Grazed by Sandy in Virginia

Here are a few photos that captured our weekend--everything from neighborhood chili cook-off, running into Mitt Romney's campaign bus, to waiting out Sandy.

It looks like we have made it through Hurricane Sandy, with only the lightest of touches.  We've been following very closely obviously and it seems like we are among the small pocket of people that did not lose their power, for which we are incredibly grateful.  We stocked up on about a week's worth of canned/dried goods that would not need cooking and set about preparing ourselves--equipped with flashlights and water.  We made the best of our inside day by building blanket forts, trying out flashlights and playing with ipad "paint."  We made quick jaunts outside for the dog when absolutely necessary.  There was indeed a lot of rain, incredibly strong gusts of wind and a wire that downed behind our house, setting a tree on fire (which led to a flurry of 911 calls by just about every neighbor in our complex I'm sure).  But we were unharmed and the fire went out within five minutes.  We are safe and very thankful!   We later heard that in a nearby neighborhood there was a house fire which took the life of elderly man.  Very tragic indeed.

Got to say we were definitely on edge all weekend.  Unfortunately, my parents had to cancel their trip to come and see us or risk driving through the remainder of the storm and it's residual mess.  And now we are watching the aftermath on CNN and shaking our heads in disbelief.