"Momma! Look outside!!"

Due to a crazy, extremely rare winter storm, South Carolina got DUMPED with snow last night. Charleston registered almost 3.5"! We moved from the base out to Summerville, and while the official total for the town was 4", we clearly got more than that at our house! (In case you can't see it, the ruler is completely covered up to the 7" mark! SEVEN INCHES!)

Hooray for September!

The last two days have been so wonderful here! As soon as we turned the calendar over to September, the weather has been cooler and it definitely feels like fall...and I LOVE it! I have shut off my air conditioner for the time being, and actually have my windows open! Now, don't get me wrong, I love summer and all it brings: barbecues, the beach, and vacations, but man I love the change of the seasons. Maybe it's becuase I grew up in Florida where there is only two seasons: hot and hotter. But here in Charleston the seasons actually shift and it's so great for me. And now that I've spent the last two days in jeans instead of shorts, I'm so ready to get out my fall decorations and start thinking about Halloween.

Of course I'm sure that the temps will fluctuate through out the month, but I'm really loving this right now and I'll take it while it's here!

Summer in the South.

This was the view from my driveway this afternoon.

Daily thunderstorms are back. Yes ma'am...summer has returned to the South.

Hooray for nice weather!

It's been absolutely GORGEOUS here the last few days, so when the hubby got home from work this afternoon we headed to one of the many parks in base housing.

Hubby and the boys played some b-ball...

...while the Princess had a blast on the swing!

I tried to play some ball with the boys but was abruptly told by my oh so precious Jonah that I was "too old". Thanks son, thanks a lot.

Pipin' hot cup of chocolatey deliciousness.

When it's 30-some degrees outside, there's no better way to start the day.

Riding it out...

Well, since it's just going to be a tropical storm, and Charleston is not projected to take a direct hit anymore, the base has decided not to evacuate. Well, at least that's what I'm assuming, since no one was informed of an actual decision being made. Off and on last night there were cars that had backseats packed to the roof heading off base. But since it's not mandatory, I am riding it out. The military would reimburse us for travel and expenses if they made us leave, but since they're not, we would be out all that cash. And since they're talking about Ike being on almost the exact same path as Hanna, I'd prefer to save my small amount of evacuation money for a storm that really would do some damage.

Hanna is forecasted to make landfall farther up the South Carolina coast, and not until about 2am. So the worst weather will occur while the munchkins are sleeping. I, of course, will attempt to sleep, but can assure you that I will not be successful in that endeavor.

Waiting...

The last couple of days have been more stressful than ever in our house! Here I am, 5 days left until hubby gets home, and I'm facing a possible hurricane hitting the city where we live. So much for Charleston never getting hurricanes.

We're day by day on whether or not we evacuate. I read the base's evacuation handbook, and it clearly states that we are NOT AUTHORIZED to board up or tape our windows in base housing. So to me that reads that they will evacuate us, since they will not let us take the proper precautions. But I can't leave until it's announced because if we go before an official evacuation, we will not be reimbursed for our travel expenses. So I'm stuck between a rock & a hard place. I don't want to stay here and weather the storm with my kids by myself, but I don't have the money it would cost us to evacuate.

I am NOT a patient person, so this 'hurry up and wait' attitude of the military is getting old. One would think after 7 years of military life that I'd be used to it, but I'm not. Especially not when it deals with the safety of my family. They will not authorize Bobby to test out early from 7-level school, becuase they are not going to willingly let him go into a hurricane. So their solution is for me and the kids to go to him in a safe area.

As of right now, the boys still have school tomorrow, and the base commander is supposed to make his decision regarding evacuation by 6am. So who knows...this time tomorrow I could be sitting in the house helping Noah with his homework, or I could be almost to our final destination of Maxwell AFB, Alabama, where the hubby is at his school. Your guess is as good as mine!

I Sure Didn't Miss This.

Growing up in Florida, you get used to hurricanes. But as soon as you leave and don't live there for a few (or 7) years, you forget pretty quickly what it's like to be on tropical storm/hurricane watch.

Now we're back in an east coast state, pretty close to the ocean, and just in the last week I've been on the edge of my seat over 3 storms. First was Fay, and even though Charleston wasn't directly hit, we still had a good week's worth of rain from it. The base where Bobby is TDY also got the outer bands, and had more damage than we did. Now they're getting ready for the monstrosity that is hurricane Gustov. That one's making me a bit nervous. And then we have tropical storm Hanna, who's supposed to hit the east coast by the end of the week. And who knows how much bigger Hanna will get. There's alot of open water before it gets to land.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be in Charleston, and I really love it here. But I sure didn't miss this.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We have been getting rain for Tropical Storm Fay, for about 3 days now. And we're not even in it's path! We're forecasted to get Fay-related rain clear through the end of the week, too.

My hubby is down in Alabama for some training with the military, and I got texts from him last night saying "The storm's here!" and "Well, now the power went out." I talked to him on the phone for a bit last night, and he was standing outside because he didn't get good reception inside, and I could hear the wind whipping around (he said that it was going about 45-50 mph) and the rain slapping the side of the building. And it definitely wasn't a comforting thing when he interrupted me to say "Oh! There go a couple branches from that tree!" Just what a wife wants to hear when she's on the phone with her hubby.

I talked to him again today and the power had come back on sometime during the night. He said that there was alot of damage around the base and the surrounding areas outside the gates. Then later on he texted me saying the storm was back and just as bad as last night. He was holed up in his room most of the afternoon because the wind and rain were so fierce. He has assured me that they can cancel up to 4 days of class without it affecting their end date, so as long as they don't have to cancel the entire week, he will still be coming home in a couple of weeks as originally scheduled. I think that is my biggest fear aside from him getting hurt...that he may not be home when he should be.

Thankfully we have still been able to have cell phone contact. It's kind of ironic, really, because he said that the last couple of days have been the best connection he's had when we're on our cell phones. Go figure, eh?

Anyway, please keep my hubby, and all those affected by T.S. Fay in your prayers. Pray for the safety of those still involved and those who are waiting for it to come. And pray that those who have already been hit by the storm can rebuild quickly and aren't displaced for too long.