Saturday morning was packed! After he helped with chores, Shane got ready for a riding lesson.
I wish we'd do more of those. I think it's good to have activities. Ann came by at 9 AM and Shane rode around for a little over half an hour.
I don't know how much trotting Shane worked on at Triple R, but he looked better when he didn't slouch.
Carrie hopped on Lilly while they rode. Horses and family getting exercise? Together? Score!
Which left me to scoop poop (It counted as exercise, at least!).
Everyone finished up before 10 AM.
Which gave us just enough time to pack up and drive over to Dr. Ho's Humble Pie and meet up with Nana and Pop. They were returning from a week of babysitting Aiden and Graham in NOVA and going through grandchild withdrawal. Shane jumped in the car with them to cure them of their ails as they headed south.
But not before Pop did a little teasing...
And not before Nana took a family picture.
Shane will spend the next week (or two?) adventuring in SC and partying with family. I have some training to do at the start of the week, but I'm sure Carrie and I will find some fun things to do ourselves while he's gone.
It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. I only have two more weeks before I report back to work. I wish I had more, but it's better to focus on enjoying the time I have than wishing for the time I don't.
VBS at First Baptist was this week. This year's theme was archeology and title "Destination Dig."
Shane and I showed up at 8 AM Monday morning. It started at 9 AM.
We had to arrive early since I was teaching. I've worked with the youth in the past, but their event was held the week before. I ended up with Logan and Laurie teaching 5th grade.
It went well! Shane started off the week complaining ("Why do I have to go?") and ended the week wishing it was longer. My class went smoothly, too. First Baptist has a ton of experience with kids and it shows. There were over 50 youth helpers. I've thought about bringing Shane to their youth program when he's old enough, because it's so strong.
I don't have a lot of pictures from the week, because we weren't supposed to take any. I only have two where I feel like Shane is the only kid recognizable. Both pics were at 'off' times.
The first example is from Missions and Snack. Shane has a hard time sitting down. Frequently, he was the only kid laying or rolling around.
Shane made small noises, but never got in trouble for it. There was one boy who kept calling out and was asked to quiet down.
The second example is Shane sat out in Recreation one day. I'd seen someone talk to him about climbing and hiding behind some equipment, but they normally didn't make kids sit out. I waited 10 minutes before I went over to check in.
Shane said he chose to sit out, because he "hates relay races." The kids were in lines to pass balloons. Later, they carried a bean bag back and forth across the gym (Once balanced on their heads!). Everyone was laughing and cheering and it seemed to be the sort of thing Shane would love. The kids were all terrific and positive from what I saw. There were no insults or blaming. I guess Shane's had a bad experience in the past (and he can be offput by direct competition). I thought it should've been something he excelled at, so I encouraged him to get out there. I didn't press or force the issue when he didn't want to (but I definitely thought about it strongly!).
There were far more good times than bad. I just don't have those pictures, because Shane was jumping and smiling with a bunch of other kids I wasn't supposed to photograph. There was the time Shane was dancing and excited after he volunteered for a quiz show and got the last answer right for his team. Then there was the time he was the most animated shark during sharks and minnows any of the teachers had ever seen! He ran up and hugged me in the halls when our classes crossed paths or I picked him up.
Shane's going again next year, for sure!
In the past, we've normally not attended family night. We went this year. Shane laughed as they threw a giant beachball at Treasure Hunter Dave to represent all the money colllected for sending Bibles to Georgia in Georgian.
He saved his energy during the songs until it was time for all the kids to go up on stage. Naturally, I encouraged him to go. Unlike a young me, it didn't take much. He was happy to run up with everyone!
I videotaped both songs they performed.
Shane could see me taping, but I don't think he needed any extra energy.
Masks were optional for VBS and most kids went without. There were definitely masks around, but none of the kids commented on them that I heard. I've worked with the youth in the past, so I don't know if the emphasis on dance moves over singing is par for the course or pandemic new (I suspect the former). Overall things felt somewhat returned to normal....though, I'll feel best about it after a week goes by and I don't hear about any outbreaks!
Wednesday night, I started to see lightning as I was trying to go to sleep. I heard the power flicker on and off and Loki started to bark when thunder rumbled. I got up to investigate and Carrie woke soon after.
Lightning kept flashing. It lit up the whole night, but there was no sound of rain or thunder for most of it.
When the rain did hit, it came all at once. Followed by howling wind and hail.
It got so loud, Carrie woke Shane and made him retreat to the inner bathroom. I stayed out to keep an eye on things. The wind sounded like it was wrapping around the house. Something loud kept banging and I thought it was the rolled up porch awning.
I don't think it was the worst storm I'd ever been in, but it had to be Top 5.I asked Shane if he wanted to come out and look at it with me, but Carrie kept him in the bathroom with her.
It felt long, but the storm blew through enough for me to go out and check on the barn. The boy's hay feeder had been blown over (much like the mare's had in March). Only this time the wind broke all the bungie ties and blew the cover into the fence.
All the horses were okay, but there was pooled water in the barn. I don't think the storm lasted more than 15 minutes, but it poured a bunch of water sideways at us!
Carrie came out to help me right the hay feeder and we noticed the boys weren't hiding under the roofline anymore. They were terrified of a groundhog that must have been flooded out of his hole!
The next morning, I saw a trashcan outside the bathroom window. "That's not supposed to be there," I said.
None of the trashcans were where I'd left them. And one of the two bags of trash was hanging out by itself.
I still don't know where the second bag of trash went. At this point, I'm beginning to doubt there ever was a second bag!
I found the trash cans scattered all over.
It was like a Where's Waldo book only in real life (and smelled bad).
There was indeed a trashcan outside my bedroom bathroom....and what was that I spied off in the trees?
Trashcan #3.
And it was up and hiding amidst brambles. There was some soupy, trash water inside as a fun surprise.
Trashcan #4 was behind the house by the back porch.
And the waterbarrel had somehow managed to roll down by the arena. The gate must have blown open afterward unless I'm to believe the waterbarrel opened it for some shelter amidst the storm!
Falling trees are a serious danger with heavy winds. While we didn't have any trees near the house, the treelilne along the arena was definitely changed.
It used to be a wall of green, but now I can look from the barn straight at our neighbor's.
I wasn't exaggerating when I said the rain came in sideways, either. The transom window above our front door, which is under our roof was still wet from being pelted by rain and hail.
I took a picture of the feeder. You can see the top's been blown off. You can also see the pile of hay it used to stand over. Carrie and I tipped it back up in the dark and scooted it back to where it would stay level, but apparently not back to where it began.
Things were worse elsewhere in town. Highway 6 was closed. Downed trees were everywhere.
A storm aficionado happened to be in town at the gas station and took a video. I bet news channels purchased the footage.
We were better off than many. Carrie had horse friends who'd lost sheds and had roof damage. There wasn't a time given for when the power would be restored until later in the afternoon...and then some of the reports conflicted. One part of the map said 6:30 PM today and the other said 6:30 PM tomorrow.
ACPS opened up Walton Middle School as a cooling center since it was supposed to be over 90°.
We got our generator up and going before Shane and I left for Vacation Bible School that morning. It wasn't strong enough for the air conditioning, but it kept the fridges, the well, and the cell phones working.
There was a "Road Closed" sign blocking the way home I stopped to take a picture of before continuing on.
We had to ignore it and drive around to get back home after VBS.
Shane and I were supposed to go to NOVA to visit Nana and Pop while they babysat Graham and Aiden (Matt and Renee were in Maine for their first vacation sans kids!).
We got lunch and hung out in town instead. The house was still without power and Carrie was a little shook.
I took Shane the comic store as a consolation prize. I figured I'd get him a few things to read in the car (because I want him to read more!).
Random ADHD: "Hey! That's the guy who did Dexter's Laboratory! And Hotel Transylvania!"
Books are a great way to entertain without electricity!
I would have taken Shane to the pool, but...
Power did go back on around 6:30 PM. It lasted until about 2 AM when a transformer failed and we were without power again.
The pool got power back while Shane and I were still at VBS.
Carrie said our power didn't come back on until after noon.
The storm's classification was eventually upgraded to a microburst. I haven't seen official statistics for windspeeds or the size of hail. I heard the hail at our house, but never saw any of it so it must have been much smaller than what was a couple miles down the road.
There was another microburst that hit Charlottesville about a decade ago. Hopefully, they aren't going to become a regular fixture for the area! We made it through this one mostly alright save some lost sleep and hours of power.
Carrie even found the third missing trashcan lid down by the arena on Saturday.
I only need to find one more lid to restore our trash status to normal...
Of course, I was cooking. The timer was ticking down, too.
I had to watch from the porch as I moved back and forth. Shane heard there was a skunk, but since he was on Roblox he sat and drooled.
Carrie came back in without the skunk. She said it was a young one, but healthy. It hadn't shown any interest in coming up to her.
Carrie was fine with having a skunk around. "They eat bugs," she said. "Have at it, little guy!"
Over the next week there were many skunk sightings. It made its way across all the pastures.
Eowyn lost her muzzle in Pasture #4 one morning and I walked by skunky in Pasture #3.
He/she was happily, nose down and rooting for food as I walked by.
I made a few noises to get its attention, but it was too busy looking for lunch to care.
Sunday morning, it was wet out. Laura played fetch with Loki in the arena and he was covered in gravel dust, so I took him to chase cars and clean off.
Skunky was there.
So far, Loki hasn't tangled with Skunky. I saw the potential for trouble right away, but Loki was fixated on the cars. He saw Skunky shortly after this picture.
Thankfully, Loki listens well. When he started to run and investigate and I yelled, "Ehn!" He turned around to give me a look, I yelled, "GO-GO-GO!" and Skunky was forgotten.
Skunky noticed me, though. The tail went up!
It let me get a better picture of Skunky's face.
I let Loki run for an abbreviated time and we headed back in. Loki already smells like he could use a bath. He didn't need a skunk to make it worse!
There hasn't been any issues with the horses, so there's no reason to do anything yet other than take pictures and post a blog. If something does happen...well, that'll be another post!
