What a week! We finally made our way back to Colorado on Monday. It's always so nice to be home after time away. The last time we were in Texas, the huge Waldo Canyon Fire started on the west side of Colorado Springs. By the time we made it home, the fire had already burned thousands of acres. It was so sad to see the smoke every day. We couldn't see the mountains either. By the time it was all said and done, the fire had burned over 14,000 acres and over 300 houses.
This year, we got home from Texas on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, as I was leaving work on the south side of town, I noticed smoke in the distance. I remember telling Ed, "That's going to be a doozy of a fire."
Unlike the fire last year, which was quite a ways from our house, this one (The Black Forest Fire)was much closer. We ended up being on the very southern edge of one of the pre-evacuation zones. The laundry from Texas was washed and repacked, and Ed and I had the discussion of what we would take with us. I didn't go to work the next 2 days because if they turned our pre-evac zone into a mandatory evac zone, I wouldn't be able to get back to help Ed. Scary stuff. In a matter of 5 days, over 14,000 acres and 502 homes were burned, and 41,000 people were evacuated. If I remember correctly, the damage of last year's fire took days. For this much damage to happen in 5 days was frightening and shows the force of this fire.
Thank goodness much needed rain arrived the past few days, and the last I heard the fire was 95% contained. Many people were able to return to their homes. Please pray for those people who lost everything and the two people who lost their lived while they were trying to escape.
But-on to the rest of our week.
Sunday: I'm not sure why I posted these with last week's post, but here they are again! You really can never have enough Lolita's!
Monday: The whole clan was ready to get home!
Tuesday: This was the first time this cutie rode in a shopping cart. She's so tiny in this picture!
This was what the fire looked like by late afternoon Tuesday from our front porch.
Wednesday: This is what kept us up pretty much ALL night Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. Ed and I would set the alarm for every hour to check and see the if the evacuation area had changed. We were on the southern edge of a pre-evacuation area.
Thursday: We woke up to the sound of a Chinook flying over. It was filling its water bucket at a reservoir just past those houses.
By Thursday afternoon, it seemed that the fire was moving away from us. We definitely had cabin fever, so we went to the grocery store and tried out the new Steak & Shake. (Side note: Ed ordered a banana shake. I'm pretty sure anything with fruit doesn't count as a "treat"...much less a dessert.)
E was more interested in chewing on the table. I put the Hello Kitty mat out in an attempt to make a germ-free barrier. She chewed through it, too. I figured if she was that determined, I would let her go for it. Besides, the restaurant is new. It hasn't had enough time to become disgusting under the tables, right? Besides, maybe she's part beaver.
Friday: Speaking of the beaver...she's not picky. She'll chew on metal, plastic, cloth, your arm, rubber...you get the picture.
And her bow hanger is finally full! Sure, she'll need like 5 more of these to catch up with her cousin, Brynley, but it's a start.
Saturday: After being stranded at home for what seemed like an eternity, we went to the pool! This boy definitely needs some more meat on his bones!
Hope you all had a great week!
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