Ike Evacuation

Some may so that I was over-reacting, but actually I was just being prepared. After all, who wants to be stuck in traffic for hours with a baby and an active 3 year old? So, I went ahead and packed our bags Wed. night after we watched the news. I would rather have to unpack than have to leave in a mad rush and get stuck in traffic when an evacuatin is called. So when the evacuation was called at 6:15 on Thurs. morning, we were out the door in less than 20 minutes! We had no traffic and made great time. However, we both knew that this evacuation would be much different than the previous one. However, after the hurricane passed and we found out what damage we (and our friends and family) had and after we knew everyone was safe, we decided we might as well enjoy our time in Arkansas. We stayed with my cousin Carly and her husband Cody in Conway, Arkansas. My cousin Jessica stopped in several times while we were there (and watched the kids for us as well!) We saw some beautiful mountains and took Carter to do some really cool things. There are some pics below of Carter "mountain climbing" (2 feet off the ground) and acting like a bear in some caves that we found. Carly and Cody took us to a beautiful park in Arkansas that had mountains, waterfalls, caves, and rivers. It was beautiful. We also took Carter to a park that had a lake and he played in the water. We went to Little Rock for a day, but those pictures will have to wait. I can't find my camera cord. As for our house(s), they both faired very well. We are under contract with our old house, so we were relieved to find only trees and fences down...no serious damage. Our new house has some roof damage. The water seeped in from the roof and into Carter's room. We are in the process of tearing out his ceiling. We are thankful that we only had minor damage...and to rooms that needed to be redone anyway! Here are some pics from out trip! Hope everyone is well. Love you guys.

Evacuation #1

Here are some pics from out "Gustav" evacuation. After we realized that it wasn't going to hit Beaumont, we were able to relax and have fun! Our family from Texarkana was actually planning on coming to Beaumont that weekend. So instead, we all went up there. We had a birthday party and went to the park. We stayed at a hotel with my cousin Carly and her husband Cody. We are referring to our Gustav evacuation as a "hurrication." Little did we know what would happen two weeks later...