Wet Woo Woos Chowing Down

Cooper and Winston are totally focused -- on eating. Kinda shows? I
know, a shot of my backside while chowing down might not be flattering
either.

The name "Wet Woo Woos" is Ben's name for the dogs because they greet
him with slobbery kisses.

Mr. Sleepy Head Eating Some Cheerios

Ben slept hard after a big day yesterday with Papa/Nana. Now he's
hungry. (Looking less scary than Papa, too.)

The Big Sneeze!

This is a photo of Ben I caught yesterday in the midst of a sneeze. A BIG sneeze!

Not Hurricane Ike. Hurricane BEN!

Here's a photo of our den last night after Ben left. It's evidence of a good time by a busy 2 1/2 year old! And this morning I'll pick it all up, because I was just too exhausted last night. What a day Ben and Papa/Nana had!

"Monster Bag" for Ben's Halloween

Nana ordered this cute bag for Ben from Personal Creations. He even
got to pick it out from the catalog. He's the one who gave it the
"monster bag" name. You need to get one (grandchild). They're too much
fun!

Galveston Beach: Happier Days

Here's a shot taken at West Beach just a couple of weeks ago. Glad we
made the impulse visit when we did. Part of our grieving from #Ike is
that we love visiting Galveston so much. Looking forward to next time!

Just Stinkin' Cute

Just have to share this photo of Ben taken over the weekend. No caption necessary.

Ben and Nana Share Popsicles

John and Major Reunion

We had driven to Port Arthur last Thursday night to bring Major home with us to ride out the storm. John was about to go into 24-7 mode with the Coast Guard, and Major needed someone to take care of her. Today we made the return trip to Port Arthur, and this photo is of Major and John in the parking lot at the Coast Guard office.

We saw lots of damage from Ike going and coming. Starting around Anahuac, the trees look like it's winter. For most of them, it's because they don't have any leaves. For others, it's because they're dying from the salt water surge. The area between Old and Lost Rivers and the Trinity River is brown. And we went through an area between Winnie and Port Arthur that was the same. There was an unbelievable amount of plant matter that had been removed from the highway in that area after the surge receeded. Also there was incredible tree damage from the wind -- breakage, as well as 75-year old oaks uprooted and laying on the ground. And finally, there were damaged and destroyed buildings.

Port Arthur itself was more like a war zone with all of the folks who have come in to help with recovery camping out in shopping center parking lots.

In a pleasant surprise, we found a Cheddar's open on I-10 running off a generator, and had a late lunch.

We already miss having a puppy around -- well all of us except Jenny Dog, who didn't like having her here in the first place. Hope John and Major come visit soon!

Hurricane Ike Was an Apple Fan Boy

Last Friday night, long after we lost power and internet, I was tracking Hurricane Ike using my iPhone and Weather Underground when I noticed that the eye of the storm looked remarkably like an apple. So I did a screen capture. Our house is just under the number "1" at the top of the shot, so you can see we were already getting quite a blow and a lot of rain.

Hope looking at this shot gives others of you who are still dealing with the effects of Ike a chuckle today as you continue your recovery.

Sometimes You Need to Lay Down to Eat.

Major, John's puppy, likes to rest while she eats.

My Leaning Tree: Now Upright

Here's my "street tree" after Ike blew on it. It took some digging and a tree stake and some muscle, but it's now back upright. Like a lot of fence posts I've looked at, it wasn't just blown over. The dirt filled in under it, so you couldn't just set it back up. Lot's of fence posts are going to have to be reset for that reason.

The Sun Rises and Sets -- Even after Ike

Here are three sunsets from my back yard: Top Friday night before Ike, middle Saturday night after Ike, and bottom Sunday night. While the magnification is different for the first photo, you can notice that some of the tree line is significantly diminished post Ike.

Sara and the Boys after Ike

Here's a shot of Sara and her dogs in the back yard after the worst of Ike had blown through. It was still blowing, as you can see from the Red Oak tree, and still raining, but it was so good to get outside after a long night and morning!

There's So Much to Experience

It's amazing to watch the intensity with which Ben explores the world. Makes me wonder when we started taking little flowers for granted. Makes me want to go squat down and stare at small flowers. But then I couldn't get back up. Maybe that's the difference.

Gliding Through A Blue Sky

I never tire of watching gulls soaring. And since Nemo, their screeching only sounds like "Mine, Mine, Mine." Need to listen to Jonathon Livingston Seagul soundtrack!

Ben and his Coke at the Beach

The boy loves his Coke, and since his cup had sand in it, he learned to drink it straight from the bottle. There was a little spillage, but that just goes with the territory.

Tonight's Sunset