how many times we refreshed the page, it was blank. I thought I was going to cry. All of my journaling...gone. We then snooped around a little while longer and low and behold we stumbled upon a post list and Wa-laa my wonderful geek brought it all back!! I was so happy.

I have decided each time I post, I am going to copy the journal entry and pic into a word doc. Just as a back up. If any of you have a better way to back up your blog, please pass it on to me. :O)

Off to School!

We sent the girls off to school this morning. Victoria looked nervous and pale...as in, "Holy Crud, I am going to Junior High, I think I am gonna puke." Courtney had a similar look. Caitlin held
together well and Brianne was so excited to go that she was all bubbly and happy this morning!

Tiffany was upset that she couldn't go on the bus too! As we walked home she said," I want to get on bus, I want to go to school too!" We told her not to worry, she'd get to go to school someday.

Here are some pics walking out the door.

Tori - 7th grade


Caitlin & Courtney - 5th grade


Brianne - 2nd grade

End of Summer Party

This weekend we had some fun wrapping up the Summer. I took the girls to Jumpin' Party. Tiffany seemed to really have fun! We had friends over for a slumber party and on Saturday we BBQ, made ice cream, swam, played tennis, and played Wii. It was a fun way to close out our summer vacation!

Summer is over...School is in!

Only a Mother could understand how I am feeling today...

Last May when the kids were getting out of school, I will admit, I was dreading it. This summer vacation was going to be a full three months, not the typical, Texas two and (barely) half months vacation. Just that feeling of having to entertain the kids for three months left me feeling a little dizzy.

However, I knew back in May that when the summer was over, I'd wish we could have played together more and had one more swing at dusk with cold sodas, slappin' the mosquitoes away from our ankles! Sure enough, that is how I am feeling today. I am just wishing the kids could be kids just a little bit longer this summer before they have to go back to getting up at 5Am and catching the bus. They grow up so much over the school year, learning good and bad (sigh) things. I will miss the girls when they go back to school on Monday. But, I am excited for them. and this new stage of their lives.

Victoria is beginning Junior High. She seems really excited for the new freedom and the several classes she gets to dabble in. The twins begin at the Intermediate school. They are a feeling a little intimidated by the lockers and having a few classes instead of one. But I know they will do great and will get the hang of their new schedule soon. Brianne met her new teacher today. What a doll. She is so nice. Brianne couldn't have been paired up with a better teacher. I am so excited for her to enjoy second grade and to learn, learn, learn!

As for Tiffany. Well, she will be happy to have the DVR and Wii back all to herself! ;-)

Looking back over the summer, I have to say we had a blast! They day the girls got out of school we hopped in the van and left for Southern California. Disney was a blast with Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter, visiting the beaches and exploring the National Parks of Southwest America. What a fun way to kick-off summer!

Another fun memory was a last minute visit to Bobbi and Jonathan in Iowa...or was it Heaven? We enjoyed, hanging out with them at their new home, catching lightening bugs, swimming, shopping, going out on dates, going to the Mall of America, and stepping into Wisconsin for lunch so that we could all say we had been there once!

More fun memories of this summer are, playing outside with the kids until it was darker than dark, riding bikes, swimming, making whirlpools in the pool (ah, I feel sea sick!), BBQ's with friends, teaching the girls how to bake, experimenting with hair color (note: Tori is now a blonde, with some highlights of brown), searching for a Wii fit and Mario Kart game, watching Brianne learn to swim... and this is just a few memories!

Thanks y'all for all of the fun times of summer 2008! XOXO!

End of Chemo party!

A family in our ward has a young daughter who has been battling cancer for the last 2 years. She took her last chemo medicine Thursday night. We thought it would be fun to have a surprise party for her. We enjoyed watching her play, eat, swim and just be a kid who feels healthy! Congrats Giggle Box!

You can spot her in the pics. She is the one with the curly hair. Her mom tells us that it use to be straight, the chemo made it go curly!

School Shopping

Do you ever feel like pulling your hair out trying to school shop? Ha! Magnify shopping with your one little sweetie by 10. Alright, ya I only have 5 girls but they should be counted as double. So, 10. I swear trying to shoe shop with all of these kids is like trying to shop with Imelda Marcos. "Ah they are all so pretty! Which one should I pick? Can I have three?" Meanwhile the two year old sees her older sisters trying on shoes, so hey why not her too?




Good news. I finished all school shopping today! YES! YES! YES! Another year of back to school shopping for these young ladies....conquered!!

My Knol @ Google.com

So, I finally did it. I can brag. I am a published author. Haha. If you could call a knol at google.com published.

For years I have been meaning to write a book on Potty Training. I am not sure how I got so lucky to figure out this system, but it really works in potty training a toddler. Hopefully, by writing this Knol, I will help other mothers out there struggling in this stage of life.

http://knol.google.com/k/danielle-turner/how-to-potty-train-your-toddler/12ats0miqe7wb/2#toddler/12ats0miqe7wb/2#

Tropical Sprinkle

Well, I am a little disappointed. I was hoping for a good rain storm...and there was nothing this morning. A sprinkle here and there. That's about it. No thunder, no lightening. Nothing. The radar maps make the storm look huge as it barrels down on the coast. It is amazing how quickly a tropical storm falls apart once it hits land.

Edouard!

So today we made a few preparations for Tropical Storm Edouard..or is it a Hurricane? The weather people can't seem to make up their mind as to what it will be once it comes ashore at Galveston. The kids are excited about the storm! At this point I don't really care. I have food, water and fuel. Bring it on Edouard!

Oklahoma Pioneer Women Museum & Marland Oil Baron Mansion

Have you ever been driving down the freeway and you see a brown colored interstate sign that tells you of a sight of interested at the next exit? We saw a few of them and stopped. Typically we don't do that, we just roar right past. I guess because we had a little bit extra time we decided to stop.

The first place we stopped was the Oklahoma Pioneer Women Museum.
Here is a pic of the Pioneer mother and child statue. It was huge!



On the same road was the Marland Mansion. It belonged to an old oil baron. He must have made good money because this place was big. One of the rooms had a gold leaf ceiling. Spectacular! It reminded me of something one would see in Europe.

Kansas City & STEAK!

You can't visit Kansas City and not stop for a steak! Jonathan found us this steak house by word of mouth. It is called Jess & Jim's. It was delicious! http://www.jessandjims.com/