Post-Ike

When we heard that there was a mandatory evacuation, I jumped at the chance to go to Arizona. So we took the 14 hour trek to Arizona once again, this time with both cats (I took one alone in December when Meowfish was still a little tyke and we didn't have Abakles). I was more than happy to make the trip, I was incredibly sorry I hadn't gone in the summer to see all my friends back there. People there seemed to think I was crazy for wanting to do it. Apparently, I could of stayed MUCH longer since I still don't have school. But Jared is back in school already, so I get to blog about it instead.

Meowfish (Abakles in the carrier) enjoying a nap on the way to AZ. I don't know what is up with that cat, but he always has the weirdest sleeping positions. He probably actually enjoyed being so smushed. 

Funnily enough, this one and bunch of others with Meowfish in weird positions on the way home are the only pictures we took of the trip. But it was really great, I was lucky enough to see quite a few of my friends, and even my Grandma Layton. In fact, Jared's mom threw us barbecue and we had quite a few of Jared's friends (and their families) come over. 

When we got home, my stomach was churning as I looked at the neighborhoods around us and saw the roof, window, fence, and plant damage. Not to mention the electric poles lying on the ground - we already had guessed we wouldn't have electricity. But we we got home, much to our surprise and happiness, we hardly had any damage. Of course, the electricity was out - but nothing we couldn't handle.

 Jared posing with some of the damage - as you can see he is smiling because it was not bad at all. It did pummel the gate he had worked so hard on though.

For the next couple days, I had a lot of time to ponder how lucky I am. With the electricity out, I found myself actually liking to browse Walmart (one of the stores with electricity) - something I had previously despised. I sat in front of each food I bought and thought about how long it would last or if I could eat it all now, skipping the frozen foods section entirely. Ice was limited. Gas was limited, we had to (still have to) think about our usage of gas constantly. But going to bed early and the heat was the hardest part. I liked not having the TV or DVD player. It was kind of nice to talk to Jared and do shadow puppets on the wall. It was also hard not knowing what was going on unless we happened to be in the car listening to the radio. Luckily, Jared's school had electricity so we could charge our phones and check on email on occasion. And we went fishing at our little community pond A LOT. Only yesterday, did I finally take some pictures though. That's a whole other story though, one I'll save for a later time since this blog is already getting ridiculously long. 

And I figured out what I forgot in the last blog - the best news of all. I'm an AUNT! I have the most adorable niece ever. Look for pictures on Ben and Tara's blog. There are a ton - she's a cutie. Here's just one.

I love this one because you can really see her chubby cheeks and her eyes are open.