Hurricane Ian & Jack's braces

We first became aware of Hurricane Ian about a week before landfall. The forecasters knew it was coming to Florida, but did not know precisely where or with what intensity. The Saturday before landfall, they seemed to settle on a path closer to the panhandle. The girls and I went to WalMart Saturday morning to grab something for a birthday party and Walmart was crazy. I couldn't figure out what was going on, it was like black Friday. Then, I realized it must be the hurricane. People that seemed panicky made me feel panicky, but I just grabbed what we came for and got out of there as quickly as possible. 

On Monday, they were forecasting it was going to hit Tampa Bay and then come up through Orlando early Thursday morning. It was only going to be a Category 2 at landfall, so not much for us inland to worry about. But, we did make sure we had water on hand. They cancelled school for Wednesday and Thursday. There were mandatory evacuations for Tampa Bay. Then less than 24 hours before landfall, the path shifted more south. It was now beelined for Fort Myers, and it was going to be a Category 4, maybe even a Category 5. That is when things really get scary. Again, not so much for us inland, but for those taking the direct hit, a Cat 4 is catastrophic. I felt really bad for those in the new path, I worried they didn't have enough time to evacuate and that it would be hard for them to find gas and places to go, since other parts of the coast had already left. Anyway, I knew it was going to be ugly. And, it was still forecasted to pass right over us, but since it was going to be so much stronger at landfall, it was slightly more worrisome.

Tuesday night, we ordered 6 large pizzas--one for each of us. We told everyone to make it last (and they have, it is now Saturday and we still have 2 left). We also did our last minute preparations of moving all the stuff from the pool deck and porch to the garage. Wednesday was rainy and windy. The girls went swimming in the rain. Thomas and I had to work and I had a lot of stuff to handle for end of fiscal year. Wednesday night was a little scary. The wind and rain were really loud and we were under tornado watches all night. Because of our previous flood issues, I got up a few times to make sure the roof wasn't leaking. And, when I did manage to fall asleep, my phone beeped me awake with flood warnings. I couldn't turn it off because we needed to be aware if the tornado watch turned into a warning. It was a looonnnngggg night. Thursday morning seemed better and the boys went swimming, but then the wind picked up again. There was a lot of flooding in the neighborhood, but fortunately, it seemed like most of our neighbors had little to no damage. We also never lost power.

By Thursday night, the rain had stopped completely and the wind was more mild. Kara and I went for a walk. We saw a few downed trees and lots of water in the streets, but it seemed mostly okay. School was canceled for Friday. Thomas and I still had to work, but it was a quiet day. Orlando had a lot of flooding. Apparently, the worst flooding in hundreds of years and it may have still been a category one when it hit us (that is what the reporters speculated, but the wind didn't seem that bad to me, so I want to see something official). And, the hurricane didn't pass directly over us, it ended up shifting quite a bit south. It makes me nervous for our future in Florida and what could happen if the storm had come in from the east and closer to where we live (we are closer to the east coast). As it was, we couldn't safely leave the neighborhood until Friday because of flooding.

This is in our back yard. The retention pond, which is normally about 10 houses away overflowed all the way past our house.

Always fun to swim in the rain.

Luke's school playground. There is normally not any water in this area.

Path he walks to school is under water.

Boys swam too, the water was much colder on Thursday than Wednesday

Water down the street. One of the neighbors measured it at over 15" deep at its deepest point

Also on Friday, Jack got his braces off! It was supposed to be next week, but they called on Thursday and asked if he could come in Friday instead. And, since there was no school, it was much easier for us. Plus Thomas had already taken leave for a dentist's appointment that was cancelled.  So, two kids down and two to go! 

He said he has to learn how to smile without braces.