When life gives you hurricanes....

When life gives you hurricanes, AND earthquakes, make memories!!!

This post is going backwards, as to keep the most exciting and relevant news FIRST!

Sunday, no church. CANCELED due to the pending hurricane we were to expect.

We made our way to Burke Lake for an evening of water fun and picnicking.

This was the view out our door Sunday morning. Saturday it rained and rained and RAINED all day, with wind and such, but the damage (if thats what you call it) happened Sunday morning. We were fine. It just made for a very lazy, slow weekend, but who doesn't want that every now and then.

THIS was the view Saturday afternoon. When life gives you hurricanes, make pie!

This was no ordinary pie!!! This was Pennsylvania's STATE pie competition winner.

Blueberry, apple, peach pie. Complete with a crumb top UNDER that exquisite lattice top.

We found our selves waiting for the hurricane to begin, so I made pie, called some friends, and had our selfs a pizza pie hurricane party!

(In the back of the pie, a sampling of the peaches and tomatoes that were canned)

Should you ever find yourself in the eye of a hurricane, this party is strongly recommended!

The view, from the only space in the kitchen on Wed. night.

I'd spend the day filling my car with peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupe, corn, nectarines and plums, from farms up near Pennsylvania.

Some to eat, some to make into pies (see ABOVE!!!) and some to can.

I canned canned and CANNED all yummie things we'll enjoy well into the winter.

Jeff came into the kitchen and so kindly said "thanks for doing this hun."

Truly, I can't imagine not canning. I'm no expert, but it is so nestalgic for me, and reminds me of when I was so little, dripping down to my armpits, while watching 'the Nomb mobile' , huddled around our wobbly kitchen table, making so many memories...

I can't wait for my kids to join in the memories.

Up next, picking berries for jams at Buttler Farm!

The picnic lunch we enjoyed after stopping at nearly every farmers stand in Ma!

Day Care? I think not, but look at all these beauties!

My friend Kari, her 3 girls and my gang and I were the crazies who ventured to collect all the tastiest fruits and veggies Ma. had to offer.

We made our way to a fish hatchery.

SO fun! Kair and I both remember doing things like this when we were younger,

and couldn't help but attempt at creating fond memoirs for our children as well.

SCARIEST.DAY.EVER.

I know it doesn't look like much, but this day will go down in my memory forever.

I was in the kitchen, cleaning up from a fun day at Cabin John Park, when I though I both felt and heard what was an enormous collapsing book case.

I yelled to Charlie, who I though was the cause of this immediate shaking, and he didn't respond.

I rushed into the den, still feeling and hearing the shaking.

I could feel the home rattle, the floors above vibrate, pictures falling, windows shaking...

I yelled to Lucy and Charlie to GET OUT SIDE.

I ran to Henrys room, he was sound asleep in his bed, with his hands over his ears.

I wasn't sure what to make of this immediate shaking. I was honestly expecting any second my home to explode, and myself to be blown out from the force of an explosion.

I thought it was the water heater, or broiler, or ac going to explode.

What seemed like minutes late, it stopped, and i realized it was an earthquake.

A 5.9 earthquake.

I ran outside, only to be met with my darling 11 yr. old neighbor, in tears, saying she thinks there was an earthquake, can't get a hold of her mom, and didn't know what to do!

We were both scared to death, in tears, and I just squeezed her!

Luckly I was in the middle of making cookies, so invited them in, to eat and hopefully forget the scary moment.

Truth, now that its over, it was (I guess) not that major, but that night I didn't stop shaking for 4 hours.

I've never been so worried/scared/afraid/helpless/hopeless/terrified in my LIFE!

It took Jeff over 3 hours to get home, and Lucy still keeps telling people "Charlie made our house shake" they remember, as do I, and we're so thankful it wasn't larger, and to be safe!!!

Earlier that day, at Cabin John park, the one with the amazing train! SO FUN!

so.in.love.

Worried what I've begun. Since the boys don't have pockets big enough for things like stuffed bees, and puppies, I figured what better place then their pants.

Don't judge. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

And henry, showing his #2 battle wound of 4!! (all within in 2 days) this kid, in the words of our neighbor 'its a good thing he's made of rubber!'

We've had such a fun/scary/exciting/record breaking/memorable week, I'm just so blessed!

Funny things my kids have said this week

Charlie - Hey dadda, is it summer? (yes) ok, thats why we're going to do summer salts.

Lucy- (as we drove past an electrical crew, restoring power today), I said 'there's a man in a cherry picker' Lucy said - yeah, he's going to pick all those cherries, and give so many to everybody.

Charlie- we're going to plant an apple pit (seed) in our back, and its going to get big, and be an apple tree, and we'll pick and pick all the apples to fill all our house.

Oh how I enjoy these darlings!