What an adventure we have been on for the past few days! I will just start at the beginning.
Its a long one! Mostly my journal entry. ha ha
On Thursday after swim lessons, we were driving home and saw a huge cloud of smoke on the mountain that we live at the base of. As we got closer, we realized that the fire was pretty close to us. The smoke billowed up and over our sub-division. Kyle hopped on his motorcycle to get a closer look. It was pretty evident that the fire was a big one. There were 2 helicopters and 2 planes dropping water and fire retardant. Thursday night, we roasted smores in our new fire pit. We joked that the choppers might drop water on us if they saw our fire. ha ha. Here are a couple pics of the fire on Thursday and Kyle on his reconnaissance mission on the motorcycle. On this first pic, if you click on it, you can see there are quite a few firefighters on the front lines fighting this beast.
This was just a cool pic. The motorcycle in front of part of the fire.
Friday morning rolls around. Kyle heads off to work. And when I wake up, I notice that it seems very dark in the house. So I go to the windows, and see that the smoke from the fire is completely covering the sky above me. And within an hour, it was a blanket of smoke within our whole sub-division. It was like a eerie, Halloween, dark fog. I could hardly see homes on my street! Neighbors were calling me in worry-mode. I was about to jump in the truck and go check it out myself. But then I received a phone call from my friend Maryanne. She was tipped off that we were going to be evacuated within 15 min. So I got the kids together and told them what was about to happen. I told them to grab their backpack, 2 outfits, jammies, and 2 of their favorite toys. Just then, I could hear sirens going up and down the street, and intercoms from fire cars, saying... "Immediate Evacuation! Immediate Evacuation!" Policemen were going door to door making sure everyone was out. So, I started packing for Kyle and I. I grabbed my wedding album, mission album, and a couple of outfits. Kyle came rushing home to help me. I might add, he was home in NO TIME! ;) We loaded up as fast as we could. Grabbed the computer with ALL of our pics on it since Kaylee was born. A few other random things, and OUT WE WENT! This is what we saw as we left our home... (This is the house across the street from me.)
My house is at the bottom right by the church steeple.
View from across the lake. The big picture.
This is my neighborhood from the main road. MY house is back in that smoke a few blocks in.
VERY SCARY! They called in for more firefighters from California, Idaho, and Wyoming to assist. There were many helicopters, and airplanes working OVERLOAD to slow this fire down. The heat of the sun and the winds were NOT helping anything!
We didn't know where we were going... but we had the truck and the car, with the few things we grabbed out the door. The kids were hungry, so we drove to Del Taco in a neighboring city (They had a playground, so it was an added bonus!). haha
Side story- Since Wed. I was pretty sick. (Sore throat, congested, runny nose etc...) It was hard for me to breathe BEFORE the fire. Then when smoke started to fill my neighborhood and our house, I was really having a hard time breathing. So, Kyle and I decided I needed to get checked out. If I breathed too deeply, my lungs and throat would burn and I would immediately start coughing. I felt like I had a little bit of smoke inhalation. So, I went to the insta-care, and the Dr. told me that was the case and I had bronchial inflammation. He gave me some prescriptions. So we went to my friend Shelly's house so the kids could play while my prescription was being filled. GOOD times. :( I knew I didn't want the kids to be super worried. So Kyle and I decided to make this crisis into an adventure for our little family of 5. We drove around for a bit, took some pics from afar. Then I drove to my friend Marie and Anthons house. We hung out there for a bit, then we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner! YUM. Then we went back to their house for an Ice cream party in their back yard. The kids LOVED THAT! (Thanks friends!)
Then was the big decision... Where in the world are we going to sleep for the night??. It was now about 10pm. We had MANY offers from awesome friends. But after much contemplation, we chose a hotel in Provo to sleep at. It was far enough away from the smoke, and much easier for me to breathe, and no bothering anyone. The kids loved the hotel! We got some sleep, watched the news about the fire growing above our neighborhood, and got a yummy continental breakfast.
SATURDAY: Then we decided to go to the mall. Kyle forgot to pack shirts. ha ha. So we did a little shopping and then the kids wanted to play in the playground in the mall. Unfortunately, a little girl pushed Kase from standing position at the top of a metal slide and lets just say it didn't end well. His mouth was bleeding from 11am off and on until 11PM!!!! His mouth is still swollen and red/purple. We spoke to the dentist, and we will go in the morning to get him checked out. Poor guy. Since we had no home to go to, we figured lets have some fun along the way. :)
Soooo we decided to go to Pleasant Groves Strawberry Days. We started with the carnival around noon. We got Kase a snow cone. The cold really helped his mouth. (along with the Tylenol we pumped him). The older two rode a couple of rides.
Soooo we decided to go to Pleasant Groves Strawberry Days. We started with the carnival around noon. We got Kase a snow cone. The cold really helped his mouth. (along with the Tylenol we pumped him). The older two rode a couple of rides.
Then we all were getting hungry... so we decided to go have a picnic in a park. I ran into smiths and got some fried chicken, watermelon, applesauce for kase, salad, cookies, etc... We went to the amphitheater next to the Timpanogas Temple for a beautiful picnic under the trees!
Here are some pics of that... (This was Kyles Favorite part)
Me and my girl.
Since we were all together and we had a pretty back drop, we decided... Hey... Lets have a family pic! ha ha So here it is...
THEN... we got the best news!!!! WE GOT TO GO HOME! The evacuation
was lifted at 5pm, but they cautioned that the smoke would not be
cleared yet, and the fire was only 30% contained. However it was
heading in a different direction as us now. So reluctantly, we went
home. We felt like celebrating, so that is JUST WHAT WE DID! We bought
tickets to the Strawberry Days Rodeo! We didn't really want to be home
just yet. It was still smokey for me. So we all get dressed up Cowboy
style, and hit the Rodeo! It was A LOT of fun! And ironically the
kids did great for the 4 hours we were in the same seats! Someone
raised them right! ha ha ;)
Cowgirl Kaylee
Konman!
Injured Cowboy Kase
After the rodeo, there were fireworks, and a free concert in the dirt! So we all jumped the fence and danced in the dirt in front of the mobile stage in the arena! It was a blast! Then we finally were leaving around 11pm! Got home, the kids crashed, we unloaded a ton of stuff, and hit the hay.
All in all, it was a crazy weekend. Eventful, and stressful, and fun, and painful for Kase etc...
But we feel BLESSED! Blessed to have a home, blessed to have so many prayers said in our behalf, blessed that the Lord protected us and our neighbors. We are so grateful for the firefighters that protected our homes while risking their lives. We are so grateful that we have our beds, and the amenities we enjoy. Today, at church, I just felt pure Gratitude for my Father In Heaven! I know He hears and answers our prayers! He did this weekend for so many of us!
All is well at the Brothersen Home!
