Birthday Vacay

Last Wednesday Tai and I returned home from our mini-vacation to San Antonio. In short we... ate too much ice cream, were astounded by the home prices (so cheap), leisurely enjoyed the riverwalk, chilled at the alamo, toured the temple grounds, slept in late, went to the imax, and relaxed by the pool. We accomplished a lot in two days. But now it's back to the daily grind...darn...is it time for another vacation, yet?

Y'ike's Part II: The Aftermath

This past weekend, Hurricane Ike was a little bit less friendly to our neighborhood than Hurricane Gustav had been over labor day. When Ike swept through Longview it was only a tropical storm, but it was unlike any storm I had ever seen. Honestly, if I had known it wasn't causing so much devastation, I may have actually really enjoyed it.

Everyone enjoyed watching the storm. Especially Screech. He decided he needed to experience the hurricane first hand and ran out in the front yard, sat under a tree for a few minutes, and then sprinted back inside.

We lost Power about 5pm on Saturday. Still, this was only a minor setback for Tai...there was NO way he was missing the BYU/UCLA game. Before I knew it he had hooked up the generator and had the TV in our bedroom up and running. The power was completely off in the rest of the house, but the TV was spared. Tai is such a dedicated fan.

Church was completely cancelled on Sunday due to the large number of evacuees taking up shelter in our building. (Another Sunday School lesson skipped-yes!) As far as our trip to Galveston next week is concerned---it seems IMPOSSIBLE we will still be able to go-- even though yesterday expedia told me that our hotel plans to be up and running by Friday. After looking at pictures like this, I would have to say that statement was...amiss.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Houston.

Yikes!

Last month, Tai and I made plans to take a two-day mini vacay to Galveston/Houston on the 22nd of September (my birthday). With Hurricane Ike moving right through, it should be interesting to see what our trip has in store! ;)

Seven Years Later

It really amazes me that it has been seven years since September 11th, 2001. The images of that day are still so fresh in my mind, so vivid, it seems almost impossible that it is nearing a decade since our country was so dramatically forced into an era of heightened security.

My mom woke me up the morning of 9-11. I was attempting to sleep the day away until I had to go coach cheer practice at the high school that afternoon. Four days earlier I had broken my ankle doing a pyramid on my college all-star team...and needless to say...I was feeling quite sorry for myself. I was still in a lot of physical pain, not to mention suffering from a lot of the emotional distress that comes along with temporary immobility. In short, I was feeling like life had just dealt me a tough hand. Little did I know that my entire perspective was about to be changed forever.

"Miranda, New York City is being attacked!" Trying to shake off the mental fog that accompanies a fitful nights sleep, I slowly opened my eyes. My mother was sitting on the edge of my bed, eyes wide with disbelief. As my mom began to relay the details of the first plane hitting the WTC, 'this is a strange dream', I thought. Yet, as she continued to talk and I began to feel the familiar tug of the cast on my leg I realized that I was, in fact, awake. My first coherent thought was one of panic, "where's dad?!" I asked.
My dad had been taking quite a few trips to New York lately and he had a business meeting scheduled in New York that very day. The night before, September 10th I had wished him a nice trip and safe return home and then took no more thought in the matter.

"He's at work," she said. "His plane never took off."

With a sigh of relief I sat upright, adjusted my crutches, and pushed off the edge of my sleigh bed in order to give my arms a little extra assistance. As I hobbled into my parents bedroom to the nearest television I paused, transfixed by the horrific image of a fiery plane thrust into the side of one of the World Trade Center Towers like a spear. In the hours to come I sat glued to the television fearing I was watching the end of the world unfold right before my tired eyes. I watched as the second plane struck, as desperate men and women jumped out of the towers. I watched as those magnificent buildings crumbled into a tsunami of ashes and smoke that encompassed the whole city like an atomic bomb unlike any scene out Hollywood's highest grossing action film. I watched as newscasters cried as they interviewed survivors and family members searching for loved ones...I cried too. I cried tears of joy that I was so unaffected but I also cried tears for my generations' lost innocence. Kids my age had seen relatively so little conflict. We assumed that America was loved by nearly everyone, everywhere. We had never seen real war. We had only read about it in our history books in sepia-toned pictures and fancy computer generated charts.

At that point in time, things felt like they might never be the same. In many ways, they haven't been the same. They won't ever be the same. But, September 11th, 2001 was not the end of the world. After the media stopped showing the images of the planes crashing and the anthrax scares began to die down, life began to restore itself. The radio stopped playing audio clips of the president's rousing speeches and promises to retaliate against terrorists. My cast came off and I returned to my college team. Life was restored to its usual ebb and flow...but I was forever changed. I will never forget the events of that fateful day. Seven years later I am so thankful for the blessings I enjoy and for the way my outlook changed on a sunny September day from a surly eighteen year to that of a concerned, patriotic citizen.

My First Hurricane

Since we are only about an hour away from the Louisiana border here in East Texas, this weekend we have been sharing the experience of Hurricane Gustav with our neighboring states. Thankfully, the Hurricane has been slightly less powerful than originally expected...and Tai and I live far enough out of the hurricane's path that we will likely only have heavy rain and wind.

Yesterday in church, we only met for sacrament meeting. For the time being, our building is acting as a temporary shelter for evacuees, and all the rooms (except the chapel) are housing people evacuating from the hurricane. I must admit it's really interesting to see how the church responds in this type of a crisis. And...the upside was that I got out of teaching a Sunday School Lesson :) Things like this just don't happen in Northern California!