Rain and Shine

Last Saturday, Derrick left to visit his friends in California for a few days. My man works very hard every day and hasn't seen his friends since our wedding, so he was overdue for a few days of golfing, watching football and going to a bar. 

Vince and Derrick

While we missed Daddy, we also made sure to stay busy. So on Sunday, Amelia's classmate, his sister and mommy met us at the Nashville Zoo for a fun outing. Four little monkeys running wild:

 Amelia was all about the giraffes that day:

The highlight of the day was feeding the Lorikeets with nectar. 

We also visited my favorite - the kangaroos:

Snakes and frogs at Unseen World:

Elliot had his heart set on riding the choo choo train, so we did that before heading home:

The sun was shining brightly, the kids were happy and sweaty and the animals mostly sleepy the later it got in the day. But most of all, it was great spending a day with friends and my two favorite kids:

The majority of our week was uneventful, but we did get our new refrigerator delivered on Wednesday. Last Wednesday and without any warning, our old fridge stopped working and we learned that this is the one appliance you cannot live without - especially in the heat of the summer. Even though we did not budgeted for that big expense, we were happy once the new fridge arrived. Out with the old, in with the new: (we also now have a smaller, used fridge in the garage, which is awesome as these side-by-side refrigerators have limited storing capacity):

Wednesday night, Derrick came back home and now our world is back in order. Nothing is better than all of us (including the cat) relaxing on the couch before bed time.

A namesake beer to celebrate:

For the past week, Hurricane Harvey dumped devastating amounts of rain on Texas and Louisiana and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.  

(Photo: Jeff Piotrowski- Rockport, TX)

(Photo: David J. Phillip - Rescue Boats in houston, TX)

To see these photos of the destruction is heart wrenching but this disaster also brings out the best in people. There are lines of people ready to volunteer, rescuing people with their own boats or sending in much needed supplies and money. I was delighted to hear today that my company is working with our distributors, some of which are in the oil and gas refinery segment, to help them get their machines back up and running and that we will collect supplies for the storm victims. For the last 24 hours, the outliers of Harvey have dumped a a significant amount of rain here in Tennessee and have caused severe flooding in certain areas. As a result, all schools were closed today and while it is fun for the kids to spend an extra day at home, it also means that we have to entertain them (I also worked from home today, which meant by lunch time I was exhausted). Amelia was playing in the rain this morning:

And after some homework, she enjoyed reading her book:

Unfortunately, Elliot is sick with a low grade fever and a bad cough, so he is recuperating on the couch. Luckily, we have a long weekend ahead of us as Monday is Labor Day.  Since it is forecasted to continue raining until tomorrow afternoon, we will stay inside, rest up and say our blessings to have a home that keeps us warm and dry.