First Day of Kindergarten

Monday (yea, I'm a bit behind on the blog), a big change in Abby and Emma’s life and mine and Sheri’s as well…the first day of Kindergarten. We had to get up very early – 5:45 am – the same time I get up every Sunday. The girls are scheduled to be picked up by the school bus. But on the first day, we drove them (driving your child to school the first day is a bit of a Friendswood tradition, as well.) We got their early, and good thing. Traffic around the school was an absolute disaster. We parked about two blocks away to stay out of the parking lot mess. We took the girls to the classrooms (we decided to separate them) and got them settled. There was another mother dropping her child off in Emma’s class who started to cry. Expected, I suppose, it’s a big life-changing day Sheri did okay. I think she was just nervous and a little worried.
That afternoon, when the bus dropped the girls off at the corner, Sheri was there to meet them. They said they had a good day. Later, when I got home, I asked Abby how her day was. Here answer, “It was boring.” I told her, it will get better once you get into your regular routine. She’s going to be fine!
A big day, a big change, and a right of passage all in one day.

In-Laws Visit

Last week, Sheri's parents were here. My father-in-law, the jack of all trades that he is, brought his skills to bear on our house once more. He built new drawers to replace the plastic drawers that were installed by the contractor years ago when the house was built. Build a house as cheap as possible must have been their mantra back then. The wooden drawer fronts were falling off the plastic drawers so something need to be done. We also installed new countertops and sinks in the master bath and the girls' bath. We quickly discovered that off-the-shelf kitchen countertops are not the same as bathroom counters. We cut and improvised and made it happen. They ended up looking great.
We did some fun stuff too. We took them down to the Island. Sheri got to hang out with her mom a lot. Great visit and look forward to their return

Tropical Storm Edouard

Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall yesterday about 30 miles east of Galveston Island (about 50 miles from Friendswood.) And ultimately, it looked worse on TV or on radar than reality on the ground. In Friendswood, we had about 2 inches of rain and 20-30 mile per hour winds. No damage except for some small branches down out of our trees.
It was fascinating watching how we all prepared for the worst. Everyone put gas in their car. But there were no long lines and everyone remained calm and orderly (like they have done this drill before.) We also had to do the "go to the store and get bread, milk, and bottled water." The milk piece of that equation is interesting. Think about it: if we lose power, the milk will quickly spoil. Water makes much better sense. The whole community experience reminded me of getting ready for a big snowfall up north - particularily in Tennessee.
Nevertheless, Edouard's punch was pretty weak. And we got some much needed rain.