Tuscaloosa Tornado
April 27, 2011 started out like any other day in the Roby house. We called Aunt Mamma to sing happy birthday, had breakfast, and got ready for school. There were warnings of bad weather for the day but after an early morning storm I thought we were ok for a while so I took the kids to school. By the time I got home, the tornado sirens were going off. The sky was clear but eerie. That passed and around 11:30 they were going off again. I called the school and made sure they were safe until it was time to pick them up at 12. I got them home and watched the weather the rest of the afternoon. It would get very dark and rain a little and then it would pass. There were tornado sightings all around us so I was a nervous wreck. Thankfully Whitt came home around 4:00 because the worst was supposed to be headed our way. We were playing just waiting and watching the weather and then the sirens started going off again. The kids and I headed into the hall with our pillows, books, crayons, etc while Whitt watched the weather. Then at 5:30 pm the power went off and that started our crazy next few days. Thankfully we were spared the wrath of the storm but unfortunately Tuscaloosa and many others cities were not. It is amazing looking at all of the pictures and video taken during that day. Thankfully we were just without power (a good reminder of what all we take for granted) but sadly so many lost everything! My phone didn't work but Whitts did and he was looking at all of the devastation around the state. Our entertainment for the next few nights was our old boombox. It felt like we were in a nightmare. Everyone was calling in telling where you could get ice and gas and who had power and who didn't. We quickly realized that it could be 5 - 7 days without power because the big power structures were down. I wanted to leave town but we decided to wait it out.
It is hard to believe that the next morning looked like this! What a beautiful day. We were not very prepared for the power to be out so Whitt took off to Florence for ice, gas, food, batteries and a small grill (ours has to be plugged in) while the kids and I ventured out into the neighborhood to see what was going on.
Whitt finally made it back! I was so glad to see him..it was so strange not being able to call him or anyone else!
This is what our counter looked like with all of the coolers and food. We also had big coolers in the garage with milk, etc.
We had plenty of bananas, water and I think three loaves of bread.
While Whitt was putting the grill together we were playing outside. The puddles were too hard to resist so I just gave in.
had a pillow fight
and ate the best hot dogs I have ever eaten! Thankfully it wasn't very hot outside and we had a nice dark, quiet night. Friday morning, I opened my eyes at 2:50 and saw the fan moving. I was so excited to have power!!! I was even more excited because the royal wedding was starting at 3:00 am. So I was up all morning watching the coverage. The kids were also very excited to wake up and watch their shows. That afternoon, we went to the store and came home and the power was off again. It was a bad joke! We took our dinner to Gigi and Sirs house because they still had power and ate with them. We had to eat early and quick so we could be home before the curfew!
The next morning, we woke up and decided to go to the Nashville Zoo. On the way, the gas stations were packed with people trying to get ice and gas. We stopped closer to Nashville and Wallace picked out some juice for him and Emma-Glenn. When I got up to the counter to pay for it I couldn't believe I was about to pay $6 for two small bottles of apple juice (but they did have Eeyore and Minnie Mouse on the top).
Wallace catching a ride on Daddy's shoulders.
Checking out the map to see what we should see first. Emma-Glenn was very excited to see monkey's so that was our first stop.
LOOK ,MONKEYS
especially when we got to crawl up and watch them.
Wallace showing me how a flamingo stands on one leg.
Asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.
We headed home to still no power so Emma-Glenn went to Meme and Pops house to spend the night and Wallace, Whitt and I went to Gigi and Sirs house.
Playing at Meme's house.
Pop and the kiddos coloring.
FLIP.
FINALLY, the power came back on Sunday, April 4th. We headed home from Meme's and tried to get things back to normal. We are so thankful to have a normal to go back to! What an adventure this has been!
***And to top off this crazy few days, they announced on the news Sunday night that Bin Laden had been killed. What a busy week!
The night before the last day of school, we participated in the Red Cross Fashion Show. Whitt was out of town so thankfully I had my mom as back up! She helped get the kids ready while I was getting beautified!
They were so precious! They waved and clapped and had the best time!
I don't think they wanted to leave the stage!
Emma-Glenn waving.
Blowing pageant kisses.
When Wallace saw me, he couldn't believe how I looked. He had never seen me with that much make-up on and with "crazy hair". This is the back of my "crazy hair". I thought it was pretty cool. I wish someone could do something fun to my hair everyday! It was a night full of stress, fun, candy and ice cream and when it was all over, we crashed so we could get up and start all over again the next morning with end of the year parties!
