Lucys Senior Trip

Animals Aglow

We wanted to do something fun during spring break and I had been hearing about the Animals Aglow exhibit at the zoo.  It was kind of pricey but wasn't like anything we have done before.  We decided that Wednesday would be the best day to go.  JJ took off Wednesday and the weather was the best.  That morning, we went and hit the golf balls.  That afternoon we went to watch Tyler play baseball at his school.  They were playing Liberty.  He didn't play but it was still fun to support him.  We left a little bit early so we could get to the glow.  We stopped for some dinner on our way.  We loved the glow!  The zoo was so pretty with all the lights.  They were like silk lanterns, not Christmas lights.  We watched the show they had in the sea lion arena.  Different Chinese acrobats and dancers.  It was short and entertaining.  We spent about two hours walking around and enjoying all of the pretty lights.  They had some interactive areas which were fun.  Some of the lights that were flowers reminded me of the Alice and Wonderland movie.  We really enjoyed it and were so glad we went.  It can be hard to think of things to do sometimes, and we were glad this activity was a win.       

 

Spring Break

We started off our spring break by helping my dad clean up his yard.  Several people from the ward as well as some of his family were coming to help.  We took the boys over and helped as much as we could.  It will take a while to get the yard back to the way it was.  We made good progress.  It was good to see some of my aunts and uncles I haven't seen in a while as well as show our support.    

We had a nice relaxing spring break but did try to do some fun things during the week.  Monday evening, we took the boys over to the pump track.  It has been a while since we have been there.  They had a blast, especially Nolan.  He asked to go again later in the week as well.  

Tuesday, I took Nolan to the movies.  We saw the "Dog Man" movies.  Nolan has read some of the books, so he knew what was going on better than I did.  We had fun enjoying some popcorn and snuggling with the blanket we brought.  That night we went to Andy's for some ice cream.     

We took the boys to the driving range Wednesday morning which was fun.  They enjoyed hitting a bucket of balls.  

Nolan and I stopped by to see JJ's new office space.  We walked down to the pretzel place a few doors down and enjoyed a snack together.  We are excited about the new office space, it is really coming together. 

One evening we took Nolan over to the park to play for a little while.  He enjoyed climbing around and playing in the water area.  Not much longer and our kids will be too old to play at playgrounds.  

Tornado

Friday evening, we had some really bad storms come through St. Louis.  They had been talking about it on the weather for days.  The sirens went off at our house around 9 PM.  We all went to the basement for a little while and hung out while the storm went by us.  It never really got bad at our house.  It was really windy, and we had some rain.  No hail and the rain wasn't heavy and didn't last long.  We didn't stay in the basement long and then went to bed.  We were chatting about being in the basement on our family text chat.  I never heard anything more after that.  Saturday morning my coworker who lives by my dad texted me and asked if my dad was ok.  She said Hardt Road got hit really bad.  I hadn't heard anything from my dad, so I reached out.  He said he was hit really bad by a tornado but was ok.  I was surprised he didn't say anything to us.  My brother was heading over to look at the damage.  I facetimed with him when he got there and couldn't believe how much damage the property had.  The house and barn had minimal damage, but he had a lot of trees down on his property.  I could tell my dad's spirits were low and I needed to help somehow.  I was thankfully feeling better after spending all of Friday resting.  I had to do some grocery shopping but then planned on taking some dinner out to my dad.  I felt that was a way I could help serve him.  The insurance guy came out and confirmed a tornado did come through his property by looking at the damage.  He took some photos and then gave them the go ahead to start cleaning up.  My dad's bishop had already been out with his wife to see how they could help that morning.  Once they had to go ahead to clean up my dad reached out to the bishop and people from the stake came to help.  As we drove to my dad's house it was shocking to see the damage as we drove down the street. When we pulled up to the house, I was so happy to see so many there helping my dad.  They had made such good progress.  I went to say hi to my dad and give him a hug.  I know he needed it.  I asked how we could help, although we weren't dressed to help with much.  He asked if we could help walk his dog.  We got Cody out of his kennel and walked the property.  Cody appreciated the walk, and it was crazy to see the damage as we walked around.  You could see the path of the tornado coming from highway T up to his property.  It went over his barn and then to the neighbor's yard.  It is such a blessing to know things could have been so much worse.  We talked with my dad's neighbor who was out cutting trees up on his property. After we walked around, we went inside to have some dinner.  I made some chicken and potato soup with some rolls.  Some comfort food and also easy on my stomach.  I also brought out my birthday cake since we still hadn't celebrated my birthday.  They wrapped up the cleaning for the day and my dad came in to visit and have something to eat.  It was crazy to hear his experience.  He said he was down in the basement when we were all texting.  His sister Janet then texted him and must have been watching the radar.  She said that he should take cover because it was right by his house.  He said it was really windy and loud, so he went into the room in the basement with the bunk beds and toys.  There isn't a window in that room.  He sat on the bunk bed and heard the tornado come through.  It was so loud.  Just like they say it is.  He thought this might be it for him.  He said I wondered if I would make it or if I was going to be with mom.  He said once everything got really quiet, he came out and looked out the back window.  He could tell it was bad.  He lost power but took his flashlight out and started to walk around and see the damage.  He barely slept as he helped cut up the tree blocking the road and pick up some things that had blown from his barn.  I was glad I was able to be there emotionally and physically to support my dad that day.  I know even if I didn't come cut up trees just showing up and making sure he had something good to eat helped.  He said celebrating my birthday was a bright spot in his day and he was so glad he got to do that with us.  We didn't stay late.  It was getting dark, and he didn't have power.  We headed home and got re-signed up for Disney plus.  I asked to watch Moana 2 as a family to celebrate my birthday.  I enjoyed relaxing together as a family in the basement and enjoying a movie.  I felt extra blessed that things with the storm weren't worse.  I am glad my dad is okay and even though it will take a lot of time everything will be cleaned up and back to normal.