In Alabama, as part of FEMA tornado disaster response

Hi y'all, I'm almost a week into my incident meteorologist dispatch to the FEMA tornado disaster response in Alabama. In a word, this has been amazing. The FEMA/AEMA response is up to more than 1400 personnel. Those of us based at the Joint Field Office (JFO) in Birmingham have taken over a dozen floors of a formerly empty downtown building. Yesterday, the Governor, a Congressman, and others visited the JFO.





Tuesday I stood in the middle of a high-end EF4 tornado path, in Pleasant Grove, just west of Birmingham). It was quite unreal, standing in a cleared "alley" through the trees and houses, where I could diagonally see a few miles SW (1st pic) to NE (2nd pic).

It was already almost 4 weeks ago, yet much of the neighborhood still looked like the morning after. Really amazing; have never seen anything like it, and couldn't help but wonder how more people were not killed in the outbreak. Everyone I have spoken to though knew 1) it would be a bad day, 1-2 days in advance and 2) when actual warnings were issued.

Most of the workday is communicating via briefings, email, and phone... and only some of the time composing a regional forecast summary for 2/3rds of the state. Everyone here is also very interested in the Mississippi River because of potential competition for resources with what will be probably another large state/federal response, so I have been putting together a daily summary on that situation as well. I have also been coordinating with the local NWS and a few of them have visited here, working with the JFO GIS folks on tornado path assessments, etc. The other thing is maintaining a network of contacts for the disaster response centers scattered throughout the state, so that I can call them individually and spread the word if lightning or severe weather is headed their way.

Kinda busy so will have to end it there. Here is a sampling of pictures:

Torsion between trips (ouch), and Spring is sprung.

Hi all, Mark got back from an annual work-related training week in Boise, only to develop "torsion" Monday which required emergency surgery. Was knocked out of work for the rest of the week, but the Doc says he can go on his next work trip to DC next week, as long as he takes it easy. If you really want to know about this painful "guy problem", google it. :) The good news is that it was addressed early enough, so that Mark is still in one piece... though has spent most of the last several days laying down with a bag of ice, alternating between ibuprofen and tylenol.



With "Upward" basketball having just finished, Autumn and Evan have moved onto indoor soccer for the Spring and really love it (see highlight reel above!). They have an April scheduled full of birthday parties and play dates with their friends. We are looking forward to a trip at the end of the month... not sure where yet, but it'll be a long weekend perhaps down towards the Great Smokies. Emilia continues to grow fast. Approaching 5 1/2 months, she has become aware of her hands and likes to grab things. Communicating in her own way, she "swats" if she wants something, in addition to her noises of agitation. She delights in playing with objects and colored blocks, rings, etc. and loves bath time. Recently, Mom let her have a sip of ice water, and ever since, Emilia will not let her have it to herself! Enjoy this little video! -The Pellfam

Blog Hiatus Over! Tough keeping up these days!

Greetings all! With juggling of two jobs, two seven year olds, and one baby (also the pending budget crisis for National Weather Service... more on that below) it has been a challenge keeping up with other things such as the pellfam blog. But, finally, the blog hiatus is over. :)
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Much to catch up on, and the best way I can think of doing it is linking to our photo albums (click on the album thumbnails to link to actual pictures):


The big one is all of our stuff from our Michigan Magical Mystery Tour over the holidays, introducing Emilia to everyone. We're grateful that she even got to meet her Great Great Aunt Marie, who unfortunately just passed away on February 26.


The small one is from January, when Marisa's bff Alex, her girls, and her Mom, all came from Chicago for a visit to the Pellfam homestead.

And finally, the medium one is from February, including a visit from Grandma Laurie, Emmy's 4 month photo, and baptism! :)

Uh oh... Emmy's crying and I'm Mr. Mom today. Will finish this post later (including the National Weather Service stuff).

-Mark

Snow Days!!!

Winter has hit WV pretty hard since it turned December. And this week, the kids have not been too disappointed by the two snow days, plus one with a two-hour delay. The work logistics for Mom and Dad are... interesting... but the kids are unmoved by our plight, and would still rather have more snow!

When not shoveling, we have been getting ready for the holidays and getting cards from friends/family. Thanks so much to the Nybakken's from our old Montana stomping grounds, who sent us the ingredients and family recipe for reindeer cookies (which Autumn eagerly made and ate)! Also, we got a wonderful package from the Woodworth's of Okinawa, and are so happy to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel - they'll be moving back stateside in the coming year.

Of course, we are also enjoying Emilia who is now somehow already 8 weeks old. We're only a week away from leaving for Michigan to introduce her to aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, grandpas, friends, pets, stockings, presents, outfits, big holiday dinners, college football bowl season, and perhaps some other stuff too. :)

Between sleeping, eating, and crying, Emilia has also started to have a little playtime each day. Her limbs perpetually move with joy as she tries to take it all in! Enjoy the 49 second video of her playing... and stay tuned to the end for an audible surprise!

BaBy CRazY

With a face like that, you should not be surprised to hear that we are a little baby crazy. Crazy for her, yes, and of course life is revolving around her as well. We are so thankful that so far, everything is going pretty much as planned; a healthy baby with healthy cries that get us up a few times each night. :)

In the midst of this craziness, Mark turned 34 years old Saturday (group shot in our jammies from that morning). But he got his present a day early, in the form of a ticket to anywhere he wanted for a day! He chose Kumbrabow State Forest, a little more than 3 hours away in a remote, high elevation part of WV. Click HERE to get a closer look at the 14-photo album. The solitary 5 hours of hiking was just the reprieve he needed; though he did not need the near-encounter with a bear (stumbled across a freshly-made bear track in the mud). Luckily, no actual sighting.

We continue to enjoy having Emilia meet many family and friends for the first time, including Grandpa Mike a little over a week ago. And in another little over a week, we eagerly anticipate introducing her to Uncle Joel and Great Aunt Mary for several days surrounding Thanksgiving! Grandma Laurie will also be making a return appearance. :)

So long story short, we are a little sleep-deprived but happy times are being had in the Pellfam Homestead. Here is a picture that has been years in the making...

Mark, Marisa, Evan, Autumn, + Emilia

13 days with Emilia, Halloween, Hiking, and Sleep-deprivation

Hello all! You are looking at a sampling of many photos from the last couple weeks. Emilia in her first 13 days already experienced her first holiday (Halloween). Marisa and Mark meanwhile are wondering how in the world we handled the twins when they were born! Because Emilia by herself has been keeping us plenty busy.

To see bigger versions of any of these photos, click here for our Fall Fun Album.

Daddy has also managed to take the kiddos out a few times while on leave from work; usually to give Mom and Baby a break from the noise. This has included an awesome Marshall game (it was a win! with Grandma Linda), a couple hikes; and yes, even an outing at Chuck E. Cheese as a reward for their good first quarter report cards. :)

We savored a whole week with Grandma Laurie, which overlapped with several days with Grandma Linda as well. Then, Sunday afternoon onward, reality check! We were spoiled while they were here! Looking forward to more family this month.

-Mark, Marisa, Autumn, Evan, and Emilia

EMILIA IS HERE!!!!

Greetings all! Time is at a premium with the arrival of Emilia Grace, so I'll have to keep this short: 1116pm Thu Oct 21, 7 lb 4 oz, 20.5 inches long, and head of really dark hair!

First, some links to photos from the first couple days (at hospital):

Click Here for Album 1
(5 photos)

Click Here for Album 2

(14 photos, a couple repeats)

...and below are six photos taken today, Emilia's first day at home! Click on the individual images for larger versions. All is going great! We're are blessed and grateful! -The Pellfam