Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Fire scare

I am so grateful to have an inspired prophet who tells us to be prepared. Last night there was a fire on the bluff above us at the end of our subdivision. It began as a brush fire but quickly traveled up the bluff to several homes. It was a 4-alarm fire which quickly became a "general alarm" fire which means they call out all firefighters. It was jumping streets, and people were evacuated with no more than a moments notice. Several people weren't even able to get shoes on before they left! While we were comforted that we were not in any immediate danger due to excellent preventative measures taken by the firefighters, I was grateful that we had 72-h0ur kits ready at hand. As a few neighbors packed up their cars with their important items I realized that there is more to be done to be prepared, but I was grateful that we had a few essentials ready to go.


It was so devastating to watch as several families watched their homes burn in front of them. A total of 10 homes were burned literally to the ground, there was one death, and several other homes were damaged. Such a devastating experience for so many, and a cruel reminder to get all things in order.

First Day of School

Well, the school year got off to a great start - I can't believe that Sam is in Kindergarten, let alone that Linc is in third grade and Emma in sixth grade! Time flies. Here they all are for the traditional first day pictures!

The only tears we had were when Sam realized that we were driving him to school -- he has been waiting to ride the bus for years! Also, Tessa was a bit devastated when she realized she wasn't staying at school. She was convinced that all of the fanfare was for her!

My greatest blessings

On Saturday we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda at the dollar theater. It was quite an adventure: Standing in line hoping there would still be seats, trying to balance what feels like 50 sodas while you walk to your seats, shuffling seats 10 times to make sure everyone has a good view, comforting the child with the spilled popcorn, wiping melted chocolate on your pants because there are no more napkins, ahhhh... But then the movie starts and all seems to be going well. Tessa loved it...for five minutes. Then she loved running up and down the aisles seeing if her voice could echo. That's when you do the speedy dash out of the movie theater and start walking along the shops that sit next to the theater.

I finally made my way to Deseret Book (hey, I had to do some primary stuff anyways, right?) Tessa loved that too. She especially loved walking with her hand out to her side realizing that she can swiftly knock about 40 things off the shelf before mom can react. She was giggling and having a great time while I scurried around trying to pick up all that had been knocked down.

It was at that point that I looked up and saw this print: I knew I had to have it immediately.

Suddenly the situation seemed almost enjoyable. We picked up a few things, made our way to the side walk, played some peek-a-boo, ran around for a bit, and I listened to her squealing and giggling and tried to memorize it so I would never forget it.

I can't wait to go to the movies again.