Hurricane Michael

Oh goodness. Hurricane Michael was definitely the highlight of our Fall season. What a scary storm to stay through! This storm was the strongest we've been in and ended up being one of the strongest in the panhandle's history! This storm was also different than the previous storms we've been through because there was little warning. We are used to 7-10 days to watch and prep for it but Michael popped up onto the radar with little more than 48 hours warning. We decided from the beginning that we would stay home for it. We were prepared with gas, supplies and were confident it wouldn't be a big deal. That changed quickly when we woke up to a category 4 storm just 6 hours before it hit.

We went to bed Sunday evening with the notion we may get a storm on Wednesday morning. The next day at school, we found out that school was cancelled through the week as the storm had picked up steam. The boys and I spent Tuesday preparing while Dust worked. When he got home Monday evening, we did all the last minute preparations and parked the car in the garage. You wouldn't believe the work that goes into this until you've lived it! Putting important documents and possessions in the washer, filming the entirety of your home in case of ruin, cleaning every ounce of laundry and entire house, stocking supplies and making sure things are charged. The list is endless.

Playing while mama works

I got in one last workout!!

Ice on ice on ice on ice...

And all the coffee!

Hurricane prep is exhausting!

On Wednesday morning, we still had power so Dustin cooked one last warm meal...

And by lunchtime we still had power, too, so I cooked another hot meal!

They even got in some video game time before the power went out in the late afternoon....

And by 3PM, things started up.

And quickly became scary!

It was touch and go for about 8 hours. Truly, we were on edge for 8 hours just SURE a tree would fall on our home. We listened and watched while about 12 trees in our immediate neighbors' yards fell. We were so much luckier than most of our neighbors. There are now tarps on so many homes waiting on new roofs... It is amazing how quickly mother nature can change your life!

Reading before bed

 We woke up the next morning with our home and vehicles still intact. Our fence was damaged but otherwise we were fine! We decided to take our curious little boys on a walk through the neighborhood before starting cleanup.

This is the main entrance to our neighborhood. A ROAD, PEOPLE!

My friend, Caitlyn's home :( It was totaled and they are now looking for a new place to live. She lives on the street behind us.

Brand new home :(

 Once we saw the neighborhood, we headed home to start the cleanup process. Dustin and I tag teamed it and got the front done in 6ish hours.

Phew...thats better!

 Around dinner time (also known as 26 hours without power), we heard that some roads and Publix had reopened temporarily. We all ran to the store so that we could sit in the AC of the car. Dustin went inside to get a few essentials for us and brought each of us a surprise to lift our spirits :)

When we got home, we enjoyed our treats and relaxed in the front for a while. It was much cooler outdoors than indoors so we were outside all day.

A treat for mama, too!

 In the evening, our neighbor came home (he is a firefighter) and he started cutting up the tree that fell in front of their home. The boys LOVED this and got a front row seat until bedtime.

Meanwhile, Daddy started on the back yard

Without power, daddy again tried to lift our spirits by cooking ravioli and grilled cheese for everyone on the grill. He really does take such good care of us.

Before we all went to bed that evening, we had to bathe. Cold showers and baths are teh worst but we put it off as long as possible! With no power, we had no choice. Brrrrr!


The last thing we saw before bed that night was this on the thermostat. After only 2 days with no power and spotty cell service, we were done! Luckily it was mimi to the rescue :)

Hurricane footage between major gusts: