manhattan's tornado

Here are some pictures of the damage at my Grandparent's house (Nonnie and D). The branch on the left was shoved into the paneling of the garage. Below is my Grandpa with his chainsaw...

...he loves that thing

We had 2 huge piles of branches and foliage from the oak tree in their side yard (and 2 more for their front lawn). Paul and I are so hard core!

My Grandma Nonnie is smiling because we got her hammock down in one piece. It was twisted up in that giant oak (which snapped at the top during the tornado). Their side yard doesn't look too bad in these pictures, but it was pretty grim when Paul and I first came over in the morning.

These are mostly images from their side lawn. The front had fragments of trees blown over from somewhere else in their neighborhood. Both lawns were covered in insulation, shingles, not to mention bits of cars' headlights, a twisted sheet of metal, photographs, paper, books, etc. (we even found a 4-H ribbon from 1989, a stuffed animal and a rosary). There wasn't any noticeable damage to the house (besides the branch stuck through the garage), but the whole block probably lost about 7 trees, a few were pulled right out of the ground. Our house didn't have any damage and my other grandma's house, which is about a block away from Nonnie and D's, only had small branches, leaves, and small pieces of garbage on the lawn. We were lucky that nothing worse happened.

aren't they cute

So I’ve started this new thing where I sing songs to my Mom about going away and being far from the ones you love and she squeals and tells me to stop (it’s pretty cute). Today I was singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” (with which I was serenaded – but a slightly altered version – before I left Lawrence – thanks for the special lyrics Nicole and Laird).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLBKOcUbHR0&feature=related

I’ve always listened to the Peter, Paul and Mary version, but I found out that John Denver actually wrote it. Then my Mom told me about how she used to listen to Denver sing it over and over again in college when my Dad spent a year in Germany. I thought that was sweet, especially with their 26th wedding anniversary coming up this week. They’re so cute!

My last days in Lawrence

I had a few complaints about my lack of creativity in choosing a blog name. So I decided to change the header. Happy Laird?

Anyhow, I'm coming down to my last days in Lawrence before I head back to Manhattan, Colorado, and finally Oxford. I'm a little nervous about flying into London and then trying to make my way across the city to my friend, Elise's dorm room at the University of London. I'll be staying two nights with her and then joining the Butler group at their office in London on the 27th. I believe we're staying a night in London and then arriving at Oxford the next day. I'm really excited to meet all the people in my group! I've been asked several times what my hopes and expectations are for this trip. Honestly, I haven't a clue what to expect, but that in itself thrills me!

I'm leaving Lawrence tomorrow with some friends who are coming up from Manhattan to visit. So if anyone from Lawrence reads this tonight or tomorrow and wants to see me...it's your last chance (call me).