The zoo, flooding and an unexpected house guest

Here we are Monday morning, May 3rd on the eve of Thing 3's 10th birthday.  Nani and Poppi should have been home in Phoenix late last night but due to some unexpected severe weather they are here.  As they should have been all along.  Thing 3 was insistent upon them being here to celebrate her entrance into double digits!  And they are.  We are blessed. 

It has been an eventful couple of days here at the Hanson household.  On Friday the Things stayed home from school for family day.  We went on a field trip to the Nashville zoo.  There we saw Saimang monkeys, noisy, noisy, noisy.  Elephants, and all manner of birds and frogs.  We lunched at Red Robin, Poppi's favorite, and headed to the outlets for a quick shopping trip. The Things had trivia money to spend from Nani and Poppi. 

The weekend was scheduled with a whopping total of 13 soccer games between the Things for our TNFC tournament, May Madness.  Well, only Thing 1 was able to play Friday night.  As for the rest of the Things the games were cancelled.  We have had over 25 inches of rain in just 48 hours here in Franklin, TN.  Thing 4 played an indoor game on Saturday morning and then we raced home ready to hunker down for a day inside. 

Before long the weather had hit.  Thunder, lightnening and non stop sideways rain.  And then the tornado sirens.  Nothing like Nani and Poppi had ever experienced before.  We were watching the news and decided it best to stay home.  Except for a dinner pick up from the Shroom.  Thank God for pizza.  And then a friend phoned and was stranded here in Franklin.  Of course the Hanson hotel had room for another guest.  The soccer fields were already under water, the streets were flooded and there was no leaving.  Road closures and rescues were all being reported.  So we spent the evening playing cards, visiting and allowing our friend to work her way into our hearts, even more.  She had the Hanson family experience.  And the Things were tickled that we were having a sleep over party, unexpectedly. 

It was a special family weekend.  Unplanned, fun filled and full of memories. 

 We even had an early birthday celebration for Thing 3 with all of our house guests yesterday.  Homemade cake, licorice and nerd ropes, ice cream, teriyaki chicken, rice and stir fry veggies.  A scrumptious menu chosen by the birthday girl.

And as for today, we walked around town only to see our favorite Pinkerton Park completely underwater.  Playground equipment and all.  The Harpeth river was filled to capacity and running over flooding the surrounding areas.  Roads are still closed and traffic is a mess.  There is only one way in and out of Franklin, and the traffic flow happens to be right in front of our complex.  The Things are expending some pent up energy from two solid days indoors and the grown ups are planning for a day trip of sorts.  Hopefully we will be able to wade our way through this city.