Tropical Storm Fay

This last week was very eventful. It was Kyle and Meghan's very first tropical storm! It started raining Monday evening and is still raining today. Tropical storms are usually no big deal and Florida just gets a bunch of rain and strong winds that pass before too long. However, Fay surprised us all by parking right over Brevard county and dumping nearly 30 inches of rain! It was historic flooding. The boys went to school Monday and had it canceled for the rest of the week because the buses can't get around. We went to visit with Grandma on Wednesday and we ended up staying until Thursday evening because the roads were so badly flooded we didn't want to drive home. It was so flooded Rudy canoed from Grandma's house to his friend's house down the road! Unfortunately there are no pictures of that because no one else was home.

These are pictures of the drive from my house to Grandma's house. Roads were completely covered. We were leaving a wake behind us as we drove. Along US 1 you couldn't see the other side of the Indian River lagoon because the rain was so bad. The park on the corner of Corey and Malabar was so flooded the water came all the way up to the bridge that was built over the ditch.

Grandma's yard was completely flooded. One of her small fishponds overfilled and I wouldn't be surprised if the fish escaped into the yard. It reminded me of when I was young and we would go swimming in the backyard after the big storms. Here are some pictures of Grandma's yard.

And here are pictures from our sleepover. Meghan watched way too much Dora, but there isn't that much to do when you're rained in. We played a lot of cards and Kyle even convinced some people to learn how to play bridge with him.


We returned home last night. The roads were pretty clear from a day a little to no rain (although its raining again today). Our home suffered no damage whatsoever. There was a little water in the patio and a little in the garage, but nothing serious.

You can check out hurricane, tropical storm and tropical depression activity out at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Goggles and Superheroes

Meghan found her Daddy's swim goggles. She thought they were lots of fun to wear. Of course, once she took them off, Daddy had to put them on - along with his superhero cape!

Would you like to try them on?

Curly Pig Tails

I've never really done Meghan's hair. I think I tried to put it in a pony tail once or twice but it never really worked. Well, yesterday we bought some small hair ties to make it easier for me and today we put her hair up into pig tails. The results were very cute. Meghan enjoys looking the mirror and feeling her pig tails. I like the pig tails because they show off the curly hair genes that she inherited from her daddy.

Piano Pals

Pony Rides!

We went with Grandma and Sony's girls to the library today and to our surprise there were free pony rides! We got there just in time too because they were closing up shop. So the kids got to brush the ponies and ride on the ponies. It was Meghan's first ever Pony Ride. She loved it. Unfortunately, Daddy couldn't come quickly enough with the camera so we only have some afterward shots. The spotted pony is the one that Meghan rode. Grandma has a cell phone picture of Meghan standing by a pony so we will post that when we figure out how to get it off her phone. We also got some shots of Kaia scooping horse poop. Apparently scooping poop is fun when its not a chore.

Taking a Break With Daddy

Here we are taking a short break from garage sailing on a hot Saturday.

1-2-3...

I feel like I say "One day Meghan just started" a lot, but it is true. She picks things up like flypaper. One day she'll just start doing something I've never seen before, like pretending or recognizing green. In this case, One Day Meghan Just Started Counting. This video is just a small clip of her counting prowess since she wasn't feeling very cooperative. She can count up to 10 and will even alternate numbers with you. She thinks its a fun game. So now we have to start counting objects so she learns the purpose of this string of words.

Spinning

If You're Happy And You Know It...

One day Meghan started singing "Happy Clap" and we a) had no idea what she was singing and b) where she had picked it up. Eventually we figured out she was singing her version of If You're Happy and You Know It and that she had learned it in Nursery. Once we figured that out, we were ready when she started singing "Snowman, Snowman, Snowman!"

I'm Swimming!

Meghan has been pretending more and more. Here is her swimming at the beach. She asks to go swimming quite often so we got her a little plastic pool for out back. If we are not careful and forget to empty it, the next time we go out Meghan will go swimming with everything on.

Popeye Diagnosis

I've finally found out what afflicts Popeye. It's called Bell's Palsy. Its a sudden onset paralysis of one side of the face, very often with no known cause. It usually goes away after a short time on its own, but Popeye obviously has a permanent case. Interesting enough, it tends to afflict pregnant women at a higher rate then normal.

I yam what I yam!
That's the diagnosis I was given as well.
Yesterday I woke up with a fat lip and put it down as a reaction to a plant I was trimming. It couldn't be the mango, I insisted although mom was doubtful. Then this morning, my right eye had trouble watering (and apparently blinking) and I had trouble chewing because my jaw felt tight. A little nervous, I called my doctor and they advised going to the emergency room. That was really upsetting. So mom came and watched Meghan while Kyle took me. Luckily it seems to only be Bell's Palsy and should go away on its own. They did give me some drugs to take although I wonder if it is really necessary.

Here is mom telling me to smile. My reaction: "I am smiling!"

But that made me laugh.

And here I am trying to close my right eye. It won't close on its own.
So have fun laughing at the diseased pregnant lady, you mean person you.

Better than Television

The house we've moved into has a shed, but unfortunately the shed is full of rats. So Grandpa and the boys came to help clean it out of junk and rat poo. Meghan was so excited that her uncles had come to play with her. But when they went outside and she learned she couldn't go too, she had a royal fit. So, we rigged her up in her high chair with some snacks so she could watch the action. We had a good view and it was very entertaining.

The boys would come up to the window and wave to Meghan. She tried offering them grapes, but they were not interested.

All of a sudden, a high squeal rang from the shed. Grandpa had found the rats! Hans the Hunter took care of one of them with his dual knife skills. It takes lots of talent to kill rats with just knives. They finished emptying the shed and sprayed it down.

Meghan was glad when the boys came in to entertain her again. They clapped for her and Hans belly danced for her. Meghan kept trying to make his stomach stop wiggling by hitting it but it only made him laugh.
All in all it was a fun day - at least for those of us not cleaning out the shed.

Meghan's New Desk

Meghan got a desk from a garage sale. Unfortunately, the only thing she does with it is climb in it. Here she is with her "look, I'm being naughty but I sure am cute" expression.

Pretty Pink Dress

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Here is Meghan in a pretty pink dress her aunt Sonia gave her.

Laying Carpet

Since our new house is entirely floored in tile, we decided to purchase a rug for Meghan to play on. Well, Meghan plays on it all right. I think she might be aiming for a career in carpet laying. One of her favorite things to do is roll up the carpet and she gets mad at us when we unroll it.

Our New House

After a year in Maryland, Kyle decided to head south to warmer weather. We have moved to Florida where sunny skies and sandy beaches fulfill the most seasoned tourist's daydreams. And apparently, renting a place for 6 months or less is one condition of being a tourist which will result in an 11% tourist tax. So here is the picture of our house, at least for the next 6 1/2 months until we figure out exactly what we're doing down here.

Justice is Served

Three of the boys flew up from Florida to help us move. On the drive home, not only did I get lost and end up in Washington DC, but a huge storm hit. There was blinding rain, bumper to bumper traffic and the occasional tree branch in the road. It was the tree branches that caused the most concern to the boys. "Pull over Tanya! We can get that out of the road!" Stressed as I was by the traffic conditions, I refused. "They pay people to do that," I snapped. At that point I was lectured long and hard by three angelic boys who sincerely believed in serving others and being good Samaritans. "You better pull over for the next one, or you'll be punished," they said. "A tree branch will fall on your car." Knowing there was no way a tree branch would fall on my car, I drove past three more fallen branches. The boys bemoaned my compounding sin and escalated their prophecies of punishment. "A tree branch is going to fall on your house!" After two or three hours of driving, we finally made it home and to my despair, I discovered that I had been punished.
Two large tree branches from the neighbor's huge tree had fallen and smashed part of the fence. They were so big that the boys were only able to move one of them. We moved out of the house two days later so we didn't have to worry about it too much.

At the Pool

Meghan loves playing in the water. Here are some pictures from the pool at our house in Maryland.