LONG WEEK

This will be a rather boring post, but it will help explain why I haven't had anything to say for awhile. Last Saturday afternoon we had a series of dry lightning storms come through our area. Since then we have been surrounded by fires and mostly smoke. There are 31 fires in Butte County, hundreds throughout the state. Governor Schwarznegger has declared our county a disaster area and is applying for federal support. There are firefighters from as far away as Colorado trying to help put the fires out. The problem is that the smoke is so thick there is low visibility. They are unable to use any helicopters or tankers and the fires are in tough terrain to get to on foot. The air quality hit a "dangerous" level this afternoon with a number of 340. This morning it was rated as hazardous and was measured between 500-600. It is normally about 10. Needless to say it is ugly outside and they are recommending indoor activities only. Swim lessons were cancelled for my kids this week as was summer school. It is hard to entertain kids inside when all they want to do is go out. Chris Dunlap and I took them to Chuck E. Cheese on Tuesday and we have had friends over and gone to friends' houses. I painted the kitchen last night, but had to keep windows closed. Cole has been at encampment. He was supposed to come home on Saturday but we just got a call that he will be home tonight--they are packing up early! The scout camp at Butte Meadows where they usually go had to be evacuated on Tuesday--about 400 boy scouts! We have fires here every summer--job security for Rob, but usually not until August or September. There is a new evacuation in Magalia tonight which is just up the Skyway above Paradise. This will be a long summer!

Slide show of the fire

http://www2.chicoer.com/olextras/slideshows/20080616HumboldtFire/index.html

Here are a few pictures of the fire from the local paper.
http://paradisepost.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?searchstr=&searchin=&event=538743&thisPage=1

Firestorm 2008

We had an exciting couple of days in Paradise, that I hope we never have to repeat again! Wednesday at noon a small fire started off of Hwy 32 and Humboldt. It started with just a tree and didn't seem to be much of a threat. Unfortunately, the conditions were perfect for a fire--low humidity, gusty winds and hot weather! By Wednesday night it had burned about 6,000 acres. Thursday morning the fire jumped the Skyway and it was downhill from there! At about 2pm on Thursday I was out on the back deck and could see huge clouds of smoke. I knew it was moving quickly, but still didn't think we were in danger. The power went out a few minutes later and I calmly asked the kids to get a backpack with at least one change of clothes and things that were the most important to them. Braden grabbed his sports trophies and his box of change he is saving to buy the new Indiana Jones Lego's--how cute is that? I began gathering insurance policies, birth certificates, social security cards, property deeds and pictures! I gathered everything in the dining room "just in case". Within a few minutes, "just in case" happened. My friend, Dawn called. She is a dispatcher for the Town of Paradise and let me know that they would be issuing a mandatory evacuation for our area within the next 20 minutes. I loaded up the dog, the kids and my stuff and headed out to Gridley. Traffic was awful with only one road out open. As we got down to Highway 70 all I could see in the rear view mirror was thick, black smoke. At about 7pm, Aunt Anne called and let us know that she had just heard on the news that they didn't expect any homes on South Libby to survive the night. I started thinking of all the things I should have grabbed and hoped for the best. Rob drove in at about 9:30 pm. He had been able to get back to the house and get a few more things, but now all roads in were closed. We didn't sleep well and were relieved in the morning that the winds had changed in our favor. Long story short--we still have our home. 74 other homeowners were not as fortunate and over 23,000 acres burned. We have three families in our ward who lost homes. We were able to come home Friday night to a deserted neighborhood and yellow crime tape tied to the front coach light to mark that no one was home. I guess just after I left the Sheriff came through with a bullhorn telling everyone to leave and there were two reverse 911 messages on my machine. I am so thankful that our family and our home were safe! I feel bad for those who lost their homes and businesses. Today we donated clothing and toiletries--it was amazing at how full the school cafeteria was of donations from people who wanted to help! The fire fighters were amazing! It is unbelievable to see the black, charred ground and a house standing in the middle of it. Firefighters came from as far as Nevada and Oregon--4000 in all. The fire was declared a stage 2 disaster on Thursday night--Katrina was a 5. I will be better prepared for the next one. This experience has made me really think about what is really important! These are pictures of the smoke from off our back deck at about 2 pm.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

June 7th was Cassidy's dance recital. She was in two dances, a ballet and her favorite, jazz. They have been working on these pieces since January and it was so fun to see the finished product! She has great teachers and they choreographed amazing dances! The ballet was pretty and graceful while the jazz was technical and fun! Of course, Cassidy was by far the best performer of the night(says a slightly prejudiced and proud mom), and received her 5 year award. We have purchased the DVD for any who would like to see her in action! Cassidy does not take after her mom--she loves being on the stage and is not shy at all. She is also a very good dancer! It was fun to see her perform. In the pictures she is with her firends Talia Rempel and Brianna Dunlap and her jazz teacher, Danielle. Go Cassidy!

Kitchen and bathroom are finished--almost!!

After a few months of work and a lot of long weekends, the kitchen and bathroom are finally finished--almost! We have brand new granite countertops in the kitchen and bath, new tile in the shower and on the kitchen backsplash. We hung a new vanity and lights and have moved the kids out of our bathroom for good! Dad and Rob did most of the tile work--I did the grout and painting and wrote the checks! It looks fabulous and we are ready for visitors! Who's first?

Cole is a freshman!

Well, it's official! I am old! Cole has graduated from 8th grade and I have a freshman in high school! EEEK! I am not quite sure how this happened, but it has and there is no use fighting it! It was a nice ceremony. He received an award for PE and attended the dance after spending the day at our house with a few friends and a lot of food and video games! I was informed that he hung out with his friends and played hacky sack at the dance--no girls involved! No sense in freaking out yet!!

Well, it's official! I am old! Cole has graduated from 8th grade and I have a freshman in high school! EEEK! I am not quite sure how this happened, but it has and there is no use fighting it! It was a nice ceremony. He received an award for PE and attended the dance after spending the day at our house with a few friends and a lot of food and video games! I was informed that he hung out with his friends and played hacky sack at the dance--no girls involved! No sense in freaking out yet!