I was at work last night and had this exchange with a customer:

Him: "Is that gray in your hair natural, or do you dye it?"

Me: "Nope. It's all natural...and has been going gray since high school."

Him: "Cause the rest of you doesn't look that old."

Whew. Just my HAIR looks old.

:D

Missed it by that much! :D

By now most of you know that we learned some valuable lessons about fire safety this week. (You know, like not to start them in a forest...or on a mountain...or near a house...)

The fire had been burning throughout the day on Sunday, and both Lee and I had smelled the smoke and commented on the fire. We both left (me to work, him and the kids to go to his folks for dinner) the house at about 3:30.

I got a call from Lee at about 8:00. He sounded sort of panicky, and tells me I've got to leave work right now, that I'm being evacuated. My first thought is that I'm not sure I can leave...I'm the "closer" at my store, who's going to do the end of day stuff with the money if I leave? So I tell Lee that...and he takes this deep breath, and now without the panic, says "Just see what you can do and call me back, okay?"

Now I'm nervous! I went and talked to my boss, and she without hesitating told me to go. So I did. As I pull up to my house and get out of the car, my kids are crying and scared. Poor things! Anna and her hubby Ryan had come over with their truck to help us get stuff out. Lee had all the pets loaded. He had grabbed artwork off the walls and photo albums/discs. Lee's mom, with Chad and Kendra pulled up to help, too, and we were going through the house to make sure we had everything when Anna grabbed Lee's arm and showed him that not only was the mountain above us on fire, but the hill right behind us as well. That was it...we were out of there. We loaded up and left. We went to Lee's parents house, where they generously let us stay...even though with Kendra's family is already living there and Dad is recovering from back surgery they probably would have preferred us NOT be there...But they didn't hesitate to let us come. AND cute Kendra and Chad, at 11:30 at night, ran to the store to buy clothes for my kids for the next day, since we had dashed off in such a hurry we didn't grab much. (She even picked up a shirt for me...Which was great since everything I had grabbed smelled like smoke!).

To say we slept at Lee's parents house would be an exaggeration...But the kids slept and we watched the news. Then the news ended, and we tried to sleep. I don't know about Lee, but I got a couple of hours in.

Long story short...(Too late!)...Our house is fine. We all smell like we've been at girls camp for a week, but other than that, we're good. I'm getting the house cleaned this week, they're sending my laundry out, and I get my carpets cleaned. All in all, I think we came out ahead...

But here's an interesting story I haven't shared with many:

I've left work and I'm driving toward Herriman. The smoke is getting thicker, my tummy is getting more nervous, and I can see the orange glowing...right where I'm headed. I have the radio tuned to the Sounds of Sunday. Slowly I approach my street, the smoke is so thick. An instrumental version of "Come, Come Ye Saints" is playing on the radio. Just before I turn onto my street, the music plays "All is well, all is well". This incredible sense of peace comes over me. I didn't know what would happen to my house, all I knew was that I would be okay. My family would be okay. That All would be well.

Any takers?

So I'm supposed to teach the RS lesson in my ward on Sunday...Anyone want to do it for me?

:D

Playdate...

Or is it daycare? Sometimes I'm not sure...

Last week Spencer's friend came over to play. The mom called me, and she asked me if it would be all right if he came over here to play. Of course, I said no problem...I really don't mind.

But she called again today. Same thing. And then she proceeds to tell me all of the things she's trying to get done today, so it'll be great if he can play over here.

Seriously, I don't care...I prefer my kids to play at MY house anyway...Just call me overprotective or something! But it seems to me if I'm using the play date as a babysitter, I'm going to try to hide it a little bit...Maybe...

:D

Spencer is having a blast, and his friend is a good kid...so I guess I can't REALLY complain...!

Help!

I'm working on a little project. I need some help coming up with some cute little sayings for teachers (teacher appreciation day type stuff) to go with these animals! Since you guys are all the clever-est people I know, I'm asking for your help!

Penguin, Elephant, Lion, Giraffe, Alligator (or Crocodile...), Frog, Turtle, Monkey, Pig, Cow, Horse

I've put down a couple that I've thought of...any ideas would be appreciated!

We'll never forget what a fun teacher you've been! (Elephant)
We've loved having you for a teacher this year...and we're not Lyin'! (Lion)
Thanks for being such a great teacher to our little monkey! (Monkey)

Yeah...I clearly need some help!

Gone to the dogs...

I never mentioned this...But we had puppied again. Yes, three little Yorkie puppies...All girls this time. I've said that it's the only way to do dogs. You get to have the cute little puppies and hold them, play with them, (they are starting to walk...that's a fun time!) and then by the time your kids are tired of the "new" dog, they go home to loving happy families. It's a great system.

In other news, it's time to sell my house.

I was watching TV with Lee last night (Master Chef was on...it's his favorite!) while the kids played outside. Spencer came running inside, "Mom! Dad! We found a Tarantula!" We were skeptical, but headed out anyway...and sure enough...*shudder"...nestled in our cucumber plant was a tarantula. My hero chopped it in half with a shovel...and then we looked at it close up. It had fangs and everything.

Oh. My. Gosh. Ew.