Earthquake, Hurricane, and Ms. Pearl..Oh My!

Between the recent "bomb scare" on base and this weeks spree of natural disasters...I'm beginning to think God's about to wrap things up pretty soon.  In the mean time, we are enjoying each and every day...whatever that day may bring.  

While on the phone with Verizon, the house began to shake, pictures on the wall began to move, and our hanging light above the table started to sway back and forth.  I was in the floor playing with Gavin in an attempt to keep him occupied while I was talking.  At first, I thought it was the result of a plane flying above but the shaking quickly progressed beyond what a plane is capable of doing.  I realized it was an earthquake and told the Verizon guy to "hold on, we are going through an earthquake."  He laughed and said "No you're not, you're in Virginia." Then he shouted "It's shaking here now" because his call center was located in Virginia too.  LOL!  I am glad there wasn't much damage from the quake.  I must say it was something I don't care to repeat but I'm glad I got to experience...if that makes any sense.  

Next up was Hurricane Irene!  My dad flew in for a visit the weekend...poor thing.  Of course, he booked a ticket long before Irene was born.  Living on lots of coasts in the past few years, we have become accustomed to hurricane warnings and watches.  It started with Hurricane Isabel-2003 in Quantico, VA, then Hurricane Ivan-2004 in Pensacola, FL, then Hurricane Rita-2005 in Kingsville, TX, and last but not least Hurricane Irene-2011 in Quantico, VA.  Even though these were not direct hits for us, we lost power for days in almost all of them.  This time around we were most concerned for our friends and home in New Bern, NC.  They experienced the most that Irene had to offer.  Thankfully, all were safe!

Meanwhile, we just played and played and played with Gavin.  It wasn't long before the heat started to set in and Gavin lost most of his clothes for the weekend.

Next up on the excitement card...MS. PEARL...and trust me when I say, this one rocked our world the most!  She is a sweet puppy in need of lots of love and attention.  So Adam comes home on Thursday and says...oh by the way, I volunteered us to watch a friend's dog for the Labor Day weekend.  She is a PIT BULL/Lab mix and she is 3 years old.  My response, "OoooK.  How is she around kids?"  Adam-"I didn't ask that."  Needless to say, my anxiety level shot through the roof as I envisioned this dog snapping at my child's face.   I stressed about it all the way until Friday night.  Friday night came and it was time to meet Ms. Pearl.  She was a great dog, with lots of energy, and spirit.  She made Tobiah feel young again.  They wrestled and wrestled and wrestled until neither one of them could go anymore.  Gavin was not about to be left out of the action.  He was in the middle of the floor with them most of the time.  

Yes, that is Pearl's tail Gavin is about to eat...

Gavin offering his kisses to Pearl!

You can tell Gavin is not used to having a dog's tail to play with...good thing Pearl didn't mind an occasional bite or two :).

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

After a long day of playing, it was time for Daddy to work his magic on the grill.  I hope he wasn't nervous because he sure did have an audience. 

There are always adventures in life to behold.  Some are big like earthquakes and hurricanes and some are small like Ms. Pearl and grasshoppers.  No matter what the size, we need to make sure we stop and smell the roses.