Blue Ribbons and Black Stormclouds

Let me first start by saying how grateful we are that our beloved New Orleans was spared the tragedy that it faced during Hurricane Katrina. Now let me say that I'm amazed that yet another massive hurricane is headed for the Gulf. We have family in Harlingen, TX and we're praying for their safety during Hurricane Ike.

Who knew that we'd ever feel the effects of a hurricane? We live in Arkansas...make that Northern Arkansas! But feel it we did - it rained buckets for a few days after Gustav hit the coast. We considered the construction of an ark in our backyard...just in case. The rain stopped just before we thought we were going to drown (or at least get prune-fingers) from it. Now, it's starting again. We're getting the very first outskirts of Ike and we're expected to have some pretty nasty weather as the weekend goes on.

September has been a very busy month for us so far. Rudy and I are facing the challenge of getting acclimated to our daily schedules. We come home tired at night and do our best to keep up with the typical energy level of a 2-year-old. By the time Caleb goes to bed, we're definitely ready for some downtime. I've been reading a lot lately. I've really gotten into the Twilight series. I never thought I'd like a novel series about vampires and werewolves, but this one is seriously good. I've devoured the first 3 books and I'm now starting the 4th and final one. I'm completely hooked!

The Hogs have almost caused us to need blood pressure medication already this season! Two games in and things aren't looking so good for the rest of the year. I certainly hope that I'm pleasantly surprised, but I'm not sure we can handle the SEC if we can barely beat ULM and Western Illinois! Ugh.

We started something new this week. Our neighbors, Davey and Shalini have agreed to a babysitting swap with us! We decided to watch each others' kids one night a month. They'll keep Caleb on the first Thursday night of the month and we'll keep Jakey on the second Thursday. It's just for 2 hours - but it gives us a chance to have a grown-up dinner date once a month. We started this last night. They took Caleb to the county fair and despite a little rain, they had a great time. We expected them home around 8:15. Shalini called at 8:30 and said they were just about to leave! The boys apparently had a wonderful time looking at all of the animals and riding the carousel. Caleb was exhausted by the time I got him in bed. It was well after 9:00. I crashed right after he did. Since Caleb had so much fun last night, Rudy and I decided we'd take him back to the fair tonight. We went right at 5:00, before the crowds got too heavy. The only ride he was big enough for was the carousel. He loved it! He kept saying, "Yee Haw - Ride a horse!" He also loved seeing all of the animals - including tiny little baby monkeys and a huge snake! Of course, we also went to the livestock barn to see the farm animals. That's not exactly my cup of tea, but the boys loved the cows, pigs, sheep and goats. We had "fair food" for dinner - corn dogs, nachos and lemonade for Caleb and I and a fajita wrap and nachos for Rudy. After dinner, we indulged a little more and got a bag of cotton candy. Caleb's first bite brought giggles. He loved it! He kept asking for more and then telling me he was sticky. When we came out of the livestock barn, there were very dark stormclouds in the sky. We decided it was time to head for the house. By the time we got to the car, the first raindrops were starting to fall. It was perfect timing! We got home in time to watch the Wonder Pets and get Caleb to bed almost on time. We're looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. We'll see what tomorrow brings...