This weekend, we celebrated Neil’s 27th birthday as well as the 20th anniversary of a camping trip we go on with friends and family. Needless to say, it was a jam-packed weekend of fun. But it was also a jam-packed weekend of floods. With the impending doom forecasted for most of the state, we chose to cancel the camping trip and have a house party instead. But that still meant Neil and I had to make the journey to Dallas in the middle of the storm. Naive and reeling from our birthday-beverage-induced euphoria (boba tea), we both took half days from work and set out for D-town around 2pm. We arrived almost nine hours later. Without going into all the details, I-45 northbound was shut down in Corsicana due to flood waters covering the highway. This is us before we realized the seriousness of the traffic problems:

 

After taking a detour, we arrived in Corsicana only to be told the highway was closed till the morning. So we developed a plan over dinner at Denny’s – where Neil contemplated how he could gather all the patrons together in a “live together die alone” moment to no avail – and squeezed out of there before we too got stuck. Good thing, too, because people slept on the road that night. Seriously.

After a nail-biting hour of hoping the side highway we picked wasn’t flooded, we made it to Athens and up to Dallas where we spent the night with my sister and her hubs.

The next morning, was Neil’s birthday! We celebrated with another birthday beverage (Starbucks) and headed up to McKinney for the faux-camping house party at my Dad and stepmom’s house (thanks for hosting!). We spent the day playing Balderdash and Resistance, roasting marshmallows, eating food, and catching up with old friends. Oh, and eating birthday cake.

The next morning, we went to church with my mom and stepdad and once again celebrated Neil’s blessed day. This time with lasagna.

While Neil colored with crayons, we were serenaded by my little brother who has recently discovered his talent for guitar playing. Once we’d successfully packed our stomachs full of homemade Italian goodness, we headed back to Houston. Thankfully, all roads were open, but the effect of the storm was very clear as we drove by a fully submerged vehicle on the feeder on the part of 45 that was closed just a day or so before. Although not ideal, it rounded out to be a thrilling fun weekend with family and friends.