April 7 - The Storm

It was about 8:30 when the storm knocked out the power. Brad and Timmy were in Brad's bedroom playing World of Warcraft and Cindy was in her room watching High School Musical 3 on DVD. Robert was downstairs finishing up a presentation for work and Tamara was watching CNN and folding laundry.
When the power didn't come on for a few minutes, Robert came out of his office and the kids inched their way downstairs to the living room, following the glow of the candles Tamara had lit. Tamara called the neighbors and some friends across town and confirmed that the power was out there too.
After a few more minutes passed and it seemed like they might be without power for a while,Timmy suggested they tell ghost stories and everybody agreed. Tamara went to the closet and got a few blankets, and Cindy curled up next to her.
Timmy went first and told the one he'd heard at camp the previous summer, the one about an escaped killer with a hook for a hand. Recognizing the story as one they'd heard back when they were in high school, Robert and Tamara smiled at each other and helped Timmy remember a few parts here and there.
Brad went next and told them the story of Bloody Mary and about how if you went to your bathroom at midnight and turned off all the lights and said, "Bloody Mary" three times, Mary's bloody ghost would appear in the mirror.
The story scared the hell out of Timmy, but he didn't want to let on to his big brother that he was scared, so he joined him in teasing Cindy who was so spooked she was almost in tears.
Robert took her mind off of Bloody Mary by making shadow puppets on the walls--first a jumping frog, then a dog with a wagging tail, and finally the Cookie Monster. All three of the kids tried to make the same shapes, but they had a hard time bending their fingers the right way and so they ended up making rabbits and walking men instead.
Not content with just the shadow puppets, Cindy wanted a story, so Robert and Tamara made up one about a frog named Brad, a dog named Timmy, and a princess named Cindy. They animated the story with shadow puppets and used different voices for all the characters. Brad and Timmy made fun of it at first, but then settled in and gave it their full attention.
After the princess story was over, all of them talked about school and baseball practice and tumbling class until the power came back on. When it did, Tamara blew out the candles and put away the blankets, and everybody went back to what they had been doing before the power went out.