Ice Storm 2009!!

We just had a serious ice storm in NW Arkansas. I have never personally been through an ice storm, so when my mother was telling me all the things I needed to do to get prepared, I pretty much waved her off. (My stubborn side has to learn things the hard way) Luckily, we only lost power for a few hours, but several of our friends were without power for most of the day and night. There are many families in the area that still do not have power!! Can you see how thick the ice is on my car and the bushes?
Several people say the trees breaking sounded like fireworks. I have seen several pictures of the damaged trees from the heavy ice, and I'm so thankful we don't live in our old house with ALL of the Pine trees. I'm sure that neighborhood is a mess!!! This is our 1 little tiny tree. Chris went out today to knock all the ice off and TRY to stand it back up. I wonder if it will survive?

This is a bigger tree across the street with several branches broken off.

So, what do you do when you don't have any power? You actually get to spend quality time with your family. No TV, No Video games, No internet, Oh My!!!! We sat in the living room floor and played Chutes and Ladders. We don't do this very often, and it was actually very nice. We really need to do this more often with no distractions!!
Although our game time was nice, I do not like being without electricity. I do not know how they did it "back in the day." I can't tell you how many times I walked into a room and turned on the switch out of habit or went to do something, only to remember it was electric. We are so spoiled!!