A Busy Weekend and a Hurricane!

I have to go back in time a bit to write about what we did outside the birthday stuff. 

On September 30th we had a "free" inspection of our plumbing and electrical systems. Apparently, at some time we signed up for a plan (likely during one of our plumbing problems, where they told us it would save us money) and that plan came with yearly inspections. Never again! The electrician told us that our outside panel was giving off heat and needed to be replaced ASAP to the tune of $5K. He pointed out that it was a gold color which he said was evidence of this heat, as compared to the silver color of the interior box. He said he wasn't allowed to say the word (fire) but that we all knew what could happen if something is emitting too much heat. In other words he laid it on thick. Too thick. It didn't feel right, so we got a second opinion. That guy charged us $350 and said the first guy was "an idiot". The color was different because it was copper and it was functioning fine and we were not in any danger. So, the free inspection costs us $350 just to resolve a problem we didn't have. The plumbers also found about $2500 of work that "needs" to be done. For example, Anna's toilet handle was broken, but he said he could fix that for just $100. Thomas bought a $5 part and had it done in two minutes. There were a couple of minor legitimate things that we will get taken care, but, we aren't going to hire that company!

Saturday morning, I took Jack to his cross-country meet. Jack set a new PR and came in at 18:53! He placed 35th out of over 100 runners and his team finished in second place. This was Jack's 5th race. He ran the first in 21:24, so this is awesome improvement. However, Jack was still disappointed, he was hoping to finish ahead of some kids who beat him.

Not sure who took this cool picture, obviously not me!

While we were doing that, Thomas dropped Kara off at lacrosse and then took Luke to a baseball tournament. Luke's team broke out of their slump and over the course of the weekend, won 3/3 games. The fourth was canceled for weather. Luke pitched and did amazing. He only gave up one hit and one walk in four innings on Saturday. And, he pitched three perfect innings in the Sunday game. He also hit well and had some good plays in the outfield.

Meanwhile, I dropped Jack off and went to Kara's lacrosse. They were doing a tournament style day. Kara played in two games and did well. Between games, we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A. On our way there, we passed Jack and Anna, who were leaving CFA. And, guess where Thomas and Luke went to lunch between his games??? A Chick-Fil-A! All 6 Wilson's had lunch at Chick-Fil-A in three groups of two on Saturday. 

Saturday night, Kara and I went to HHN with her friend Shannon. We did 5/10 houses and had a good time.

Sunday, I was planning on going to Luke's games, but I was 99% sure they would be canceled for weather. I was wrong, but it probably should have been canceled. They played one game in the rain and then canceled the second game. We had the remnants of a tropical storm passing over us. And, a hurricane was forecast to hit us later in the week. So, I decided to go to Walmart for our weekly shopping. Normally, we do a delivery on Monday or Tuesday, but I was afraid everything would be gone. I got everything on my list, but the store was definitely crowded for 7am on a Sunday. 

Junk food and toilet paper--we were all set!

There was no baseball or lacrosse practice during the week due to weather. And, school was canceled Wed-Fri. They have Monday off for Columbus Day, so the kids get a 6-day weekend. Unfortunately, Thomas and I are working like normal. The only drawback of teleworking is on those rare occasions when the base closes, we still have to work. Anna and I went for walks in the evening. She is thinking about trying to enlist in the Air Force after high school, so we are talking about that quite a bit. One night some of us watched The Haunted Mansion movie. We have also played games and are watching the Halloween episodes of Brooklyn 99. It has been nice to have everyone home at night.

For most of the week, the storm was forecast to go right over us, potentially as a Category 2 hurricane. We have a lot of large trees around our house, so this was pretty nerve-wracking. However, about 12 hours before landfall, it moved a little south. It was a loud night for wind, and we did (maybe) have some hurricane force gusts, but nothing like we feared. One smaller tree in our yard was knocked over and we lost a shutter, but overall, we fared well. It was still stressful, as the wind was loud and our phones went off all night with various alarms (flood warning! tornado watch!). These storms are so strange in how they manifest. Some areas of Orlando completely flooded and areas significantly north of us (thus, further from the eye) had way worse winds. I guess you never really know what to expect and just have to prepare for the worst.

Sad to see a tree down.

We found the shutter, but it was cracked. We are glad it didn't hit the cars.

Anna and I use the white pipe in one of the neighborhood ponds to judge rain levels. The picture on the left was Monday. The right was Thursday.