Earthquakes, Birthdays and Other Natural Disasters

At approximately 2pm on August 23^rd—Henry’s birthday—a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Washington, DC.  The quake lasted several seconds and resulted in only minor damage to the area (the exceptions being the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, both of which sustained some structural damage; also, part of the ceiling in our church collapsed, severing an arm on the main crucifix).  The most immediate collateral damage to us was that the kids had to be evacuated from their daycare center in the middle of afternoon nap.  By the time we got home (after spending most of the afternoon camped outside SEC headquarters), they were both tired and cranky.  Henry cheered up after opening his birthday presents.   He’s been infatuated with Spider-Man for several months, and he got plenty of Spidey-wear for his birthday, including a full body costume, light-up shoes, and snow boots (thank you, Mimi Mimi Pauline!).  

Henry’s birthday party was scheduled for the following Saturday.  He requested a Spider-Man party (naturally) and, as entertainment, we booked a live reptile demonstration.  However, Mother Nature decided to wreak havoc with our plans.  Hurricane Irene began churning up the East Coast on Friday and was scheduled to arrive in the Washington, DC area by Saturday evening.  With the storm bearing down, we frantically rescheduled the party for Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, the rain began just as the party started, so we had to move everyone indoors.  It was a tight squeeze, but the kids seemed to have a good time nonetheless.  The reptile demonstration was awesome: the instructor brought lizards, turtles, frogs, a tarantula and a Burmese python for the kids to see and touch.  As the birthday boy, Henry got to help the instructor hold the animals.  Afterward, we all had BBQ, hotdogs and, of course, Spider-man cake.  We were fortunate that our friend, Christine Lee, kindly offered to assist with the party logistics.  Without her help, we would have never survived a house full of preschoolers and live reptiles in the middle of a hurricane!  As an added bonus, Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill drove straight through from Mobile to attend the party and helped us weather the storm (which, in the end, was only “a little rain storm”—as Paw Paw predicted).

 

  

Below are some additional photos from the party:

New Castle Redux

We returned to New Castle, Pennsylvania at the beginning of August for the wedding of Elise’s cousin, Jimmy Janacone.  We went back and forth about whether to break up the drive (about 7 hrs).  In the end, we decided to drive straight through to New Castle.  Overall, the kids did really well in the car and were mostly content to read and play with their toys (although we had the DVD player standing by just in case).  Still, it was a long haul to western Pennsylvania.  Between rest stops on the turnpike, Henry decided he needed to use the potty.  We asked him to wait and he replied: “I’m worried.  The poop is talking to me.  It says it’s time to come out.”  So, we immediately pulled over and dug out the travel potty from the trunk (note to self: never, ever leave home without it).  We arrived at the hotel sometime after 1am and transferred the kids to the room.  Somehow Vivian bit herself while sleeping, and we turned on the lights to find her lip swollen and bleeding.  She didn’t seem too bothered (just a little confused), so after icing down her lip and making sure there was no more blood, we all crawled into bed.

In New Castle, after some much needed rest, we had lunch with Tweety and Denny Richards and their granddaughter Kathy.  Later, we saw the extended New Castle family at Jimmy’s wedding. During the reception, Henry enjoyed making multiple trips to the “cookie table,” and both Henry and Vivian spent a good amount of time on the dance floor.  Vivian, in particular, did not want to stop dancing. (You can see some additional photos of the dancefloor action here.)

Before heading home on Sunday, we stopped at the Living Treasures petting zoo in New Castle.  We thought this would be a quick detour.  It turned out to be the best zoo we’ve ever visited!  The kids were able to pet and feed most of the animals (deer, kangaroos, camels, monkeys and birds), and there was a horse-drawn safari ride with zebra, ostriches, and water buffalo.  At the lion enclosure, the male lion was sleeping on its back right next to the glass.  As you can see from the picture below, you don’t get much closer to a lion without becoming lunch!  We got a late start driving back, but the kids had so much fun at the zoo, they slept for over three hours in the car. Sometimes the best days out are the unplanned ones.