Where there's smoke...

June 22, 2012

Aidan was able to attend a two day scout camp this summer.
Every boy's dream.
I promised that I would attend Friday with him.
We woke up early, packed the necessities and met at the park to carpool to Eagle Mountain.
Here's my boy between two of his best friends, Jackson and Miles.

The morning was very windy.  We started off with a flag ceremony and retiring a few flags.
This required burning those flags, but this proved to be very difficult due to the wind.
It took quite a bit of lighter fluid to get the job done.
Our boys first station was with the local fire department talking about safety.

 Aidan and Miles even practiced stop, drop, and roll.
Then we went on to proper use of a pocket knife. Of course this would entail carving soap.
This isn't the first time this boy has given me a heart he's made. I love it.

 While we were getting ready to rotate I noticed some commotion. Many adults were on cell phones, the fire department packed up and left. Gretchen got a call from home. The fire on our mountain had been pushed back towards our homes due to the strong winds. Our neighborhood was being evacuated.
Scout camp was over, and now we had some panicked boys (and leaders to be fair).


When we loaded into cars and headed back towards home the sky was black and ominous. How didn't I notice this earlier? I didn't snap a shot of it. We had a car of nervous boys. Some were crying, some were asking a million questions, some shared their knowledge of fire.

I started singing. Hoping to calm those who were really scared. We started calling parents to tell them we were bringing home their boys. Most were home, many were unaware we were being evacuated, and some weren't home.

At the entrance to our subdivision we were questioned by a police man who had blocked the entrance.
We assured him we lived here and had children who needed to get to their homes.
It proved to be a bit of a tricky situation, but by the time we got home we had contacted every parent and were able to get each boy home safely.

My own fear really hit me when I got home and saw my children scrambling to help their Dad pack up the important things in his truck, all without my help.  Ash was falling from the sky onto us. I realized what a dangerous situation this could have been if the fire had been more aggressive. I was thankful they all worked together and did the best they could to be ready to go. We had some bits and pieces of clothing in bags and a huge heavy duffel bag full of our scriptures and journals. We checked in on some neighbors who may need help and ended up taking Bridger and Cassidee over to a friend's house.

 As we headed out this was the line of cars attempting to go south. We ventured across Utah lake to Ginger and Scott's and crashed their pad. How thankful I am for family that lives close by and is so welcoming to 7 guests.

For a while the kids hung out in the back of the truck while we waited and listened.  I was hopeful that we would get to go home within a couple of hours, but as the day drew on we realized we were out for the night.

 We set up camp in the family room, and basement. I took over Kenzie's room and awesome bed.
Really, we were everywhere.

 That evening Ging had a great idea to take a picnic to our favorite AF park. We shared sandwiches, let  the kids play in the stream, and had some good laughs. It was a nice relaxing time.

The next afternoon we were allowed back home. It was a bit strange to drive back into the very empty neighborhood. Ash covered our porches and driveways, but everyone smiled and waved, so glad we all escaped real danger.