C'mone Irene! (& a DIY Kids Roadway to Pass the Time)

She came, she saw and she took lots of T-shirts. 


Fortunately, we were blessed in that we had very little damage to our yard.

There was truly a calm after the storm. 

You could sense the worst was over because the birds in our yard that flew away to escape Irene all later congregated back to their home as if nothing had happened. It was minutes before the sun emerged and you would have never known there was a storm.

Outside our little abode was another story. 

We visited the streets we regularly walk on and drive at the beach. They were completely flooded and many homes were part way under water.

 One of the main streets at the beach was completely flooded and waist-deep with water.

The water became so deep that Hunter was no longer able to walk in it so Dave had to carry him on his shoulders.

 It did make for some serious puddle jumping. Both kids cried when we told them it was time to leave.

We made the most of our 48 hours with no power and being disconnected from the outside world.


The kids were reintroduced to the ipod Touch which they had not seen since our flight to Atlanta.

We ate....a lot. 

 We took walks and we just enjoyed spending time together with no to-do's or time restraints.

 Thursday night before the storm I decided to create this bad boy of a roadway.

I used and old cardboard box, acrylic paints, one piece of scrapbooking paper and foam letters and shapes.

 Hunter is not into cars but Sissy loves them. Hunter has a fascination for letters and words so I decided to make it fun for both of them by creating a roadway for the cars and trucks and labeling items on the roadway with letters.

 All in all, this project took me about 25 minutes and it was really fun to make!

 It was one of those days on Friday so I made waffles laced with winter squash and sweet potatoes using our super cool waffle maker (thank you Grammy!).

When the kids got up they were fascinated with the new roadway. Hunter pointed out all of the letters and asked for help in sounding out the words he didn't know.

Sissy immediately picked up the trucks and started driving them on the road. (I know my kids!)

The roadway got multiple hours of play time during all of the indoor time this weekend but, we have since packed it up and will bring it back out in a week or two when it will be new and exciting all over again.


Until then, we are enjoying the calm after the storm that comes in rainbows and sunshine.