How far that little candle throws her beams!

Time flies when you're having fun. Another year has passed and Funky is four. She was quite ready for it. Ellie knew her birthday is in September and pretty much from September 1st on, she asked every day "Is today my birthday." Starting school further convinced her that she was a big girl and ready for all sorts of new things. First and foremost was a new bike. She was thrilled to get a "big girl bike." And she was tearing around the block on it. We were quite impressed how easily she learned stopping and starting. She did well riding her Big Wheel but a trial run at the toy store on a bike had been kind of unsuccessful. She'd start pedaling, then reverse the pedals to stop and not want to go forward again. But once she was on her very own bike, the pedaling was on and the brakes were off. She asked the other day of we could ride down the the soccer fields. It's only a mile or so away. And it's kind of hilly. Pretty soon she's going to want the car keys. And then there'll be boys around. Eek!

Campbell likes riding bikes too. We got her a small tricycle for her birthday in August and she is determined to ride as fast and as far as Ellie. She will not be refused. It's so funny watching how kids are different. Ellie can be stubborn but she's more stealthy and secretive. She'll do something and plead ignorance about it. Campbell is upfront about it. Her way isn't quiet and she doesn't even try to hide it. She really wants to do everything her big sister does and she will not be denied if she has her way. Her independence is oddly funny though. She took a lot longer to get over her separation anxiety when we would go to the CDC than Ellie ever did. She doesn't freak out now, matter of fact, she really likes going and runs into the building and down to her room. It's nice to see her enjoy being around other kiddos without either of us having to be there. And as you can see, she's still the clown.

A picture is worth MORE than a thousand words

I've seen quite a few that have been jaw dropping this past week since Hurricane Ike but I think this one pretty much sums it up:

Click on the picture and you can zoom it to see the resolution better.

This is the Chase Building in downtown Houston. Yeah, those windows are all missing.

Keep our Houston relatives in mind

Not sure who knows it but my in-laws and my sister and her husband live just north of Houston. They survived the worst of Hurricane Ike but are still without power. I've seen reports that the Woodlands will be without power for up to three weeks. We have a ton of friends all over the Houston area and I don't really know who got water in their homes or trees on their roofs.

Overall, the area got lucky. Ike strayed just a bit NE as hit land and that seemed to make all the difference. The worst surge hit either open water (the channel into Galveston Bay) or High Island (which has very little development on it.) Consensus among the weather gurus is that if it had the worst had hit 10-20 miles further SE, it would have been a lot worse.

I read BBS post from a guy in Houston. They were jamming to some Rolling Stones and playing Connect Four (ha, that brings back memories). The winds were beating the house really loudly and debris was flying around outside. Then the eye passed over and it got quiet and the wind died down. They were outside (this was around 2:00 am) and then someone said "Hey, do you guys hear a train?" Whoa. There were not any trains running. They could hear a tornado. They couldn't see it though. They high tailed it back inside and dove into the bathtubs. The sound subsided but another 10-15 minutes went by and they heard another one. He said it was actually less tense with the constant gale force winds during the Hurricane than it was during the quiet hearing the tornados nearby.

So keep Tom, Linda, Athena, David and everyone else down there in your thoughts if you don't mind.

Funky goes to school...

And she was EXCITED! Through a friend from the YMCA, we were referred to the preschool at a church in Lakewood. We took Ellie to visit the school and teachers a few months ago. And then for pretty much the last 6-8 weeks, she asked continually when she would get to go to her new school. We had beautiful fall weather today. Blue sky, a slight breeze and 70 degrees.

Two weeks ago, Jennifer and I went to the parent orientation and Ellie was totally bummed that she couldn't go with us. I had dropped the Monkey Twins at the CDC so we could go but Ellie thought that "it wasn't very nice" that we didn't take her.

Then, last Thursday, she got to go to meet the other kiddos that would be in her class and make her place mat. Ellie was thrilled. Campell... not so much. She doesn't like being away from her big sister. We left Ellie at school for about 45 minutes and the whole time Campbell was very concerned about Ellie. Today, I took Campbell to the Ft. Lewis CDC. She loves going there now and it gave me a chance to let Ellie have her own special first day.

We dropped Campbell off at 11:00 and Ellie was ready to go to school. A quick stop at the Commissary for some groceries killed a little time but we still had to wait a few minutes (school starts at noon for her) and I think that was the longest hour of her life. We got there a few minutes early but that was ok.

It felt like it was only a few days ago that Funky was just a baby. Watching her grow into being a toddler. Well, she's little girl now.

After she got her stuff put away and her name tag on it was time for the parents to say goodbye and let the teachers do their thing.

She went in and I went out. The walk up the stairs and out the door out into the sun was kind of surreal. I have dropped her off at both the Ft. Wainwright and Ft. Lewis CDCs dozens of times going back to when she was barely one year old.

It took me a minute to figure out what going through my mind. I felt a little lonely.