It all started out pretty typical. The girls woke up dreary-eyed, but excited for their first day of school . . .
Twilight likes to help wake up the girls in the morning.
The girls love to make clothes "people" the night before special events - like the first day of school. This is their little tradition and they included backpacks on their people this year. (O:
Awww - I hate to wake them up when they look so cute!
Angela didn't start today, but wanted to get all dressed up too!
Sarah and Natalie were excited for their first day!
Natalie and her new teacher! She is so sweet. When Natalie came home she said she thinks her teacher must be the nicest one in the whole school next to Mrs. B. (o:
Natalie was so lucky that her name tag happened to be right next to her buddy Ellie!
And Lydia is in her class too!
Sarah really likes her new teacher as well!
And she got to sit by one of her best friends, Taylor! Sarah was excited to see which friends were in her class. Everything was so perfect and felt so at home. It will be so sad to leave our wonderful school. But I am so happy the girls get to go for a few weeks at least. It will be nice getting back to a routine and getting some closure with school friends.
After doing some chores at home, I took Twilight to the vet for her final immunizations and some medication to help us transfer her to Utah. We also got a chip implanted in her in case she runs off between now and when we get settled. She is ready to go.
Then I visited with our sweet neighbor
Luning. I had to get a picture with her. She is so kind and we just love her. She is always interested in the girls and loves the drawings they give her. I hope we get some good buyers that will be kind and take good care of our sweet neighbors.
This is where our nice day took a turn to something more interesting . . .
I told the girls I would come to the school at the end of the day to make sure they got on the right bus. Natalie was a little nervous. Just before I left the house I heard all kinds of sirens going by our house. When I hear sirens, going in the direction of the school and my kids are there my imagination always goes wild and I tell myself it's nothing.
It was pouring rain when Angela and I ran out to the car.
When we got to the school my heart dropped. There were three big firetrucks in the parking lot, several classes standing outside and firemen coming in and out of the school. I parked and ran over to a friend who happened to get there at the same time. She was just as confused as I was. Luckily, she had an extra little umbrella for Angela.
It was POURING - like monsoon rain. We get rain here a lot, but this was insane! It was like a waterfall. We stood out in the parking lot and were completely soaked in just a few seconds. It was very tricky getting the picture above because I didn't want to get my little camera wet. We stood there waiting as they didn't want anyone coming by the building. Luckily, we could see right off that the firemen, though completely decked out in their protective gear, were not looking concerned or acting like anyone was hurt inside. After a few minutes we saw the kids released to go back in the building. None of them were wearing jackets and they were completely soaked. I saw Sarah from a distance running back in and was grateful she seemed fine and had a big smile.
When we got under the covered area of the playground we found out what happened. The school just finished their big welcome back assembly, when Mr.
Rosetti, the janitor, saw that there was smoke coming out of the dishwasher in the kitchen. He tried to take care of it himself, but then flames started coming out and getting bigger. So he called 911 and notified the principal who immediately evacuated the children. The school has a nice big covered area over the blacktop and playground because it rains so much here, but this area is right by the kitchen where the fire was. So . . . the kids and staff had to stand out in the field with the buckets and buckets of rain coming down! With no jackets because they had just been dismissed from the assembly. Even with my coat on, I was completely soaked through.
I have been so impressed with the new principal already - I got to meet with him over the summer before we knew we were moving, to discuss Booster club planning and goals for the year. But after seeing how he handled his first big day with this little emergency, I am even more impressed! He is so great. He had a smile on his face, talked with all of the parents standing outside worried. He had a handle on everything, was calm and kept his sense of humor through the whole thing. Besides that, the assembly he put together for the kids today sounded so fun. He will be so a great addition to the school.
The heroes of the day. Sarah said everyone cheered for the firemen when they came outside.
Look at these poor wet kids! They will never forget this first day of school!
Getting even more wet while they wait to get on the bus!
We'll be watching to see if our school is on the news tonight! (o: All the teachers and staff were such good sports - what a stressful day for them!!
