We're not in Kansas anymore!

Friday morning I wake up and tell my grandma, it is time for us to go home. I told her we would leave after lunch time. She told me there was a park near by that the girls could run around and play, so I took them there.

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FAIL! It was 9 am and already hot! Can you tell?

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Try number 2!

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We spent about two hours at the park and the girls loved it! We went back to my grandma's and she called Orley and we headed over to see him. I spent about another hour (maybe two, I'm not sure) over there. The girls had a nice time playing in the yard, but Autumn threw a fit about going home, AGAIN! We headed back to Arletta's and she fed us lunch and cake. I loaded up the car and we headed out. I felt relieved to be heading home, but felt bad that I didn't spend much time with my grandma. I think she understood though that girls were just ready to get home and even I felt homesick with my whole heart.

Now, this morning, I watched the weather. My grandmother lives in a town called Temperance. It is just inside of Michigan. Ohio is like 5 minutes away. The weather I watched covered this part of Michigan and northern Ohio. The weather said there was a 20% chance of thunderstorms, but the greater chance of rain would happen on Saturday.

I was on my merry way on I 75 South, talking to my sister Devonne, when I rolled up on this:

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It had been bright and sunny just moments ago. This looked bad.

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Shortly after I snapped this photo, a car bumper came flying over the top of my car. I saw dirt swirling up off the ground on the side of the interstate. There were leaves and tree branches all around us. I didn't know what to do. Every time I stopped the car, it felt like we were going to lift off the ground. So I creeped ahead, very, very slowly.

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Maybe ten minutes in to all this mess, I saw a tractor trailer in front of me get lifted completely off the ground and tossed into the median. I slowly drove around it and stopped. The windshield was out on the ground and I saw a man climbing out. I asked him if he was OK and he gave me a thumbs up. He told me to get out of there, so I did.

The temperature dropped from 99 degrees to 66 degrees in my car.

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There were at least two more tractor trailers knocked over like that. I'm not sure if the picture shows it very well, but the sky was an ominous green color.

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Trees were uprooted and in the road.

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I cannot tell you how terrifying this all was for me. Emelia slept right through it, but Autumn was freaking out too. She was saying, "Storm, storm go away!" I don't think I will ever forget this for the rest of my life. I didn't know if we were driving into a tornado or what. I do remember that we were in Shelby County and then Miami county and I heard reports of quarter sized hail in Shelby county once I got just south into Miama county. I was 23 miles north of Dayton and the weatherman was saying if you can avoid Dayton, for heaven sakes, stay away. I pulled over at an exit and saw an Outback Steak house. The girls and I waited out the rest of the storm over steak and lobster.

I would have loved a glass of wine too, but I didn't think it was smart to drink and drive.

My mom encouraged me to get back on the road and get the heck out of Ohio. I guess they were expecting more severe weather that night and the next day. While on the road, mom found me a hotel in Lexington, Kentucky (where I wanted to stop). We stayed at this place with a fundome. It was awesome! Once we got checked in, around 8 pm, we unpacked the car, put our swimsuits on and went to the indoor heated pool. The girls and I stayed in there until 11 pm. One lady had the nerve to call me out about Millie being up so late. Not so politely, I replied, "Not that it is any of your business, but we spent most the day in the car and we intend to sleep in tomorrow morning." We went back to our room and went to bed!

What a day! I'm so glad we survived it and didn't get carried away with the wind.

Why couldn't you be here for this adventure?

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One thing is for sure, us three chicks stuck together!

Your current wife and favorite airman. xoxo

The Count: Day 7

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