Evacuation

As most of you know we left our home on Monday because of the fires in San Diego. The smoke and ash coming from the fires east of us was to much for Bella and we knew it was only going to get worse. It took about 4 1/2 hours to get to Palm Springs but once we were there it was like arriving at an oasis. We were even happier we had left when our neighbors called to say they had been told to evacuate at 9pm.

We stayed in a little one bedroom villa at the Weston with a great pool perfect for our kids. Todd's office was closed due to the evacuation, so for two days we hung out with the kids, swimming, visiting with other evacuees and hoping our house was safe. Inbetween moments of panic and dark thoughts, Todd and I enjoyed this impromptu vacation. The kids were blissfully unaware of any danger to the house and therefore had a great time swimming and playing with their friends. Through out the week we were comforted by reports that none of our friends lost homes and were safe.

We are back home now and are trying to get things back to normal. We came home to a very dirty house. It took Todd about 3 hours to clean the outside of the house which help a lot with the smell.

Todd and I had a lot of time to talk while we were in Palm Springs and we realized how lucky we are to have so many friends and a family that cares so much about us. Our wonderful friends the Hatches offered us hotel rooms if we should need to move from the hotel we were at and anything else we might need. Mary Alice was also there to talk at midnight when I was panicking a little. Todd's father offered to come to Palm Springs and help with the children at any time. We had countless calls and messages from friends around the world wanting to see if we were ok and offering any help they could. We felt very blessed and comforted by all of you. Thank you.