Ice Storm 2009

Okay, so again I am waaay guilty of not updating the blog in forever...what can I say? Let's start with the HUGE ice storm that ripped through our part of the US and wiped out power for days...some still without power. I assume you all saw the news and the reports from our area. Let me begin by saying, they are all true. It really was that bad!! The governor has declared our area a state of emergency, stating that this could have been one of the biggest natural disasters to hit this area. So many have died, some froze to death, some ran off the road, and some died when their generators blew up. So sad..such devastation.

Our AR Starkey family was without power on two separate instances during the storm. It began on the 27th of January and we lost power that day. We made a pallet in the living room and closed off all of the doors in the house so that we could contain some heat. Luckily, we have a gas fireplace, which we were able to run and stay warm with. We were all bundled up with sweats and such. It was like camping, I guess...just cold and we couldn't go anyway or do anything because we were iced in. We looked like we had a seance going on with our candles that we had lit. It was definitely an experience and again, I was able to appreciate some of the things that I take for granted on an everyday basis. (This year has been quite the learning experience for us..we are really learning to appreciate the simple things.) During the power outage, we kept most of our cold food in the cooler in the garage. Our power re booted for a day and then we lost it again for another day. In my mom's part of the state, they experienced the storm also. My mom just got power last weekend-12 days without power. My Uncle Harry says he thinks it will take him a year to clean up after all the destruction the storm left behind. He has fences down everywhere and all the roads through out the property are impassible. We will be making a trip to Ash Flat soon, so that we can at least lend a weekend of help to him. I guess I should mention, that the destruction I am talking about is all the tree limbs that busted due to the weight of the ice...hence power lines down and power lines busted in half. My cousin works for the electric company and has been on duty since the 27th without a day off...they are still trying to get people back on-line.

This is a pic I took just as the storm was rolling in. It is out our back window. Doesn't look like much at this point.

Here is a picture of our grass. Literally every blade is covered in ice.

Ice starting to form on our house

Emily and I were trying to stay warm in the house until dad got there to start the fireplace for us. Em was having a good time!

Me and Em the second day of no heat..we look hot. No showers, etc. Ya, that's the life! ;)

Emily and Trigger cuddling to stay warm

I failed to get final pics of ALL the ice that was covering everything. SORRY! I think there were reports of like 3 in of ice covering everything. Here are a few pics I snapped at Tyson corporate, post storm..

Tree in half...

These are a few more recent. Still looks like a tornado ripped through our area. Everywhere you look you find tree limbs. It is insane!
Can you see all the limbs covering the entire lawn? (Those aren't bushes)

I was off from work for 3 days, and Rich, 2. He was able to work from home, though, so he was on and off the phone all day. One day, he took Emily to the office for a few hours. (her daycare was closed for 2 days because they had no power) I asked him how that went, and he said he got a lot of work done, but none of the girls at work got much accomplished!! We acquired a few more babysitters! He left shortly after he got a few things done. At least we know he works for an understanding company who believes in "family comes first" and will allow an 8 month old in the office for a few hours! On Friday, we had it all planned out, that if Em's school wasn't open again, I was going to take her to work and work out of the conference room (since I work with bio hazardous substances that babies probably shouldn't play with). Luckily, school powered back up, partially, if you take in to account the hole in the roof that a tree came through....ya....