Tropical Storm Fay has moved on, after dropping over 20 inches of rain on our part of Leon County. All in all, it was much ado about nothing.
They closed schools on Friday, which stunned me. I don't use that term lightly... I was seriously shocked. I got the call about 2pm on Thursday, and immediately walked back to my office to look at the forecast again. After all, there was no way they were looking at the same reports I was. I was seeing a forecast for minor wind and some rain, nothing all that urgent.
Sure enough, schools were closed, and it sprinkled all day Friday. With a breeze. Sure am glad we kept the kids safe at home for that, they might have gotten wet. Oh, well. I can only imagine the weight of responsibility for all those kids, but I wonder about teaching our kids to be afraid of some wind and rain.
Saturday was a bit more windy, and it rained solid all day, but once again, not all that big a deal. Some folks disagree, and there was some flooding in some areas around here, and I'm sorry about that, but it could have been much worse.
I'm thrilled that our current house doesn't have any drainage/flooding problems, and it got tested pretty well with 20 inches in about 30 hours. I can't help but wonder if our old house flooded. I hope not, but I'm glad that I don't own it anymore.
Take care, all!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A Return to Normal
Tomorrow is the first day of school. While this isn't as momentous as the first day of Kindergarten, etc, it's still pretty exciting for us.
The kids packed thier shiny new backpacks full of shiney new school supplies today and are ready to head out to 3rd and 1st grades tomorrow. We met teachers on Friday, and everyone is pretty pleased with who ended up where. Chase, of course, already knew where she was headed, but David didn't have a clue. He didn't get the exact teacher that he wanted, but I think he was satisfied. He has some friends in his class, so that's always a good thing.
I'll try to post up a few snapshots here of the kids as they head out in the morning. Wish them luck!
The kids packed thier shiny new backpacks full of shiney new school supplies today and are ready to head out to 3rd and 1st grades tomorrow. We met teachers on Friday, and everyone is pretty pleased with who ended up where. Chase, of course, already knew where she was headed, but David didn't have a clue. He didn't get the exact teacher that he wanted, but I think he was satisfied. He has some friends in his class, so that's always a good thing.
I'll try to post up a few snapshots here of the kids as they head out in the morning. Wish them luck!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Star Wars: Clone Wars
So the family headed out tonight to take in the new Star Wars movie - Clone Wars. I have to say, I really enjoyed it, and of course the kids loved it. Even Chase thought is was 'awesome'.
While at the theater, we discovered that a bunch of folks had decided to come out in costume. These folks were, really, really decked out. Of course, I took some pictures, but I only had my smartphone, so they aren't the best, but here they are.
I gotta say, my personal favorite was the Stormtrooper. His helmet had a voice synthesizer that allowed him to sound just like a Trooper from the movies. I had David ask him if "he had seen the new BT-16", to which he replied "No, not yet". Sorry, I was geeking out there for a second.
Overall, we had a great time, and while I'm not going to review the movie here, if you like Star Wars, go see it, it was fun.
While at the theater, we discovered that a bunch of folks had decided to come out in costume. These folks were, really, really decked out. Of course, I took some pictures, but I only had my smartphone, so they aren't the best, but here they are.
I gotta say, my personal favorite was the Stormtrooper. His helmet had a voice synthesizer that allowed him to sound just like a Trooper from the movies. I had David ask him if "he had seen the new BT-16", to which he replied "No, not yet". Sorry, I was geeking out there for a second.
Overall, we had a great time, and while I'm not going to review the movie here, if you like Star Wars, go see it, it was fun.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Camping in Bahia Honda
Last week, we headed south to Bahia Honda State Park in the Keys. Located just south of Marathon, the park is absolutely gorgeous - probably the prettiest beaches in the Keys.
Yes, we went camping. In the Keys. In August. I was reluctant to do it when Holly suggested it (I don't usually camp in the summer - anywhere) but agreed once I figured out I could bring an air conditioner for the tent.
We had a great time. The kids got to snorkel in beautiful waters, and see some wildlife they would never get an opportunity to see. It's a shame that we didn't have a waterproof camera, since most of that wildlife was in three feet of salt water.
I think the coolest thing we saw was a baby sea turtle, swimming out to sea. There were nests up and down he beach, and on Wednesday morning, about 11am, I spotted a dark object in the surf. David and I swam over and saw that it was a small turtle, about five inches long, swimming like crazy for open water. Holly and Chase joined us and we watched the turtle for a minute or so, before backing off and letting it get on with its business. It was awesome.
We also saw stingrays, a barracuda, and a variety of fish and coral - all within a half mile of our tent. That's a heck of a beach.
The weather was fine - hot as hades, but bearable in the shade with a breeze. It stormed pretty bad the first night, but the tent held up to the 40mph winds and horizontal rain very well.
We drove down to Key West as well, but none of us were very impressed. We did go into Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, which was very nice, but the rest of the city was underwhelming.
We hunted down four geocaches in the Keys, which was a lot of fun.
I've attached a slide show of pictures taken on the trip.
Cheers!
Yes, we went camping. In the Keys. In August. I was reluctant to do it when Holly suggested it (I don't usually camp in the summer - anywhere) but agreed once I figured out I could bring an air conditioner for the tent.
We had a great time. The kids got to snorkel in beautiful waters, and see some wildlife they would never get an opportunity to see. It's a shame that we didn't have a waterproof camera, since most of that wildlife was in three feet of salt water.
I think the coolest thing we saw was a baby sea turtle, swimming out to sea. There were nests up and down he beach, and on Wednesday morning, about 11am, I spotted a dark object in the surf. David and I swam over and saw that it was a small turtle, about five inches long, swimming like crazy for open water. Holly and Chase joined us and we watched the turtle for a minute or so, before backing off and letting it get on with its business. It was awesome.
We also saw stingrays, a barracuda, and a variety of fish and coral - all within a half mile of our tent. That's a heck of a beach.
The weather was fine - hot as hades, but bearable in the shade with a breeze. It stormed pretty bad the first night, but the tent held up to the 40mph winds and horizontal rain very well.
We drove down to Key West as well, but none of us were very impressed. We did go into Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, which was very nice, but the rest of the city was underwhelming.
We hunted down four geocaches in the Keys, which was a lot of fun.
I've attached a slide show of pictures taken on the trip.
Cheers!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Bahia Honda
We spent a few days last week camping in Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys. It was a beautiful place, with some great snorkeling. We'll get some details and pictures up here as soon as possible.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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