Guard: Fall '10

Another marching band season has just wrapped up. The Rebel Regiment presented "To Boldly Go", a Star Trek themed show which was terrific. The music was great, and the guard was fantastic, as always. It was a powerful and moving show. We had lots of fun following them to competitions locally, in Tennessee, in North Carolina, and to State at Irmo. They won several Grand Championships, and placed 5th at State. They were disappointed at the State results, but overall it was a great season.
And so as one season ends, another begins. Winter guard tryouts (for the vets) were held yesterday and Sara made the JV guard this year. She is so excited and we are so excited for her. Way to go, Sara!

Launch Delay

Okay so Friday we learned that the Shuttle launch was delayed from Monday to Tuesday because of some leaks that were found during an inspection. That eliminated me from the trip because I had to be at school on Wednesday. I said a big no to driving home from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night and going to work on Wednesday. I did check airlines, but found no cheap flights that would be any better. Anyway, the trip was delayed from Saturday to Sunday and we were all able to go to Charlotte to see the Rebel Regiment claim another Grand Championship!
So, on Saturday, we found out that the repairs were a little more extensive than expected and that the launch was delayed until Wednesday. That meant the gang couldn't leave on Sunday. We gave Owen the okay to miss two days of school for this and nothing more than that. So, the plan was reformulated so that everyone would go to work/school on Monday, but leave early (for Owen that meant missing band and computer lab - I can deal with that) so they can leave at about 2 this afternoon.
Hopefully there will be no further delays and they'll take lots of pictures for us all to see. I'm not too sad about missing it. There is so much going on here this week - State this Saturday so lots of hub-bub leading up to that and its Homecoming at my school so lots of hub-bub associated with that. I won't be lacking for excitement one bit.

UPDATE: So, the launch still hasn't happened. A series of cracks in the foam of the fuel tank is being investigated. It looks as though it will be mid-December at the earliest for a launch or even some time in February. The gang made a valiant effort "suffering" in Florida until Friday of that week, but jobs, school, and real world responsibilities called them back home. They did manage to see some of the sights (Sea World, Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach) and have some fun times together.

The countdown has begun

We are right at two weeks from our latest Camp Adventure and there is excitement brewing at the Camp House.
As you all know, my husband and son are space junkies. They love Star Wars, Star Trek, you name it. Anyway, NASA is phasing out the Space Shuttle Program and there are only a few more shuttle launches left. Well, Daniel decided that he wanted to see a launch. The program began when we were kids so we've grown up with the Space Shuttle. We were in the 10th grade at Dorman the day Challenger exploded at takeoff. He was the one who ran into my class and told my teacher to turn on the tv. We watched together the day Columbia disintegrated during re-entry. It has just been part of our lives and now it's almost over. So, he wants to see it in person.
He did some research and found out about the lottery to get tickets to the launch and, somehow, his name was selected to buy tickets. I tell you when he sets his mind to something, he makes it happen.
Anyway, the launch is scheduled for November 1st which creates a long weekend for Owen and I since election day has schools closed that Tuesday. So we're packing up and heading to Florida again. Sara isn't going with us because that's the same week of her State band contest so she can't/wouldn't miss practice for anything, but Daniel's sister, mom, and dad are going with us so it'll be a family affair for sure. I am less excited about the Space Shuttle than I am about seeing Owen and Daniel's faces when they see it blast off. It will be for them, like going to the Folger Shakespeare Library was for me, a surreal moment when dream meets reality. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Update

Well, we've made it to the end of the longest week ever and I thought I'd post so you'd know how things are progressing at the Camp house. We now have restored phone service (but only one of the phones actually works) and restored DirecTV (but the DVR is not functioning properly so they're sending us another one). The heating and air conditioning was fixed yesterday.

Today Daniel is expecting the electrician to do a whole house inspection, the appliance repairman to evaluate the refrigerator and stove, the plumber to check on the hot water heater, the garage door guy to install a new garage door opener, and the contractor to evaluate the structural damage.

Right now our kitchen is essentially shut down - we have the extra freezer in the laundry room and the microwave. The stove top still works, but the oven doesn't so I'm not completely comfortable using it. The insurance guy asked me to make a list of all the refrigerator contents that were lost and assess their value - it was like shopping in reverse. I did learn that we seem to be big fans of cheese and salad dressing. We had more of those items than anything else. The insurance company has agreed to reimburse us for those items and the meals we have to eat out because we can't cook at home. Sounds better than it is. Eating out is fun when you have time to go where you want and relax. It is not fun when you have to wait on everyone to get home and then find something quick so the kids can get back to do homework.

We are planning to shop tonight for a new wireless router and two telephones. We may also have to shop for new applicances. Tomorrow the Geek Squad is coming is evaluate the computer. My feeling is that we'll have to shop for another one of those too. Still, during this ordeal I have not had to visit a hospital or funeral home. Thank you God. The Camp Family Adventures continue...

"We've been hit"

Those were Owen's words on Sunday morning seconds after lightning struck our home. Our memories are all a little different about exactly how it all happened, but here's my version:
We had been to Tennessee on Saturday following the Rebel Regiment (they swept the competition) and had gotten home around 2:45 am so we slept in that morning. Around 11, Daniel was making some grits for breakfast, I was talking to him in the kitchen, Owen was watching TV and Sara was upstairs on facebook. It was a rainy morning, but not a stormy one. We had heard no thunder. All of a sudden there was a tremendous boom, the entire house shook, the smoke detectors went off, and then the power shut down. We stood there stunned for a second. Sara came running downstairs thinking the kitchen had blown up and Owen said, "We've been hit" as if we were in a war zone. Daniel looked out the front door and saw that it looked like a war zone too. He said, "Get out." Sara used her phone to dial 911 and gave it to me. We grabbed the cats and took off for the garage. We didn't see any fire so we loaded everyone in the cars and moved them across the street.
The fire department got there in maybe 5 minutes time. They searched the house and used some sort of thermal detector to look for hot spots. After awhile they declared the house safe to enter and help Daniel put a tarp on the roof.
Here's what we saw:
A couple of holes in the roof as the entry point with some damage to siding and shingles.
The ceiling of the front porch blown down onto the porch.
Debris from the ceiling had broken one of Sara's windows.
Pieces of shingle, insulation, and soffit all over the yard.
A stove that worked, but an attached oven that didn't.
A refrigerator that seems to be dying (still keeping cool inside, but HOT to the touch outside).
2 lights out and 3 outlets out in the kitchen.
All outlets out in the garage (including the door opener).
A fried wireless router and DSL splitter (with scorch marks on the wall).
A computer that turns on, but doesn't work.
A fried surge protector that saved everything it was supposed to (a miracle worth celebrating).
No phone service and no directv (lines and equipment).
No heating and air conditioning (yeah, we did just buy a new heat pump...).
There may be more, but that's what I can think of right now. I'll post pictures when we have a computer at home up and running.
But, what's more important than what was lost is what was spared - our lives. All four of us and our beloved pets were completely untouched. God held us in His Hands that day and protected us. Yes, we are inconvenienced and yes, it will cost us some money (even with insurance), BUT we are alive and we have each other. We are so blessed.

Back to Tennessee

Man, we sure do seem to make this drive quite a bit. Anyway, this weekend we're heading up there with the Rebel Regiment. We've been to a couple of winterguard shows at nearby Volunteer High School (a shout-out to all the nice people there), but this time we're up the road just a bit for a band competition at Dobyns-Bennett High School. There are several schools in that area with top-notch guards so getting to see their full bands should probably be quite a treat. I'll post details and some pictures soon!

Anniversay Getaway

Dolphins :-)

A gift from the hotel for our anniversary. Strawberries were great, but I'm not a champagne kind of girl.


The old married couple having dinner overlooking the harbor.

This year for our 17th wedding anniversary Daniel and I took a break from the hectic Camp happenings and went to Hilton Head (without the kids). Even though without the kids is in parentheses, it's a big deal. We hadn't taken a trip without them since 2003 when we went to Chicago. It's just not something we've done much. While we missed them, it was great to focus on us for two days and RELAX. Maybe we'll make it a new tradition.