The Week That Just Keeps Going...And Going...And Going...

What is up with our out of control life?  I haven't been able to post all week due to the craziness of it all.  So, here is a (not so) quick 'Week In Review'.  I will try to post pictures later.

Last Thursday:  We had a slow day in the office as Porter and Jim were both out dove hunting for Opening Day with a client.  They had a successful and fun filled morning.  That evening we went to watch Will play in the JV Maroon game against Terry.  The weather was nice, the company was great...but Will pulled a groin muscle and had to sit out about half of the game.  It was a nail biter, but this time the suspense did not end in our favor.  The final score was Waller 7, Terry 13.  We ended our day with a great Mexican dinner after the game.

Friday: A quite night for Jim and I as Bri was out with friends and Will had to Maroon Man the Terry game in Fort Bend County. Jim and I finished up the irrigation system to the new food plot at the 17 acres.  (What a romantic evening alone, right?)  Will had the privilege of donning the 'Wally' costume for the game.  He had a great time...but I will be honest with you that in this Texas heat, he didn't smell great when we picked him up!  When you wear Wally, you have to bring him home and give him a bath.  Let's just say he got a strong dose of Fabreze!

Saturday: While Jim and the boys trimmed limbs down at the 17 acres, I headed to the Katy/Richmond area to meet up with friends.  We had tickets to see Kid Rock at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion!  (Thanks, Robin!)  We all gathered at Robin's for pizza before the limo picked us up for the ride to the concert.  Fun!  Fun!  It was a great concert and we had AMAZING seats!  I can hardly wait to show you the pictures I took on my cell phone with NO zoom!  So close! 

Sunday: I arrived home just as the family was beginning to stir.  Jim made a delicious breakfast and then we headed back down to the 17 acres to shoot skeet and target practice with my new 22 rifle. It was Bri's first time to shoot a shotgun...and the pictures are priceless! Will won the skeet contest...and Bri won the target shooting contest. 

Monday: Jim and Derrick took the morning to play a round of golf.  The weather was much nicer, but the winds were wild!  I spent the day cooking ribs and all the trimmings and desserts.  In fact, I made so many appetizers that we weren't even hungry when it was time to eat.  So, we decided to go back to the acreage to do some more shooting. 

While we were shooting, Brian received a phone call from a friend who told us that a fire was burning about 10 miles away from us.  We thought little of it and finished our competition before heading home to eat.  We had just finished eating and were getting ready for dessert when a police officer pulled into our driveway and told us that we had 15 minutes to evacuate. 

We grabbed clothes, a few pictures and pieces of memorabilia before heading out.  Oh, yeah, and we grabbed Wally!  We didn't have time to evacuate the cows or even to load up the motorcycles, four wheelers or the boat.  We went to Meagan's and Derrick's to spend the night and really thought we would be back home the next day.

Well, we are still out!  The fires are still burning and in fact have recently flared back up.  Jim and I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday sitting just outside of the evacuation zone trying to get a visual for ourselves of where the fires were. 

Wednesday night we celebrated Brian's 21st birthday!!!!  We plan to celebrate without the wildfire  stress hanging over our heads as soon as possible!

Thursday we went into the office, but still made two trips out to Waller to check on the status. 

Today I made the trip to Waller by myself.  The skies were clear blue and all was looking to be almost over.  I even watched the big DC10 fly over with the first load of flame retardant to smother the fires.  THEN about three o'clock, the winds picked up and the fires began spreading again.

 We no longer think we will be back home in 48 hours -- short of a miracle.  We have taken up residence at a Holiday Inn for a few days to give Meagan and Derrick a break and to be closer to the house just in case things change and we can get in to check on the cows.

If anyone is still reading...thanks for keeping up with us!  I hope to get pictures posted next week.  I just need my card reader...which is at the house that I haven't been able to get to in four days! 

Talk to you all soon!