Our first night staying at the studio was good but it is still not home.  On the way back to the house this morning Denise took a few images of damage along the way.  This is the South Hampton Pool.  It looks like everything is okay other than a really nice fence has gone down.

The gas station by our studio had the entire top canopy flip over on top of a van.  They have already cleared this as of last night.

James loves vans and was disappointed to see this one crushed.

On our way to the house we stopped by the Oubres to check in on them.  They were excited we stopped by.  The kids stayed with them while Denise and I continued to clean up at the house. Before we left David was busy teaching James how to put together a marshmallow gun.

Whitney had a super silly time with her good buddy Molly. 

The kids dressed up and then acted out their favorite books for us.  It was really funny watching them put the whole little story together.  When we returned from cleanup the kids were all outside playing.  They had painted their faces and were running around like a bunch of monkeys.

James was painted like Octopus Prime (Actually Optimus Prime from the Transformers). 

Molly was a fearless Tiger! 

All the kids played for the entire day and there was not one bit of drama to be found. 

I don't think James or Whitney even once came to us complaining or crying.  Its nice to see kids that can just chill out and have fun rather than bicker or manipulate each other. 

Later this afternoon I ran back to the studio to take care of Milo (our dog).  On my way there I came upon this lovely "Yard of The Month"

Back at the Oubres we were cooking chili with a defrosted roast.  I used to cook CASI chili with a wild guy named Rob, who called anything made on the fly "Throw Down."  So we made ourselves some hard core Throw Down Chili.  We all sat outside in the front yard like a big humanitarian family and celebrated one of the neighbors 72nd birthday.  She was tickled that somone found a cake because she had not had a birthday cake in almost 50 years. 

The day was actually pretty fun and I think the weather had something to do with it.  It is pretty mild here right now so everyone is in good spirits.  Curfew was upon us so we had to get back to the studio.  Even with all the fun, the images of sadness are around us.  We have not forgotten all those that are lost, confused or without homes today. 

The electricity is supposed to be back on some time in the next few days.  Once that gets done, there should be more gas stations available so we can get to those that need our help.  I have two good friends that lost their home and both their businesses in Friendswood.  I spoke to them on the phone yesterday and could hear the sadness in their voices. 

If you have electricity and can get gas please reach out to those that need help.  This is going to be a long road to recovery that can be very trying on a mind.  When Denise and I flooded from Allison we were numb for weeks.  I still don't sleep if it rains at night.  Any help you can give to someone, helps them get trough all this and helps you make a better community. 

God Bless Texas and God bless people helping people!