Ding dong the tree is gone (and Liam's 'scary face')

The tree is finally off the house. Now the fun of repair work begins. So far we know the den ceiling will have to be ripped out and rebuilt. We just LOVE dust in the house . . .

Still no power but we should have it back by Saturday.

GG bought Liam this cute cupcake to help him countdown the days until his birthday.

This is Liam's scary face. He learned this from Caillou. Caillou is making a scarecrow and he has to draw a scary face. Liam started saying, 'scary like this!' To which I always reply 'YIKES!' Cutest scary face EVER!

Hurricane, generator, and soccer

Hurricane Irene has come and gone. We were very lucky that we didn't get the worst of the storm. Initial predictions called for Irene to be a Category 2 hurricane when it hit VA. Thankfully, it hit as a Category 1. Newport News was far enough west that we didn't get the strongest winds from the storm. We had the equivalent of strong tropical storm vs. a full-fledged hurricane. Newport News saw sustained winds of 60 mph with gusts slightly higher.

Here are some pictures of how the Jankes in VA fared during the storm.

Liam said he needed pacifiers to feel calm in the storm.
Here he is getting is 'security' items.

When the rain started Liam said he needed his Gummistiefel

Checking out the outer rain bands, before anything got serious.

Hanging out with Mami

We lost power at 715AM on Saturday. Thank goodness for generators. We were able to maintain essentials (like fridge, freezer, internet, and Bundesliga soccer!)

Tobias watching Bayern v Kaiserslautern

Happy to see his game before the storm arrived

When the winds picked up we decided it was time to 'hunker down'. We built our 'hurricane fort' in the utility area. Here are the Janke Jungs hanging out. We rode out the storm here.

Liam in his fort bed

About 2130 we heard the sound every one dreads during a storm. It sounds like the loudest clap of thunder imaginable, followed by a huge boom and the earth shaking. We knew instantly that a tree had fallen on the house. We couldn't really look at that time since we were in the height of the storm, but we saw the dry wall in the ceiling had buckled. Thankfully, we did not see any water coming in the house, which hopefully means the roof is not penetrated and the damage is from impact.


Once the storm passed we could asses the damage. A tree from the Museum Park fell onto the garage and the house.

Main damage (that we know of now with the tree still on the house) is to the garage. The tree crushed the back corner of the garage. We have masonry damage and the roof is open.


Our neighbors were not so lucky. The house at the end of the road (by the Trail entrance) was destroyed and has been condemned.

Bossa Nova and Fugue (oh, and a hurricane)

When I was little one of the things I always looked forward to when we went to my Great Aunt Barbara's house was playing her organ. It was the coolest thing for kids. Liam discovered the organ when we visited Kathryn this week. Here is Liam in his organ debut playing Bossa Nova and Fugue

On another note, we have done all we can to prepare for Hurricane Isabel. Now we just have to wait. Tobias and I made sandbags to put up at the store today. Liam loved having Poppa's truck to play in after Tobias finished hauling the bags to the store.

I told Tobias today that it is very different preparing for a storm with a child. First, I am taking things very seriously. Second, I can't be outwardly scared anymore. It's tough being very worried and scared and having to hide it so that he doesn't get scared.

We will head into our hurricane fort sometime tomorrow morning when the winds pick up. The worst part of the storm is supposed to be tomorrow night. Our prayer is for safety, protection, and endurance.

Hurriquake

What a week. I never thought I would use the following three words in the same sentence in my life: earthquake, hurricane, Virginia. Sure, we are used to hurricanes, but earthquakes?!

This week started with a mild earthquake. Nothing by West Coast standards but pretty darn scary for those of us who aren't used to them. Thankfully, the earthquake was not severe. Doesn't look like we will be so lucky with the hurricane.

After several days of very optimistic forecasts, the news for us is growing more pessimistic by the hour. We had hoped the storm would turn East and that we would simply get rain and winds of 50 mph or less. Irene has turned more West and we are now in the path for a direct hit with hurricane strength winds, storm surge, etc.

We have all our needed supplies and will complete our preparations tomorrow. I was trying to explain a hurricane to Liam. He can now tell us that it's a 'very strong storm'. That the wind will 'BLOW! and BLOW! and BLOW!' 'The trees may fall.' and 'The power will go out.'

I was trying to think of the best way to prepare Liam for living in the hallway during the storm - - which will be worst in the over night hours. I decided to tell him we are going to build a fort and sleep in the fort. We will give it a trial run tomorrow and see if that helps him settle a bit more than trying for the first time during the storm.

On a more cheerful note, today was Liam's last day of water play for the summer at playschool. I love his beach outfit. He actually leaves this hat on!!

Liam said he couldn't go to waterplay until he finished his 'inerning'

Reading with Papi

Liam loves reading books. This morning I caught Papi and Liam reading and was able to snap a few pictures.

Red, yellow, green, blue, purple

Liam sang this song for us for the first time a few evenings ago. He learned this at play school. We are guessing it is 'red, yellow, green, blue, purple' for the colors, but we tend to get a mix every now and then in the middle.

Eeshum shmeshum

Liam started playing 'eeshum schmeshum' this morning on my chin. Here is a clip of him trying to say it. The rash on his check is a food allergy to syrup. We had pancakes this morning and this happens when corn syrup touches his skin. Guess we need to move on to maple syrup . . .