The Big Blackout!

This September, right after Labor Day, San Diego had a massive, citywide blackout.  Apparently, something happened at one of the main power stations in Arizona, which affected all of San Diego County.  Naturally, it was the first week of school and it was incredibly warm, so we had to find a way to stay cool on a hot afternoon.  James and I were both lucky, we were on our way home when the power went out, so we missed the hours long commute some of our friends and family had to endure.  We made it home and decided to make the best of it, and ended up having a great night!  We filled up Keira's pool, and Keira splashed around while we stuck our feet in and cooled off.  

 After pool time, we barbequed Hot Dogs, Sausages, and had chips and fruit, then finished the night off with some 'smores around our fire pit!  Chris, Jazmin, Cristian, John, Catherine, and Catherine's mom, Ruth, all joined us for the fire and barbeque.  We all had a great time, enjoying the quiet and looking at the stars.  We never knew you could see so many in San Diego- usually we only can see a handful because of all the city lights. 

 After it got dark, we lit some candles (my house smelled like a mixture of multiple STRONG aromas!) and put Keira down for bed.  I was able to take a bath in the candlelight, which was incredibly relaxing, then, we found out the best news- school had been canceled the next day because of the power outage, which meant no work for me!  Hooray!
Because of school being canceled, some of my friends from work and I decided to take our kiddos down to the zoo for the day.  The power came back on throughout the night, and the zoo was open!  Aidan, Kaitlyn, Nicholas, Keira, and Cristian had a great time running around the zoo, which was surprisingly empty. 

 We even saw the Panda's being moderately active, which was a treat.  Usually, they pretty much sit there and sleep.  :)

 Our monkeys had a great morning!

 After the zoo, we treated the kids to some happy meals, where Keira was having fun tickling Nicholas.  While I know not everyone had such an enjoyable experience, we loved the Power Outage of 2011!