Hurrican Ike - Part I

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2008
We got word finally that Ike was most likely going to take a direct hit on Galveston/Houston. We live in North Houston so usually we would be far enough inland that a Hurricane would not pose such a problem – but with storms getting worse these days – that was not to be. So I took the kids to school and went to go get gas. That was my first clue that I had waited too long. Lines were starting to form and regular unleaded gas was already out at the station I was at. I saw tucks with trailers going by with boats on the back (for clean-up after) and trucks going by with plywood in them to board up windows. I got gas and Robert took his car to get gas. Then I went to Walmart for some things… Wow! The water, bread and batteries were already gone and the checkout was a zoo. All registers open with lines at all of them. And when it is Walmart – it is a lot of lines! I then headed across the street to Lowes and was able to get some D and C batteries for flashlights and my sister-in-laws radio and 5 cases of water. Then on to Walgreens for diapers and wipes. And in good ole’ Texas style – love bugs were attacking us the whole time. Swarms of them everywhere – Carson thought it was really funny that they were getting in the car with us. About this same time I noticed that Carson was clutching his backpack (that he carries with him everywhere) a little tighter then normal and was babbling on and on and laughing about his gum… Then I realized what he was excited about. Gum. In his backpack. That wasn’t there before. What a little klepto! If I knew what store he swiped it from, I could take them a dollar…  Then I was on my way to pick up the kids from school and they were so excited because they knew they were off the next day. Parker was telling me all about ‘Ike’ and explaining what a hurricane was by ‘swirling’ his hands around in description… We settled in for the night and relaxed. Not much left to do but wait for Friday night…

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2OO8
Had a relaxing day doing not much of anything but waiting. The kids played outside and I tried to do laundry (especially towels and underwear) and I wanted to clean the baths good so I could fill them with water in case we needed it. I packed a little basket with all the necessities for the long night. Flashlights, charged iPods (for Robert and I to listen to the news with our FM radio converter), the kids DS’s and a few other things. I cleaned out the master closet and the kids made a bed on the floor in case we needed it. It was a beautiful day until it got a little overcast and windy in the late afternoon. That night the kids and I came up to bed. I made them pallets on the floor and we all fell asleep while Robert got a little last minute computer time in... More to come later...

Here are some photos of our preperation and waiting...