Vermont Before the Storm

My brother recently completed his service contract with the U.S. Coast Guard and he came to visit us while he figures out what comes next. He's goofy and talks too much, but is funny as hell and I've loved having him here.

Saturday we took him over to Vermont to look for winter coats for the kids and while we were there he got to try his hand at fly fishing.

While Daddy and Uncle Bobby fished the kids and I fed the trout and enjoyed the sunshine.

After the boys fished we headed over to the oldest marble quarry in the country for some cliff jumping (mostly for the dog, but the boys joined in too). The kids got a kick out of watching Gracie catch air.

By the time we were driving home the outer bands of the hurricane had already started dropping rain on us. I quickly realized I (desperately) need new tires. It's amazing how infrequently I drive now that we have the kids, and driving in terrible weather freaked me out. Poor Joe and I pulled a Chinese fire drill in the middle of Vermont and he got us home safe and sound.

I woke up Sunday morning and found Reese, Daddy and Gracie watching Baby Einstein. I'm guessing Reese was cold? These two are too funny together.

By the middle of the day the wind was horrible. I made Joe go out and take in all of our patio furniture (admittedly, something we should have done on Saturday...). But at least he got to test out the patch he put in his waders after ripping them last fall. Good news is they don't leak. 

While our neighborhood and town held up to the storm, many of our surrounding areas are underwater and several bridges are shut down due to barges either coming loose from their moorings or because the wind put the stability of the bridge at risk. Most of the roads and bridges that we travelled on in Vermont are underwater or completely gone. Lots of prayers going out to families that are still without power or cleared access roads.