Weekend update: storms, shopping and ziplining. Oh my!

On Friday afternoon, my phone started going crazy with severe weather alerts.  Apparently our county was under a tornado watch AND a flood warning.

Peter had gotten home early because they had field day.  He had a great time.  Each grade competes against each other and then against  the other grades and an official winner is announced.  The seniors won but the freshmen came in second so Peter was happy. I know most schools do field day at the end of the year, but his school uses field day to  promote bonding and getting to know your classmates early in the school year. 

As I was heading out to pick up Sarah I told him that if the sky got dark and the winds picked up, he needed to head to the basement.  He rolled his eyes, put his headphones back on, and went back to the computer screen he had been looking at before I so rudely interrupted him.  If a tornado was going to hit, I doubt he would have noticed until the roof collapsed on him.

I got Sarah without incident and we got home safe and sound.  But, later that evening before Dan got home from work, I looked out the window and noticed that to my left, the sky was very dark and to my right, a white sheetof water was coming from the tree line in the neighborhood behind us.

I snapped this beauty:

And about two seconds later, it was pouring down rain.

And the trees in the back were swaying and bending and the leaves looked all jumbled up and crazy blowing in multiple directions at once and I stood there watching and waiting for a tree to blow over or a funnel cloud to appear.

Not once did I heed my own advice and go to the basement.  And the kids didn't even realize there was a weird storm happening.

My dad apparently was watching from the front of his house to see if his 100+ year old pecan trees were holding up and to check for any funnel shaped clouds.  He didn't think to go to the basement either.

But, in my defense, the tornado watch was for a different part of the county (our county is very large and it was in the southern part and we are in the northern part) but still.   I'm about 50% sure if I had seen a funnel shaped cloud I would have hauled my big butt to the basement in record time.  I'm also about 50% sure I might have stayed at the window to film it.  Luckily that  wasn't an issue.

On Saturday morning, the boys did yard work (and helped my dad and brother clean up a Bradford pear tree that had fallen during the storm.)  Sarah and I went shopping for a few fall clothes for her.  My sweet girl had no pants that fit her.  They were all too tight and too short.  We found a couple of pairs of jeans at Target (20% off with the Cartwheel app) and then headed to Old Navy where she got a few shirts because most of those were also too tight and too short.

We grilled out on Saturday evening and then headed to Sonic for 1/2 price shakes after 8:00.  We do that all summer until they stop and go back to regular price.  And guess what?  They weren't 1/2 price BUT you could get a small one for $2 but the other sizes were regular price.  I guess summer really is over....

On Sunday we went to Mass and then had lunch at my parent's house and Dan fixed a leaky toilet and I did some laundry because I was behind thanks to his trip. When he gets home from a trip, I get a whole suitcase full of dirty clothes to deal with.

And then on Monday, we tried something new!  We went ziplining!

At the high school football game the previous weekend, we were talking to some friends who had taken their kids to Carolina Zipline Canopy Tours recently and had a blast  They've been several times and always enjoy it.

Dan has wanted to try it for sometime now and Peter is usually up for anything involving height and speed.  Sarah and I, on the other had, are both afraid of heights and we don't like going fast.

On Monday, while Dan was on his trip, I sent him a text and ask him if he thought Sarah could handle the zipline.  He suggested I ask her.  So before I mentioned it to Peter, I talked to her about it.  She seemed a little reluctant at first. But we checked out their website and looked at some of the videos they had posted.  It seemed very doable for both of us so I purchase a Groupon (definitely the way to go!) and booked our reservation.

We arrived Saturday morning, got harnessed up and headed to the course.  There were two smaller practice lines and we did those first. It took a little cajoling to get Sarah to step off the platform into thin air and go but she did it!  I was so proud of her.  Had we been there alone and not with other people waiting to go behind her, the outcome might have been a little different.

But ultimately she was glad she did it because she was able to complete the whole course.  And we all had a great time.  Honestly, the worst part was the first couple of times you had to step off the platform.  Once you got used to that and realized you weren't going to die, then it became second nature.  And smartly, they have it designed so you start small and short and work your way up to the higher 1000 foot line.

My dad asked if I would do it across a canyon or something really high up and I can honestly say the answer to that is a resounding NO!  I will always be afraid of heights and don't see myself jumping out of airplanes or bungee jumping anytime soon (or ever) but it was nice to be able to get out of my comfort zone and do something a little wild (for me) with my family.

Here we are heading off on one of the shorter lower lines:

Me!

My girl!

My boy!

And the day wouldn't be complete without a dorky family selfie!

Have a great (short!) week everyone!