Firsts

We've been really busy.

We've survived an earthquake, a hurricane, moving households and a plague of locust. (Okay, okay, so it was really just an incredibly loud cricket who chirped the entire night from up high in our living room, but still.)

We really DID have an earthquake, though, all along the east coast.  The girls and I didn't actually feel it because we were outside, but Coop really felt it at his office and made everyone evacuate to the parking lot.  I love this Facebook picture that made the rounds after the quake:

(I don't know who created this or I would give credit to that person. Love to give credit to people who make me laugh!)

So, then we had a hurricane.  A real hurricane which knocked our power out early Sunday morning for six days, which wasn't as much fun as you might think, even if we hadn't been trying to pack for our big move. In some ways, I feel like we lost the last week of summer vacation dealing with the aftermath of the storm, even though we escaped much of the destruction felt by some of our neighbors.

I'm convinced that you underestimate your dependence on electricity until you suddenly have none.  It's not just the isolation of being (shudder) without Internet, either. Luckily, my husband's car has an outlet in it so we could recharge our cell phones and lap tops and even try to make coffee:

The coffee pot kept shutting off so we were reduced to heating water in a fondue pot over a sterno can and pouring it over the grounds.

Sterno: also good for cooking eggs.

We made s'mores in the fireplace:

and did some watercolor painting by candle light:

and then, by golly, the novelty wore off.  About the time I had to throw away everything in our freezer (except the tortillas my parents had just sent from Texas, thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster), I was about DONE with the whole experience.

Especially because we were packing by flashlight.

Luckily, our new landlord, who was in town emptying our new house and opening the pool, etc., during the hurricane, turned the house over to us  a few days early.  (The rental house never lost power, but is equipped with a generator just in case...yesssss.) We dragged some mattresses over to the new house and by Tuesday night (August 30), were happily camping in the new house.

And thus began the move.

Ana, 13, moving in essentials.

Firsts:

First load of laundry.  It was almost the first thing I did since we'd been without power for several days and had a lot of wet towels from drying everyone's feet...

First attempt to move the tea cabinet.  Alas, it had to be moved again.

First game of fetch at the new house.

First pizza.

First plant planted. (Basil.)

First picture hung.

First chocolate-chip pancakes.

First flowers.  (Because my husband never, ever forgets, even in the midst of ultimate chaos.)

We moved the cats on Wednesday.

Thomas, exhibiting a bit of stress over the move.

First sighting of The Tail in the new house.

 The movers moved all of the big stuff on Friday and Saturday.  I was too overwhelmed to take pictures.  But gradually, we're settling into the new house.

First official party

The puppy has forgotten he ever lived anywhere else.

Edward is feeling at home.

We're still cleaning out the old house, but should be finished with that over the next three-four days and then we'll really be able to settle into the new place and make it our home.