After the game, we headed home to clean up and go out for an afternoon of shopping, something we both thoroughly enjoy. First stop, Crabtree Valley Mall to find an Easter dress and new swimwear as my sister and her family are going to Florida this week for their Spring/Easter break. Samantha found 2 dresses that she liked, so with mommy's permission we got both. Now on to get some shoes to match and find new swimsuits. Samantha requested that we needed to take a break and grab a soft pretzel and Icee, and I could not have agreed more. We took a much need break and enjoyed our snack. I started to notice the stormy weather and the mall began to look gloomy. Aunt Robyn called us to tell me there were storms coming and that we should hang out at the mall for awhile. So we trucked our way down the mall looking for shoes, outfits for Avery and making our way toward Justice, where Samantha wanted to get a bikini. On our way there the storms appeared to be getting worse through the giant glass skylights in the mall, and I began to notice people starting to panic. I spoke with Aunt Robyn and Trey again with a weather update and they warned us about some of the damage already done and where the "tornadoes" were headed. As soon as we reached Justice on the other end,of the mall there was a huge boom and the power flickered. I knew a tornado had caused damage in Sanford and was headed toward downtown Raleigh. I convinced Samantha to walk toward Macy's (farthest from downtown Raleigh and close to our car), and we would come back to Justice. I remained calm Aunt Becky but she informed me that we were walking to fast, meanwhile all the lights continued to flicker and more people were scattering through the mall. When we got to Macy's they made an overhead announcement about the tornadoes in the area and requested everyone come down from the 2nd level and stand at the center of the store. We walked over to the makeup counters at the center and found 2 chairs. All the Macy's employees were helping people get down the escalators and the panic started. I pride myself in being able to keep Samantha distracted by getting one of the ladies at the make up counter to get us a sample of lip gloss. It was a perfect distraction and before we knew it they were announcing that everything was clear, and the sun began to shine through. We headed through the mall, and both of us were over our shopping experience, especially when they started flashing the lights in the mall and requesting everyone on the lower level to move their cars (the mall floods often as it was apparently built on a swampy area). We quickly left the mall and were on our way back to the Peak of Good Living (Apex), where we hit up Beaver Creek and finished our shopping adventure.
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| Samantha in her new dress, shoes and matching headband. |
Finally we got home and uncle Trey had already started dinner. We had a relaxing evening of grilling out, painting Easter eggs, and making brownies for dessert. It was definitely a weekend I will never forget, but hope I never have to relive. Also, a word of advice to never go to the mall when dangerous weather is approaching. Would much rather be at home with the ones we love than in the mall with huge glass ceilings and around big crowds of panicking people.
I love that we are able to spend special time with our nieces and it makes us more and more excited for Avery's arrival. We are very blessed to have such a large and special family. My father told me the other day that he thinks Robyn and my nieces couldn't be anymore excited about Avery. It is so amazing that we have so many people that love and care about our daughter when they haven't even met her. I look forward to years down the road when not only our family grows but more importantly, OUR LOVE!
1 comment:
WOW. Great story and glad your safe!
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