Our "Evacuation Vacation"

Which is how we prefer to refer to our 8 day absence from our home. We spent a few nights in a hotel and then invaded my poor cousin's home for a week (bless their hearts they were incredibly hospitable despite not having enough room and having to deal with 3 children's activity for days & nights on end!)
The kids were thrilled to finally meet (and hold!) Chloe and Alexis, their newest cousins!















Then we were blessed with some tickets to an Auburn game, so we headed to Alabama for a few days of game-day fun!
We are now safe and tucked away in New Orleans, thrilled that we have power and very little damage, though you can see how bad the storm was by the downed trees & shutters and the fact that nearly everything outside that was somewhat loose is now gone (campus police had done a marvelous job of securing bicycles, grills, etc. that was outside in the days prior to the storm, but it still wasn't quite enough).
Join us in praying Ike doesn't head this way, since neither our spirits nor our bank accounts can afford another lengthy stay out of town!
Here's some pics of the kids -- they had a BLAST the entire week!

At the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola:






































The kids in Auburn: