The Aftermath....

Irene the Great has gone away but on her way she did pass our way.

All and all, we fared quite well with just a little water in the basement and a ton of branches and leaves on our yard. Irene did provide us with 7 inches of rain, which we really did not need, but the wind was not as intense as we thought it would be. This afternoon the wind gusts are still pretty impressive and strong. Now we are just keeping our fingers crossed that the trees don't fall or the power goes out.

Irene did provide two "natural" pools in our back and side yards which of course Mike and D had to stand in.

In the end, we are very thankful for how the storm passed through and that, even if some of our preparations were extreme, they paid off in the end and our home is still afloat. Now the sun has to come out because I can't handle being in this house anymore with all this crazy boy energy......

Rain, Rain.........

GO AWAY. PLEASE DON'T COME BACK SOME OTHER DAY!

As we are now about 24 hours from, by all weather accounts, the biggest storm to hit the East Coast in years, I can honestly say I just want to get it over with now. As many of you know, I am not the best person in the world when it comes to patience and not knowing what is going to happen. And owning a house verse renting a house in a situation like this takes on a whole new perspective. The potential damage is now my own and what could be sucks.

With that said, we have taken every precaution they have suggested. Items have been moved to higher ground such as important papers, gutter extensions have been put on and checked. All that can be brought in has been and everything else has been tied down. We have enough water, food and toys to keep everyone happy. Luckily we have two areas in our house that have limited windows should it get really bad. We have a little boy who just said, "Daddy is letting me eat in the bed. It's Frosted Flakes, which is perfect to eat in the bed, right?" And we really don't have to leave the house tomorrow.

We are not by the shore nor any large body of water so the storm surge everyone is talking about will not be a huge factor for us. There is a stream that will most likely flood but it is down from us. However, like so many on the East Coast who are in the path of this storm we have a number of very large, and beautiful tress, which might be damaged. The crappy part of this is that with all the high winds that are expected a fair amount of leaves will fall off making our fall foliage season shorter and less colorful. Totally a bummer!

Mother Nature is Mother Nature so we now must just wait. My one question in all this is who pissed Mother Nature off so much this year?? Whoever you are, please stop. No one needs to deal with her wrath like this. Until after our "visit" from Irene......

Playland

Last week D and I went to Rye Playland with a very good friend of mind and her son for an afternoon of "high flying" adventures and fun. As a side note, it was a very fun day and D got very confused when I told him I used to go to Playland as a kid. For those of you who are not from the East Coast, Rye Playland was built in 1928 and is one of the first amusement parks. It still operates eight original rides which pre-date back to 1930. It features both adults and Kiddyland rides and is home to the Dragon Coaster and was featured in the film "Big" with Tom Hanks.



Ok, enough of the useless knowledge. After getting our wristbands and being confused as to what type of wristbands we needed to purchase, off we went. Truth be told, I am an amusement park novice when it comes to doing these things by myself. Traditionally Mike tags along and whatever I don't want to do or don't think is a good idea, Mike takes D and off they go. Totally did not have that option this time around. And what do you think is the first ride we put the kids on??? Yes, the rollar coaster which adults could not go on and once it took off, we could not see them until they got back to the start. I know, really smart. However, D had a BLAST on it and LOVED every second of it. They proceed to go on this ride two times afterwards.


And if I did not think D was a thrill seeker (I know, really), when asked what ride he wanted to go on next, he proudly announced he wanted to go on the "mini himalaya." And yes, it did spin quite fast and by the time the ride ended, D was a little squished. For the record, he did not ask to go on this one again.


We also went on this "Up, Up and Away" ride that spun around as it tilted in the air. And yes, D spun that wheel as hard and as fast as one little boy could. Personal I as glad when the ride was over as I was getting a little dizzy.




Of course there were the swings and the carousal that were not to be missed .....


As as the day came to a close, ice cream and boardwalk games were played (and thankfully won) and back in the car we went. Though it took us two hours of Friday night traffic to get home, we did beat the crazy thunderstorms that night and D fell asleep in the car for the first hour. All the all not too bad for a beginner.

Shore to Please

This past week we escaped to the shore for a few days and enjoyed beautiful weather and good friends. During our days away there was.......

A quiet stroll with Daddy.......


Tons of adventures in the sand. Especially finding giant holes to explore and sit in..


Great kite flying.......


Sand castle buildings and sand sculptures......


And, of course, just plan fun in the sun.....

Wordless Wednesday - FINALLY!!!!

Wordless Wednesday