Ice Storm 2008

On Friday, 12/19, we had an ice storm. A real doozie. 3/4"-1" of ice on everything all over Fort Wayne. At one point, there were 75,000 people/businesses without power. I lost power at my office around 9:30am and we eventually left work around 11am. I got home around 11:30am and then our power went out at home about 12:30pm. We were taking the kids to the doctor at 1pm, so it wasn't a big deal to not be in the house. When we got back around 2:30, the power was back on. We were fortunate all weekend to have power, as the temps held steady around 0-5 degrees with windchills hovering around -25 degrees. This morning, Christine was taking the kids to daycare and I was going to work. At about 7:00am, our power went out again. I came home from work around 10am and the power was back on. The local power company guys are saying some people won't have power until Wednesday or Thursday. Merry christmas. Oh, and they're calling for another ice storm for Tuesday night. Yippee!

Casa de Ice

Our front yard and the neighbors

Looking out into the backyard

Looking down our street

Visit with Santa

We took the kids to see Santa on Saturday. Both of them were really excited before we got there, but once inside Santa's little shack, Syd froze up. You couldn't have broken her grip around my neck if you wanted too. Spencer, on the other hand, was very eager to tell Santa about the things he wanted most for Christmas....a set of Batman wings and a remote control helicopter (the Airhogs type you see on TV). Santa was in agreement with Mommy and Daddy that the helicoptors are difficult to fly and often break if one is not experienced in operating such toys. As for the Batman wings, it sounds like Santa might come through on that one. Here's a photo we took of Spencer and ole' Kris Kringle. The photos we bought from the gal running the camera for Santa didn't turn out as good as our own personal camera, but what do you expect from a couple of high school kids!

Outside Santa's shack, one of his reindeer was assisting with public relations. It wasn't one of the flying reindeer, but must have been a girlfriend of one of them, probably Blitzen. He is the wild one of course. The reindeer's name was Candy Cane, no kidding. I didn't know if we were talking about the reindeer or the December headliner at the local gentlemen's establishment. Either way, the kids thought it was pretty cool. Here's Christine and Syd posing with Ms. Cane, painted hooves and all. Yeah, the darn thing had painted hooves. Anything for the kids.

Elf Yourself dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Clark strikes again '08

Well, everyone seems to think I have a little problem. A problem with Christmas lights. I don't think I have a problem. I can stop anytime I want. There's nothing you can say to change my mind. The worst part is I figured out this year how to squeeze out a few more amps on a couple of circuits. I've used all the lights I have, but now I'll be going to the after-Christmas sales to pick up more, probably more of the big C9 bulbs (those are the ones I've got on the house and the trees). I think the trees need more lights and I'm thinking of using more to accent some areas. With that said, I'll probably need to get more mini-lights as well. The bushes could always use more too. I actually need to stop talking about it....I'm starting to perspire a little and my heart is racing a tad. Anyway, the video below was shot tonight. If you turn your volume up, you can hear the Christmas music playing. My mom got me this gizmo that you plug lights into and you can set them to blink to the music. That's right, I'm steppin' up my game this year. I'm fairly certain next year will be even better. Let me know what you think.