Oh Bloody Hail

Is there a black cloud full of hail hovering over me?

Seems like it!

You might remember just over two years ago both of our cars, our roof, siding, and deck were all severely damaged by golf ball sized hail. Madison and I rode the storm out along Highway 14 praying that the windows of the Explorer wouldn't break. Mind you - we are STILL trying to finish the repairs to our deck after that storm.

It struck again.

This time, it was our camper, located on a permanent campsite at Cozy Corners Campground in Richmond MN. Luckily, we stayed home to stain the deck (see paragraph above!). The weather didn't cooperate and rain prevented that from happening. But it was a good thing we stayed home.

It was baseball to softball sized hail and straight line winds. The winds blew apart two large Rubbermaid sheds, tore the license plate off our camper (it was later found down the road..) and the hail destroyed our camper. It took out windows, roof vents, the air conditioning unit, the awning, and there are dents and holes in the roof. While we don't have the final numbers back from our insurance company, we are likely looking at a total loss.

Which leaves us at a crossroads. Do we:

1. cut our losses and just not have a camper/weekend getaway anymore (NOT my idea and certainly not what I want to do!)

2. Buy a new-used camper to replace what we had

3. Buy the likely-totaled camper back from the insurance company and only fix what we have to in order to keep enjoying the place until its time for a bigger/upgraded camper?

Tough decisions! None of the options are really any good. The first option is not really an option in my book. Sorry - we make too many memories there and I want that for my kids. (Plus, Madison has already cried about the camper and we promised it would be made right again!) The second option would be great if we could find something similar to what we have - but it is tough to find a 38 foot camper with a queen and a bunkhouse. They just don't make them that big anymore. The third option seems great but it could get expensive to fix the roof. We could be dealing with leaks for a long time and Mike is not a fix-it guy (although, he doesn't give himself enough credit!)

My choice, would be to rewind the clock to last Saturday morning and build a pole shed over the camper to protect it!

One can dream right?

Our camper is only a material object. It is wood and steel and can be replaced. I am ever thankful that we were not there. That we did not have to rush for safety or worse, ride out the storm huddled in a tiny camper bathroom while praying that the camper didn't blow away. God was watching out for us on Friday night when we decided to stay home to accomplish a few projects.

Despite how grateful I am, I am very bummed about the whole thing and that makes me feel guilty for a number of reasons:

1. My neighbor girl Hanna just had her entire leg amputated - now there is a kid that should have a bitch fest with God...but she hasn't.

2. My co-worker's husband just had surgery and found out he has to have more surgery. Yep - that guy has something to bitch about.

3. People all across the country don't have jobs and are losing their homes. Yea - they have something to bitch about too.

Here I sit whining about a camper - a camper that we have had for two weeks shy of one year. A camper where we have worked hard to make it our place to escape from the worries of the world, where we kick back, watch the kiddos play and shoot the breeze with all of our camper friends. It's a place where we have made a lot of memories and something we have grown to love. So - It isn't the wood and steel that I'm upset about, its what the wood and steel represent. It's the possibility that we won't get to make more memories there. Knowing that maybe we have the last photograph from that place with sticky roasted marshmallow grins. The possible loss of the stories told around a campfire, no doubt embellished a bit with the help of a few cold ones. The possible loss of the kids telling us their happiest memories of childhood were made right there on campsite #35 in a 38 foot Fleetwood Mallard.

Indeed. It is not the wood and steel. It's what it represents.

Going Green

Sort of. We're taking baby steps here to lessen our impact.

This is our new rain barrel. It is attached to the gutters and collects the rain water that rolls off our roof. The barrel holds the water until we need it for watering our plants.

We're hoping to add a simple hose system to the spout that goes directly to our plants so all we have to do is turn on the valve to release the water. For now though, we can just open the valve and fill our watering cans.

How does this lessen our impact? Well, it saves the water that isn't absorbed into the ground during a rainstorm. This prevents it from entering the sewer system and reduces the need for water treatment. When we use this water instead of turning on our faucet, we are using less water. Simple.

We bought this barrel system from homedepot.com for about $70, but we quickly learned that you can create your own for far less. However, if you don't have a place to "hide" the barrel, you might want to spend a little more on one that looks a little nicer. Our barrel is fairly hidden, so we did not need something that blends with the house.

All you need to build your own is a barrel with a cover (a 30 gallon rubber maid trash can would work great!). Then you need a plastic piece that you attach to your downspout with a hose running to the barrel. Finally, a simple valve for releasing the water. The barrel needs to sit higher than the areas that you are watering and needs to be level. So you may also need some cynder blocks and a tube of sand.

Since we installed our rain barrel, it has rained so much that I haven't been able to go out and get a picture of the completed project! We (meaning Mike) completed the installation on Saturday night and it has been raining ever since. By Monday morning, the barrel was already full!

Is there anything cuter...

...than a beach-blonde, suntanned little boy in bright yellow Crocs?

I want to remember...

The sweet fat rolls around your wrists and ankles.

The way your shoulders, neck, face and eyes scrunch up when you laugh.

Your wax-on, Wax-off wave.

The way you run to me when I pick you up from daycare.

The way you say "Banananananana"

Your deep, throaty laugh.

Your cute little footprints in the sand.

The way you shake your booty!

The way you thoughtfully watch everything around you, absorbing it in and surprising us later with everything that you know.

Falling off the Blogging Wagon

I bet you all are wondering where we have been lately! I have not given up blogging, by any means - I just fell off the blogging wagon for a bit. As you can see - I started this post on March 29. MARCH 29! Today is May 21. Where has the spring gone???


Rest assured, I'm climbing back on! I have LOADS of stories to share. Here is a quick update - with more posts to follow in the coming days.



Actually, what happened is my laptop picked up a nasty virus in Mid-February. It took about two weeks for my "I don't wanna work on computers at home" IT genius husband to reload my computer. I say that with all due respect - I'm sure everyone knows what its like to be without a computer!



It's ironic that my computer died right at the beginning of my IT class for my MBA. That only added to my lack of computer stress!



My computer is now running - and is better than ever with an upgrade to Windows 7 and Office 2007. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. Everything happens for a reason!


What has the Lee Family been up to?



LOTS!


I just wrapped up my final MBA class for the year. It was a tough class with a tough ex-Harvard and ex-Stanford professor. I have just two classes to go, but have used all of the tuition money for the year that Mayo Clinic so graciously gives me. So, I am going to enjoy a much needed break until January!



Madison has wrapped up her dance classes. Although she has enjoyed the class, she would like to try something else. She really enjoys swimming so we have enrolled her in the Orca Kids Swim Club for the summer. She will continue to take lessons throughout this summer and next winter.



It has also been preschool re-evaluation time for us. We have put a lot of thought into whether or not Madison will need some preschool before beginning kindergarten in Fall 2011. Thanks to our fabulous daycare provider and all the wonderful work she does (We love you, Dawn!), we have decided that Madison does not need preschool. We are going to keep her enrolled in an athletic activity (like swimming!) as well as take advantage of various science and other learning based community education classes that are offered through out the year.



Cameron is on the go! He is such a boy. He is rough and tumble tough and LOVES to play outside. He loves being outside almost as much as he loves to eat. We all know how this kid can eat! We can tell that he will be a kid that loves to play in the sandbox at the camper this summer! He has finally found his voice. He is starting to say lots of words such as; More, Milk, Shoes, Door, Thank you, Peas (please), I yov you, bye-bye, and night-night. He is also pretty good at screaming "MAAAOM!" when he needs help.



Mike has been busy with lots and lots of work. They sure keep him on his toes with lots of computer repairs, upgrades, and changes. He is also pretty wrapped up in playing 18 millionth version Final Fantasy on the PS3. When he isn't playing Final Fantasy, he wants to be! Actually, he has also kept quite busy with some additions to our home landscaping.



Also if you follow me on facebook, you will know that we recently had a new addition to our little family. We adopted a black lab mix from Small Dog Rescue of MN. Windsor is now about 5 months old and weighs in at about 18 lbs. Since we do not know what he is mixed with, we do not really know how big he will be. We have vet estimates ranging from 30 to 70 pounds! However, a typical black lab mix should be about 35-40 pounds by now - since he is not even close to that, it looks like he will stay on the smaller side! The vet now thinks he will be lucky to hit 30 pounds. We are thinking he is a bichon mixed with a smaller lab mix or a dachshund mixed with a smaller lab mix. Either way, he is cute as all heck! He has kept us busy with potty training, walks, and lots of wet puppy kisses. It is getting easier, but puppies sure are a lot of work! We love him just the same and now we can't imagine life without him!

We have been going to the camper every weekend since April 15 - our living space has doubled with the addition of a nice big deck! The boating season has officially begun with our inaugural boat rides taking place last weekend.

That's it for now. More posts are coming soon!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my Love.

Ocean Eyes

No. I am not talking about the Owl City Album by the same name.

If I were, I'd say that Owl City - Ocean Eyes it awesome...and that is coming from a down home country girl.

The ocean eyes that I am referring to are Cameron's.

Don't you just get lost in them?