For those of you who aren't aware, I live on the East Coast. As I recently canceled my cable service and haven't turned my TV on for anything other than our new Apple TV (which rocks, by the way!), the first I became aware that a hurricane was heading my way was from the many loved ones sending concerned emails and phone calls. It was sunny and warm and beautiful. I had my doubts any serious weather was brewing. My panic level was at an extreme low.
Well, a day later, the sky was a tad darker and it was raining a little, but I still laughed in the face of the danger those far away seemed so concerned about.
Well, Irene came and went during the night. We only suffered a flooded yard, leaves covering everything, two downed power lines, and a little wind and rain. Most of it occurred during the night.
What do you do with a house full of not only my kids, but my adorable little niece as well when it is this windy outside? Go outside of course! Matt took them outside with some giant garbage bags as sails and had them wait at the top of the hill until a gust would come, then they'd come flying down the hill, pushed along with their sails flapping and pulling them fast enough to make them shout and scream in delight.
Although Matt finally tired of running in the wind, my dudes kept it up all day. That big black garbage bag has seen more use now than many of their actual toys. Ben was a big black ghost. Mitchell was running and sliding on it in the wet grass. They pulled each other around and swung them onto their bums.
So we survived Hurricane Irene with very little inconvenience and a whole lot of dude-style fun! I wonder what their reaction would be if they each received a large, black garbage bag in their Christmas stocking this year....
