Sarah the hairdresser

Last night I brought home a pair of scissors (Sarah likes to call them safety scissors from watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) for Sarah to practice with, since her class is learning how to cut in preschool. She had the scissors for all of 2 minutes when I turned my head for a second. Of course what do you think she did? She chopped off a 3-inch long chunk of hair from the back of her head. Luckily she has so much hair that it is not noticeable and she has a haircut scheduled for Wednesday anyways. But there was a lot of hair on the floor! The things kids do...

Hurricane Ike

We survived Hurricane Ike! I have not been good at updating everyone, so sorry about that! We rode out the storm in Sugar Land, and it was like nothing I have ever experienced. We didn't sleep much Friday night because of the wind and the trees banging against the house. We sat on the patio until it got too windy to be outside and watched transformers going out in a flash of lime green light. Not a good sign. Power flickered on and off about 10 times before finally going out for good sometime after midnight. We were able to listen to news coverage on the radio so that was good. Once the sun came up we were able to go outside and look around. Tree branches and leaves littered the yards and streets but nothing too terrible. Saturday afternoon Kenneth tried to get back into Seabrook to see if our house had flooded but was turned away by the police. He got a firsthand look at the disaster on Highway 146 - boats strewn all across the road. So we decided to head up to Ft. Worth since the power was not expected to come back on for a while (Kenneth's grandparents in Sugar Land got their power back on today - Thursday).

We had to detour through Austin because I-45 up to Ft. Worth was closed due to debris. We spent the night at a friend's house in Austin before heading up to Ft. Worth on Sunday. It was nice to arrive in Ft. Worth - Kenneth went to the yacht club for a Sunday afternoon race and Sarah and I relaxed with my mom. We stayed until Tuesday when Seabrook was finally opened to residents. We stocked up on fuel and groceries before hitting the road.

Driving through Houston was unbelievable - roofs torn up and billboards knocked over. Once we got down to Clear Lake we were completely speechless. Bulldozers had cleared most of the debris from the roads but it was all stacked on the sides of the roads. Boats were everywhere. I will try to upload our pictures later when I find the cable to hook up the camera. We stopped by Lakewood Yacht Club to check on some friends' boats. Let me just say that it is going to take a very long time to clean that mess up. There were 50-foot boats in the parking lot resting on their keels. The sail lockers where people store their sailing stuff was completely gone. The gazebo on the point - vanished. The cabanas have holes blown through the sides of them. It was a very sad sight to see. We have always seen hurricane damage on tv but this time we know all of the places the pictures are being taken.

So we very nervously drove through Seabrook past a police checkpoint to our house. All we could see was ruined furniture and people's belongings stacked by the curb waiting for pickup. Most of Seabrook east of 146 flooded - I think they are estimating that 1/4 of the city has been displaced. There are houses missing from the road our subdivision is off of. But as we turned into our subdivision we were extremely relieved. The debris line from the flooding stopped just inside the entrance to our subdivision. We were spared - one of 2 neighborhoods east of 146 that did not flood. We feel extremely blessed and unbelievably relieved. We lost some shingles off our roof and a few sections of fence are down. The two trees in front of our house were blown over but we were able to re-stake them, and they should be fine. Power is out still and the sewage/water system is in emergency operation. The geniuses who designed the main water treatment facility planted it right off the bay. There are rumors that it will have to be completely rebuilt. So we have no power and essentially no sewer system and the city is under a boil water order. The fire station and city hall flooded, which is a logistical nightmare for the city leaders.

We decided to retreat to Kenneth's parents' house, which has had power since right after the storm (they have underground power lines - lucky dogs!) The League City boil water order has been lifted so we plan on hanging here for a while. A few grocery stores are starting to open - but mostly on generator power. So no refrigerated/frozen goods are available yet. I can't believe how we ever survived without eggs, butter and meat before now! We were able to pick up some boxed milk in Ft. Worth so at least we have that!

Sarah's preschool is closed until further notice - our church suffered severe roof and water damage. But her gymnastics school opened today, so on Monday we can resume class. It will be nice to have an activity for her to look forward to. So after sleeping in 4 different beds in a week, we are leading a semi-normal life again even though everything/everyone around us is in disaster mode. We are safe, we did not lose any of our belongings and that is a wonderful situation to be in. I will try to upload some photos and now that we are somewhat settled I can try to catch up on my blog postings - Sarah's birthday, etc.

Alaska

8.10.08 - Sunday - On board the Norwegian Pearl! Of course we went straight to the buffet and had some lunch as the ship departed. Not intimidated by the rainy and slightly chilly Seattle weather, the Horne side of the family ate by the pool. Sarah was surprised by some streamers and balloons and a big Happy Birthday cake when we opened the door to our cabin. Once our bags arrived at our cabin, we unpacked and hung out until an early dinner at the buffet. We went to the opening show and Sarah thought it was so entertaining that she promptly fell asleep! So back to the room with a sleeping Sarah (who slept all night in her bunk bed right above Mommy and Daddy's bed). Kenneth, Bob, Jan, and Pam met in the casino for some gambling.
8.11.08 - Monday - Sarah's big #3! She opened some small presents from Mommy and Daddy as soon as she woke up. Then after quick breakfast at the buffet, Sarah was off to the Aqua Kid's Club to watch some Dora and play with Legos. She even got her face painted! Some excitement on the ship as a Coast Guard helicopter had to pickup two passengers for medical evacuation (one lady broke her hip and a gentleman had a heart attack). Big formal dinner tonight - everyone got all dressed up. We did a big family picture on the stairs. Sarah yelled "banana bread" (instead of "cheese") every time the photographer took a picture so there were some big smiles in the photo! At dinner, Kenneth got Anthony to try the duck and it was a big hit with both of them. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Sarah and shared some more cake.
8.12.08 - Tuesday - Had breakfast outside on the back of the ship even though it was cold and misty. We saw some icebergs too! Sarah went to Kid's Club again - she sang songs, went to the jungle gym, and watched a movie. Meanwhile Bob, Jan, Anthony, Ashley, Kenneth, Bevin, Misha, Mica, Moshe, and Machi went bowling! We had a blast even though the ship rocked every once in a while. Ship arrived in Juneau. Doug, Treanne, Misha, Mica, Jan, Ashley, Bevin and Sarah went window shopping downtown and then rode a tram up Mt. Roberts. We saw a bald eagle that had been injured in the beak and left eye. It had an amazing wing span of 6.5 feet! We climbed through muddy terrain and saw some beautiful scenery. Misha, Mica, Ashley and Doug went all the way up and saw some snow! We watched a little movie about the Tlinglit Native Americans and after yawning (loudly) twice Sarah fell asleep. Meanwhile, Bob, Anthony, and Kenneth toured the local watering holes. It was pouring down rain as we waited to get on the ship and of course Sarah had to go potty. Poor thing had a complete meltdown - thankfully we had lots of family to help us (thanks Misha and Treanne!) Sarah and Mommy ordered room service and relaxed and then Sarah chatted a little with Grammy via cell phone.
8.13.08 - Wednesday - Arrived in Skagway. Cold and rainy. We walked down Broadway (the main street) and went into some shops. Sarah got a stuffed igloo with some animals and Bevin picked up some scrapbooking necessities. Then Bevin and Sarah went back to the boat for a much needed nap. Woke up at 5:30 and got dressed for dinner. Met up with Ashley, Anthony Misha, Mica, Moshe, Machi, Doug and Treanne and ate at Summer Palace. Sarah spent the night with Misha and Mica in their cabin. Mommy and Daddy went to the casino and met up with Bob, Jan, and Anthony (who had been making friends in the hot tub!). Kenneth and I played craps and had lots of fun. We all had midnight snacks at the Blue Lagoon. The waiter told Kenneth he'd "scumbag" (come back but with an accent) so we had a little fun with that.
8.14.08 - Thursday - Cruised through Glacier Bay and saw some really big glaciers. We even saw a waterfall pouring through a hole in one of the icebergs. We sat on the back deck (Great Outdoors) to watch the glaciers. In the afternoon we saw some whales splashing too! Sarah played in the Kids Club all morning while Kenneth, Bob, and Bevin enjoyed a couple of cool drinks in the Bliss Ultra Lounge. Cool thing about Kids Club is the phone/pager they give the parents. It can call anywhere on the ship - for free!! Then Kenneth, Bevin, Bob, and Sarah had a late lunch (at the buffet!). Then it was nap time until it was time to eat AGAIN! We had dinner at La Cucina Italian restaurant with Jan, Bob, and Anthony and enjoyed a bottle of wine. Towards the end of dinner the ship was rocking quite a bit
8.15.08 - Friday - Arrived in Ketchikan - Salmon Capitol of the World! We walked around all the shops and watched some salmon swimming upstream. We saw a sea lion in the middle of all the salmon too! I was able to find a beautiful Christmas ornament for our collection at one of the artisan's shops. When we got back on the ship we went swimming with Bob, Anthony, and Ashley. There was a huge water slide but Mommy's bottom kept getting stuck so we didn't go down very many times! Then Sarah and Mommy had lunch and a little nap. Sarah went to Kid's Club while the rest of the family met for dinner - I had some delicious mushroom risotto. Mommy picked Sarah up from Kid's Club and we went to the Chocoholic Buffet. Then we went back to the room and ordered the Horne family favorite - mac and cheese!
8.16.08 - Saturday - Last day at sea! Sarah went to Kid's Club in the morning and Mommy and Daddy took a long nap! We arrived in Victoria and took a short (ha ha!) walk to the Inner Harbor in Downtown Victoria. The short walk took forever and we opted for a cab on the way back to the ship! Jan, Bob, Anthony, Ashley, Kenneth, Bevin, and Sarah had sodas and some awesome fries at a little restaurant overlooking the harbor. Once back on the ship we finished packing - we were ready to go ashore in Seattle!

The Chronicles of an Almost Three-Year Old

I can't believe my baby will be three on Monday! You can tell she's outgrown the "terrible" twos because she is so sweet and loving now. She has got a huge heart and a lot of love to give. The other day we were doing our swimming lesson, and Papaw was videotaping. She swam over to the camera and said Papaw, this is my best friend Mommy, my very best friend Mommy. I almost cried it was so sweet and how cool that it's on video? And boy does she love telling stories - they start "And one day..." Then each additional sentence starts "And one day..." It's so cute, and she is so creative - she comes up with some sweet little stories (mostly about animals and princesses).

I just love the way she talks these days - the other day she said refrigalator for refrigerator. And her new favorite movie is Lion King so she will sing Hapumba Matata (Hakuna Matata) for you anytime. She's not a shy child either - that's for sure. We went clothes shopping a few days ago, and she found a shirt she liked. Well she wasn't waiting until we got home to wear it...Before I could blink, she had taken all her clothes off (including panties) and was putting the new shirt on. And LaLa had a new shirt on as well by the time we left the store =).

Anyways, the big birthday party is coming up pretty quick, and we look forward to seeing everyone. Sarah is very excited - she talks about her BIG party all the time. Since her feet almost touch the end of her toddler bed, she got an early birthday present from Memaw and Paw - a new twin bed. She calls it her new big comfy bed. She sleeps like a champ! (Can't say she sleeps like a baby because, well, babies just don't sleep very well in my opinion!) Well off to go play!

Summer is HOT!

I am totally wiped out! We went to the Kemah Boardwalk this morning for a playgroup, and it was HOT! It's amazing how much energy the sun takes out of you. But Sarah had fun playing with some little girls her age that we haven't seen in a while. She did not want to ride the train though - the whistle was pretty loud so I don't blame her. So anyways, I decided this was a good time to sit down and take a break (in the air conditioning) and update my blog.

Sarah has officially started the Why stage. Sometimes I think her automatic response to everything is "Why?" although sometimes she genuinely wants to know. Occasionally I have to resort to the old "Because Mommy says so..."

Now I am laughing so hard I can barely type. Sarah just came out of her room with nothing but Tinkerbell wings on. I tried to snap a photo but she was flying like Tinkerbell too fast for me to get the picture. I guess it's cooler with no clothes! She definitely has a mind of her own but she is too cute - keeps me laughing that's for sure!

Speaking of having a mind of her own...she has finally decided that swimming under water is not such a bad thing after all. We had a swim lesson earlier this week (I've been teaching her myself this summer). We've been working on facial self-submersion (having her put her face in the water by herself) and at the end of our lesson she actually asked if we could go under the water and swim away from the fishies and sharks. Then we got out the diving rings and put them on the steps and she would dunk herself under water to get the rings ("magic bracelets"). Then she would jump off the steps to me and I'd help her swim to the wall. Well after a few rounds of this, she looked at me and said "I do it my MYself" (she puts the emphasis on my when she says myself - she used to say my byself). Then she jumped in and swam to the wall. Amazing!

Cracker Boom Booms

We survived the fireworks - or as Sarah calls them cracker boom booms. We spent an exciting 4th of July weekend in Ft. Worth...Thursday night we drove straight to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens for a concert in the park. Sarah had a blast running around and dancing to the music. Then the concert ended with some spectacular fireworks - Sarah was not impressed. Not a big fan of anything loud, Sarah was a trooper anyways.



On Friday Kenneth sailed in the Ft. Worth Boat Club's annual Commodore's race and won! (Are we really surprised by that??) After a few cool drinks at the club Kenneth and crew sailed Mom's J-27 "Alegre" across the lake to the dock outside Mom's house. Then after a wonderful barbecue dinner, we sailed back to the boat club and arrived just in time for the fireworks. Sarah was a little scared at first but armed with Mommy Dumbo and Baby Dumbo and the always faithful LaLa she made peace with the fireworks. She sat in Grammy's lap and named the colors of all the fireworks.

Saturday Kenneth and I went over to Denton to visit Alex, Byron, and Harley while Sarah took Grammy to the library. They watched a puppet show and played on the train before checking out some books and movies.

Sunday we were able to swim in the pool while Kenneth sailed in the Sunday race - I think they got second? After that it was time to hit the road. Sarah fell asleep before we were even out of the driveway and slept most of the way home. I think we were all a little worn out!

Down By the River

Okay well it seems like this blogging thing is the thing to do these days so I'll give it a shot...We've almost recovered from our trip to New Braunfels. It was Sarah's first time to float the river! We stayed at our friends' house on the Guadalupe - arrived Thursday afternoon (after a stop at HEB). We had some homemade fajitas a la Chef Ken for dinner.

Friday we had a relaxing day by the river - drinking cold beer (and juice) and playing in the river. Sarah was a little wary at first but once she got in a few times she had a blast and man was the water cold! Grandma Kate joined us Friday afternoon after visiting Uncle Alex in Denton. Uncle Alex wasn't able to make it because of crazy traffic in Waco. Friday night we just had pizza and watched movies.

Saturday morning we all got in tubes and floated the river right in front of the house (about a 10 minute walk up the river and then 30-45 minutes float down to the house). We had planned to float the Comal River in the afternoon but Mother Nature had other plans. Beverly and Richard arrived around noon and we all sat under the covered patio with our adult beverages and juice for Sarah. Lightning struck a tree right across the river from us and there were some crazy people floating on the river anyway. Saturday night we had dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene. Chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes are awesome anytime!! We got home in time to watch NASCAR - Carl won yea!!!

Sunday morning we packed up for the trip home - we brought home more food than we know what to do with. Sarah was very well behaved and loved playing with "new" toys at somebody else's house. Sarah and I went to gymnastics class as usual on Monday - she was a little fireball. Oh well - she had fun and loves running around with her friends.

Today we planned on swimming lessons but had thunderstorms - so we'll have to postpone. Sarah is pretty good these days - can't believe potty training went as easily as it did. She's even graduated to panties at night (with a double change of sheets on the bed just in case!). Can't believe how much she's growing - she's already in a size 4! Our 3 year checkup in August should be interesting. Hope everyone is doing well - I'll try to update often so check back!