Hurricane Ike

Just an update for any of you who may care . . . Our home in Katy is just fine. During the heavy winds a little water came in one of the windows, but our renters were able to dry it and it caused no problem. Our neighborhood in Katy was fortunate enough to weather the storm without losing power. That is a huge deal!!! It is the difference between enjoying the recovery and abhorring it.

My parents and my brother, Shad's family really took the brunt of the storm. They live more central in Houston and had a very long noisy night and lost power at about 11pm. They still do not have power and are sweltering. My parents have a generator on their fridge and have a small room (about 15 feet by 12 feet) that has a window unit AC, but it also has all their food storage and shelves. I am sure tonight it will be close quarters with my Mom and Dad, Tyler, Shad, Amy and their 3 kids. The AC is little, and that is a lot of body heat in a small space. Hopefully it can keep up.

Here is the update I sent out for them . . .

Dear Everyone,

I just got off the phone with my Mom. They are still doing well. They still do not have power, but the phone is working (it sounds as if it is ringing off the hook, so they may actually start wishing it would go out too! ha ha)

They did learn a very valuable lesson that she wanted me to pass on to all of you if you ever find yourself "hunkering" down through a natural disaster.

IMPORTANT LESSON - Do not store all of your tools, gas, and emergency essentials in a garage that has no door or access other than the electric garage door opener. If you do and the power goes out you will be unable to get to them.

It would have been so easy for them to have just pulled the cord which would have let them get in and out easily, but they never thought about it. They have since squished through the attic crawl space and lifted "an attic" access (that has no stairs or ladder) and my Dad very gingerly landed in the dark on top of all the tools and stuff with a tremendous thud. He managed to do it with just drawing a little blood. They pulled the cord and got in. Since then my Mom thinks she accidentally reengaged it and they can't get in again. Maybe this time, they will set up a ladder under the attic access hole.

Their home is getting muggy and hot and they are preparing to move out to the back room and plug in the window AC. The problem is then they have to give up the big screen TV and I don't think they will do that until the BYU football game is over. I mean they still at least have their priorities in check! My Mom was out picking up debris in the yard and the pool (to cool off) and my Dad was on his way to a ward member's house to assess the damage there. He had heard it was pretty bad.

Now, don't feel too bad for them. Their dear neighbor, Helen Viola, has cooked up all her brisket and shrimp and having them for dinner tonight. When the power is out, you either eat it or lose it!