Goodygirl21: Typhoon Dolphin May 2015

These Typhoons are tricky business. We hear about them days in advance. We track them. Everyone on the island talks about them. Some people assume they will be a huge and a slight form of panic sets in. Others think it will be no big deal and they carry on with life.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't panic, but I do prepare, but I try not to let it consume me. You have to carry on. These images tell you when and how hard the Typhoon is going to hit, but you still have to track it because they can change.

Our base sounds alarms letting us know what is TCOR warning. We are always at a TCOR4.

We keep the missionaries up to date on the storms so they can be safe and know when to stay inside and hunker down. They came for dinner two nights before the Typhoon hit.

Lewis was up in my face a few days leading up to the storm. He usually sleeps most of the day away, but one morning he followed me around. I think he knew it was coming too.

When we hit TCOR2 they start taking down all of our road signs on base. Stop signs included.

I had bought groceries earlier in the week but Tyson thought I had bought too many perishable items so I headed back another day and another day after that to stock up on more water and some treats. I was a tad out of control. You never know how bad it is going to be so you want to be prepared.

When we hit TCOR 2 everyone starts closing their Typhoon shutters. It is quite the job. You bolt them shut and them screw on a metal bar across each one. I think they are great. However, once we go inside our home is so dark. I love natural light so it's not my favorite thing. Although I am so grateful that we live in such a safe house.

The storm was named Typhoon Dolphin. Not sure how that came to be but it did.

The night before the Typhoon hit we were outside and the sky was pink.

What did we do during out time at home when school and work was canceled? Lydia caught up on some corresponding with cousins and friends.

We tried out our new back massage vacuum attachment. It is pretty great!

We went outside....even when we weren't supposed to.

We lost power and cooked on our camp stove.

We played lots of games.

We watched a movie on our portable DVD player.

The cat was curious about our bathtub filled with water.

I finished reading this book. So good. I really enjoyed it.

We left the house the following morning to check out the damage, we went to eat and by the time we returned at 2:00 p.m our power was back on. It was only out for 16 hours and 8 of those hours we were asleep.

Other people just across the street went without power for 4 days. Our missionaries down in Merizo went without water for a few days too. There was lots of damage but not as bad as it could have been.

I made this list as I prepared for the storm. With every storm we get a little bit more prepared but I sure hope it's a while before we have another one.

PREPARATION list for Typhoon: Guam 2015

Buy groceries- nonperishable items

Check toilet paper/ hand sanitizer

Buy- extra propane for camping stove

Buy- cases of water (fill up sink, water bottles)

Fill up vehicles with gas (gas cans)

Withdraw cash at the ATM

Install & close Typhoon shutters

Fill up bathtub with water (flushing toilet)

Get out flashlights/ lanterns/candles/matches

Change fridge & freezer to coldest settings

Charge electronics- ipad, iphones, laptop, Dvd player