Hurricane Irma-The Middle

SO we made it to NC safely! We stayed in a newly renovated home with little to no furniture but we had our own space which was nice.  The kids are up at 6:30 am every day.  I didn’t have to worry about being quiet every morning we could do our usual, as much as possible.  I had the food that we were used to eating. We had toys.  No TV, so we used the iPad when I needed a quiet time break from the kids.  We slept on air beds.  The kids LOVE sleeping on their airbeds when we go on a trip.  Mommy and Daddy not so much.  I tried to make the airbed that my husband and  I slept on more comfortable by putting blankets on it before the fitted sheet.  It helped some but after Day 4 our backs were not happy.  BUT we looked at the positive! We were in an air-conditioned home with basic necessities and our family was safe from the hurricane.

Hurricane Irma hit Southwest Florida on Sunday evening.  I caught a LIVE news feed of the eye of Hurricane Irma over our town in Florida and the meteorologist was telling the reporter that it may seem calm and that nothing is about to happen but he had about 10-15 minutes before the winds and rain arrived. I got the kids ready for bed and prayed for our little town, our friends and our homes.  Monday morning I woke up, grabbed my phone trying to see the damage that was done.  Seems like everyone always report the worse.  I saw a few pictures then put my phone away.  The hurricane was still going north through Florida.  I told myself I wasn’t going to check for updates anymore I was just going to wait.

The days started running together while in NC.  We weren’t on a schedule, we were just finding things to do with the kids.  The home we were staying at was downtown near the coast.  Downtown you could walk or ride bikes on the Riverwalk.  It was nice staying that close to water again.  When we lived in Tampa we lived on Harbour Island and I use to walk the Riverwalk and Bayshore Blvd every day.  My husband worked downtown and I could walk to his office to have lunch with him.  Urban living.

We made the best of our Hurrication!  A friend texted “hurrication” to me while we were in NC.  I laughed.  We were on a forced vacation due to the hurricane.  As I said, I hadn’t been to NC in 2 years since the funeral of my aunt.  The kids have grown a lot since some people had seen them in person so we were able to get some visits in.  I visited my old employer with the kids.  The people there are like family to me.  I LOVE surprises so I surprise people.  One of my good friends there screamed when she saw Bryce.  She is so extra. lol We visited my mom. We visited my Aunt’s son and his wife.  My cousin was having his daughter’s 3rd birthday party and we were able to attend.  I was able to see a lot of my family there including my best friend/cousin/sister Calandra.  I love that girl!  She recently had her second child, a girl, in May and I was able to meet her for the first time.  I got in LOTS of snuggles!! We were able to visit with my husband’s cousin/brother who has two little ones the same age as our little ones.  It was so cute seeing them playing together at the playground.  Grampy (my father-in-law) came by the house every day after work.  That was a treat for him and us as well! We visited with my Great Uncle who has recently been going through some health issues.  It was good to see him!  I also stopped by the gravesite where my Aunt is buried.  So LOTS of visits while in NC!

Since we were living so close to downtown we took advantage of it some.  My husband and I had a couple date nights riding bikes on the Riverwalk.  We took the kids for a walk on the Riverwalk, went by the Atlantic Coast Line Rail Road Co., checked out a museum, went to the library a couple times and playgrounds a couple times.  The weekend before we left NC we spent it with my in-laws and sister-in-law.  We were able to celebrate my in-laws birthdays with them! With all of our visits, little activities and new toys the kids enjoyed their time in NC.  My husband and I did also. (Even though we were worrying about how things were back in Florida)  Everything will be JUST fine! 

Here are some pictures from our hurrication.  Stay tuned for Hurricane Irma-The End

If you missed Hurricane Irma-The Beginning you can read it here.