Summer's past.. more pictures found~

I found these pictures from July of this past summer. Some are from camping and some are from good ol' Artscape in Baltimore! Artscape 2010 was the weekend before the girls were born and we were out in full force walking around in 100 degree weather (hoping to get things moving); I guess it worked!

dad and lucy- post sunblock application

Is that a bear?? No its just dad...:) Lucy foreground

"That's really quite shocking mom!"--Lucy

Stella

Bear? No, racoon this time. Wait, thats Dad again! (Stella foreground)

Artscape

Stella and Lucy enojying Artscape 2011

The whole crew in the car-part lounge

Art Car exhibit: Berlin Wall

Vacation on the River- the timeline

Finally, after 2 weeks I found some time to post "the story".

Little did I know, when I posted the first blurb about the river rising , that it was going to continue to rise and we really did end up having to get out of there! I guess I should be careful what I joke about next time:) My mom and I were actually "joking" all week about how the river looked high- haha, turns out the joke was on us.

The A-Frame Cabin where we stayed

We arrived to the cabin on the Delaware River on Monday August 22 for a wedding on Saturday the 27th. By the end of the week we started hearing reports of how hurricane Irene was leaving some pretty large footprints in her wake. We heard it was going to hit Baltimore pretty bad. Our friends who were planning on coming to the cabin for the weekend were not sure they were going to make it.

Our friend's wedding guest list decreased by 25 (out of 70) because of the storm as well). We were glad we were not anywhere near Baltimore. Baltimore never really got hit- funny how things work out.

Saturday August 27- 6ishPM- the rain started

Sunday - still raining

• 2PM- Dave and I went grocery shopping in the town (not much was open)
• 3PM- we returned to the cabin- power goes out
• 3-7PM- enjoy the daylight- power is still out- still raining; start looking for candles and flashlights; Dave and Dad go to the neighbors to see about an update (we have no working phones) and get some more candles. Dave brings our car to higher ground- just in case
• 7:30PM start a fire in the fireplace to make sure we have some additional light as it gets dark
• 8PM- start dinner- in the dark; we are still joking about the river looking high
• Feed girls by the light of the fireplace- can't see how much is ending up on the floor
• 10PM- girls in bed; we eat dinner (it takes a while to cook in the dark!)
• 10:30- we decide we should start packing things together- just in case.
• 11:30PM- the neighbors are evacuating- we need to leave; Dad and Dave bring a load up to our car 
• 12:00AM- the next load is mom, me, and the babies (my dad is driving)- as we pull onto the driveway we go through over a foot of water. I roll the window down and yell for Dave- we have to leave the rest of our stuff and he hops on the back of the Jeep.
• 1:00AM- we are on higher ground 1/4 mile from the house. There are 16 other people there from the cabins next to us. We all try to get some sleep in the cars parked in a small meadow where we think we are safe.
• 3:30AM- I see lights coming in from the main road. A car pulls in and I get out to see what's going on. It's the man that lives at the top of the road. He said he received an automated emergency call from the police dept saying that there are evacuation orders- the Reservoir may burst. We still think we are on high enough ground. As I am chatting with him and the owner of the cabins next door, we hear a siren and lights flashing. Moments later a fire truck comes down the little road where we are all posted. We have to evacuate. He says this spot will likely be under water in an hour; in addition, the bridges may be covered (our only exit) any time.
• 4:00AM- we evacuate. Dave and I are leading the pack to Walton (since we knew where it was)- we approach the bridge with trepidation- its dry. It's 30 minutes to Walton.
• 4:30AM- we arrive at the Red Cross Shelter (aka Walton High School); I go in and check it out and ultimately decide its better to let the girls continue to sleep in the car.
• 7:30AM- after a few more hours of upright sleeping in the Equinox, the whole Treiber clan is awake. My parents had been in the shelter the entire morning- wide awake.
• 8:30AM- we decide to trek back to the cabin... we can't get there- it's an island in the middle of 4 feet (or more?) of water.
• 9:00AM- I call the owner of the cabin to let him know the details- he is glad we are safe.
• 9:30AM-12:00PM- we start driving hoping to find a hotel as soon as possible to we can all get some real sleep. We don't find one until 2.5 hours- we end up staying in Scranton, PA.
• Next day- we arrive back in Baltimore safe and sound

Looking down the driveway to the cabin the next day 

Getting out of there! River is almost parallel to highway

In the words of my mother- it was "an adventure of a lifetime!" and hopefully one we don't go through again:)

We will be heading back up there in October to get the remaining of our belongings (as the $300 cost to ship them back is a little hefty)- so at least we will have a one more chance to enjoy! 

Peaches- the magical fruit!

After a healthy portion of peaches, Stella revs up for her debut! Dave caught her first, and I ran up to get the camera for hopefully another show- we got it!

Vacation on the River

We are currently in our last day of our vacation on the East Branch of the Delaware River. We thought we were missing out on all the fun of Hurricane Irene, but lo and behold, the storm has shifted inland! It's coming to get us! :) Luckily the cabin owner raised the house a few years ago. It's still raining however so hopefully we will be able to depart tomorrow given that the vehicles are parked not to far from the river's edge- with not a lot of options.

Between the creeping river waters, high winds and the earthquake we have had quite the variety of natural adventures so far. More comments and pictures to come.

August 12, 2011: A date to remember!

Got it on Film!

Micro-economics

Old Micro area

Broadly speaking, microeconomics analyzes the behavior of individuals (and companies) as it relates to the choices we make in the marketplace. It examines supply and demand and hence the determination of prices and production.

In our micro-economic situation... we made a choice and paid for it. We analyzed our own marketplace when it came to selecting the most appropriate product; furthermore, we analyzed three companies when it came to installing this product in our home.

New area sans Micro

Now, does microeconomics look at time and how that may impact an individual's behavior as it relates to any of the above? It's hard to say, but it did take us 7 months to purchase and install our Micro... aka-Christmas gift of a range-top microwave- finally! Out with the old white tiny college microwave, in with the new black double level beauty.

I have been longing for some additional space and now we have it... and a fancy looking micro to boot.

The process:
1) select microwave
2) Buy microwave
3) Set up contractor appointment
4) Wait for microwave
5) Wait for contractor
6)Take down old cabinet, old vent hood
7) install new electrical outlet, new cabinet, and new microwave
8) Sand and prime new cabinet
9) Paint new cabinet
10) Use new microwave:)

Love- Hate

A few observations:

1. Both girls "hate" having their sister steal a toy that they are playing with
2. Both girls look for the other one when they are not within eye-shot (love)
3. Both girls can make the other one laugh (love)
4. Both girls can (and love to) find the one thing in the room that they are not supposed to be handling

Which brings me to the colorful face paint....
We have no idea how they found this as I am pretty sure it was way out of their reach, but they did, and all it took was a second! A good reason (among many I am sure) not to keep M&M's around:)

Caught Red (and blue, and yellow)- handed! Stella: the M&M Bandit

As for something they both disliked last night, and Lucy positively "hated", was the long-sleeve onsies that we put them in for bed. Since neither one keeps a blanket on through the night, and we like to sleep under covers ourselves, I thought I should put them in something a bit warmer to bear the 76 degree temperature that we keep the house cooled to at night (doesn't seem that cold, but they were feeling a bit cold to the touch at night). Once they had them on, Lucy in particular, all of a sudden got a look of horror and then frustration as she attempted to pull off the sleeves... and then of course the crying that said "Mom! Dad! What are you doing to me?!"

We couldn't help but chuckle.

Then I rolled up her sleeves.