Last month we took a vacation to Anna Maria Island, Florida. It was an adventure. All 7 of us loaded up (The Hodges 5 + Grammy and Papa) and traveled 1200 miles to Central Florida. We had intended to have 4 days of total travel and 7 glorious days on the most beautiful beach in Florida -- just ask the Travel Channel. I planned the entire trip myself and was really looking forward to having our whole family all together for a week.

When we arrived, we were rudely greeted by Tropical Storm Debbie. Debbie hovered over us for 2 days before we realized she had no plans of leaving and letting us enjoy our vacation. Flooding was rampant, our beach had completely eroded away, and the winds were constantly 40+ mph with gusts in the 60 mph range. About 60 hours after arriving, we threw in the towel and drove 1200 miles back to Tulsa. The storm caused a trail of flooding and wind damage that stretched all the way up to Washington D.C., rendering them without electricity for days. We came home, unpacked, repacked, and headed to Dallas for a weekend of Rangers Baseball and family time at Streamwood (A.K.A. my Aunt Val's house). I guess that's making the best of it, eh?