The Mangum Family

Here is a little clip from CNN about a family in Poway. They have been in my parents ward for over 20 years and we grew up with their 3 daughters. What CNN didn't mention is that the Gale kids (the ones interviewed) are living with their aunt and uncle, Jeff and Chris Mangum, because they lost their parents not too long ago. Can you even imagine going through that and then having your home burn down? What troopers. Click here to watch the short video CNN did. (By the way, I went to Poway High-- which has gotten a MAJOR face lift since I graduated!)

Do I Dare?

While I was at Walmart the other day I bought some ADORABLE boxer briefs for Carter. When I got home with them I showed them to him. I told him that he could wear them and he would look just like Daddy. "Do you like your big boy undies, Carter?" He replied with an enthusiastic, "YEAH!" When I asked him if he wanted to wear them instead of his diaper, he replied with just as much enthusiasm as before, "NO!" It was pretty cute.

We put them on him anyways. He wanted to wear the red pair so Bryan took it upon himself to put the blue pair on his head. That's nice... He has them on for about 15 minutes before he peed all over the floor. Thank heavens he was on the tile when he did it.

I don't think I am quite ready for this whole potty training thing. Carter's not that into it either. We are going to San Diego over Christmas so maybe I'll brave it after that. We'll see.

Survival!

For those of you sick of hearing about the fires, stop reading now. I think this will be my last post on the fires, but I will be adding some pictures. I know I have written a lot about these but my entire hometown is/was in flames so it's a big deal to me. Plus, this is MY journal. :)
Things on the home front are great. My parents have been home but aren't sleeping there. The house stinks really bad. They aren't allowed to open windows for a few weeks because of the air quality. Those of you who know my mom know how much that is asking of her. (I'll believe it when I see it.) The carpet is COVERED in suet (spelling?) by the doors and under the skylights. They made a run over to Kelly's house (which now belongs to my grandparents). It IS standing. The one to the left of hers and down the street are all burned. Her plants are gone. The people to the right of her and the right of them are there but everything is gone from there up the street. Across the street from her, about 1/2 the houses made it. Crazy. I don't know about Fabian and Kimber's house yet. I know my parents were trying to get in there but didn't know if they were able to when I last talked to them. When I called Fabi's house I got the machine, which is a live machine so I think their house is still there. Their neighborhood was VERY badly hit though... we'll see.
I am still so amazed that my parents house made it through this. Even the dumb bird, Pickles, is still alive. (darn!) Too bad you can't take cookies to Heavenly Father. My mom owes him a HUGE plate of them!!
Here is Kel's house. Hers is the one on the right. The one on the left wasn't so lucky. Seriously, that breaks my heart for her neighbors.
Another update from Cory and Lexine:
Family and Friends, As of 10:45 a.m. here in Serra Mesa, 92123, all is well. And it seems things are improving county-wide. The winds are more calm -- which is the most influential factor -- and our noble firefighters seem to begetting the upper hand. Whew. Lex and I remain completely safe and calm, and we might even begin slowly reintegrating ourselves into our normal lives today, if circumstances allow.... In other local family news, Chris and Les are safe, but they were evacuated very early (middle of the night on Sunday) and to my knowledge they still do not know if their house survived. Yeesh. Mom and Dad must be telepathic, because they were already over in the desert before the conflagration began; all indications as of now imply that their home at La Costa Glen is fine. We plan to assume -- cautiously -- that things will simply wind down from here, and no news from us is therefore good news. (I will of course write again if anything changes radically.) Thank you all so much for all your concern and love and well wishes. We felt you all here with us, and that helped immensely. So! We now return to our regular programming.... C&L

Kelly's home

Kel and Rob sold their home in Rancho Bernardo to my grandparents about 5 months ago. They are using it as a rental. Here is a video of Kelly's street after the fire. Her home, amazingly enough, is one of the very, very few on the street that is ok. Crazy! I also talked to Courtney (Zierke) Georggin a few minutes ago and her and George's home in High Valley is still standing. She said she cried when George called her with the news. (He snuck in riding with the water guy.)

Update from the Family

My parents are still in good shape but found out another couple in the ward they are good friends with lost their home. (Minkums) As I mentioned, my parents were able to check out our home. They literally had to hide form the cops and ended up getting caught. The police man told them they have big problems with identity theft in times like these because so many houses are deserted. People break in and steal credit card statements, etc. So, he took down their license plate number and told them they will be arrested if they come back again before they are allowed to. I know, MY parents, almost arrested!! What rebels! :)

Here is an update from my Uncle Cory and his girlfriend, Lexine. As far as I know they are still in their home down by the stadium (as of 7:00pm).

Dear All, Things remain pretty calm right here -- meaning the 92123 zip code,specifically -- and right now: Tuesday at just before 3:00 p.m. And at least a few evacuated folks around SD are now allowed to go home, we are told, so perhaps things are settling down(?). It nevertheless remains very hot and dry, and the winds keep changing. But I might venture a run to the grocery store. Cabin fever! Jen, couldn't figure out how to post on the blog, but invite you to do so with these if you like. I'll write again if anything changes significantly; otherwise please assume we're fine and operating pretty much on the same news you're getting. Playing Scrabble and puttering as we listen to the radio.... C&L

First Status Message: Family Members and Far-flung Friends, Lexine and I are just fine right now -- noon on Tuesday -- secure and unsinged in our cozy and well-prepared home. But fire rages on three sides, within just a dozen or so miles in one case, and a change in the winds will send embers across miles in but a gust or two.... We remain under constant watch for potential evacuation, for which we are well-prepared with Lex's van and our Burning Man gear at the ready.Jenny, would you kindly post this on your blog for the family members I've missed in distribution? Thanks. I'll check in again soon. In the meantime, we ask that you do not call us, as we need to leave the land line open for potential incoming reverse 911 and have also been asked to lay off the cell phones. So, get this: Let's keep in touch here on the net, maybe via Jenny's blog, if I can find the address.... Ye Gods.I'm suddenly very grateful for this stupid computer I hate so much.More soon. Gotta check the news. Love you all and thanks so much for your concern and well wishes. C&L

Tender Mercies of the Lord

These fires are so insane. I talked to my parents about an hour ago. They were able to get to our house (YES, it is still there FOR NOW). They snuck inside and has to park around back and literally hide from the police cars. My parents are beyond exhausted and staying at a hotel in Torrey Pines. There are 5 homes from their small neighborhood that I know for sure are gone and it's still smoldering. If one little ember catches flight everything could change and their house could be toast within 5 minutes. Here's a picture of a home about 3 blocks from them. I don't think it's on fire. I think the one behind them is on fire. (the burning one belongs to someone in my home ward. The Brunson family, for those of you that are from Poway.)This one is from about a mile and a half from my parents home. It's in a gated community. (Courtney Zierke's old neighborhood... possible old street.)

This one is in Old Coach. This is about 5 minutes from my parents. This area is filled with homes like this. A lot of Padres players and Charger players live in this area. (Like L.T.) Can you imagine seeing this picture and it being YOUR house?

While there are so many houses lost I did find out that one of my childhood best friends who thought FOR SURE her parents had lost their home (the whole area was gone) found out it was ok. (Krissy Brundage) My parents were able to hike into the neighborhood from their (my parents) backyard. Everything within 10 feet of the house was burned. They think the sprinklers turned on and helped put out the fire. Their pool house was lost and their gazebo was lost but the home is ok. A few weeks ago David Brundage (their 24 year old son) was nearly killed in a car accident. After a day of not knowing if he was going to make it, he started to recover. He has short term memory loss which will take months (up to a year) to return. Diane (his mom) and David's wife are nursing him back to health from the Brundage's home. When my dad told me it was still standing I started crying. What a miracle.

Behind the Brundage's live another woman in our ward, Kathleen, who just went through a nasty divorce. She is the woman who escorted me through the temple the day Bryan and I got married. Her house is also standing. All of her trees and shrubs are burned but the house is there.

As my mother-in-law so rightly put it: tender mercies of the Lord. Our Heavenly Father knows what we can handle and he will not give us more than that.

I know we are not out of the woods yet with the fires but we've made it this far. I hope I won't have to update this blog with unhappy news. So far, so good.

Huh?

Carter has now started calling his nipples "ladybugs". Just thought I'd share.

Kindred Spirits

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find couples to hang out with? You know, the kind where both the husbands and the wives get along? Well, Bryan and I are lucky enough to have the most awesome little family where we ALL play well together. Ryan Alexander and Bryan were BFFs in high school. So, naturally, we all went out once when Bryan and I were seriously dating and Ryan and Courtney were newlyweds. The rest is history.

Bryan and Ryan play so well together. :) They play video games and go see lame movies together that Court and I couldn't care less about. They talk sports and have lunch dates at Chiles more than any married couple I know. Courtney and I chat on the phone, make bows, bracelets, scrapbook, and occasionally shop.

We all became even closer when we had Carter and Blake within a few months of each other. Then, Addilyn and McKenzie were born within a few months. This only fueled the fire more! Everyone has a "friend" when we get together.

We joke that when we go on double dates the couples are Ryan and Bryan, and Courtney and me. We take turns babysitting the kids while the other "couple" goes out... meaning, Courtney and I will head out to the scrapbooking store while the boys watch the kids. (I use the term "watch" loosely.)

The best part of the whole friendship, though, are the little boys. Carter and Blake are the best of friends. They have an absolute blast together. Within a few minutes of being together they are both sweating from running around. They communicate in their own little way, play with Deja (the dog), play peek-a-boo, run around the house, play in Blake's room, jump on the bed, and ALWAYS copy each other. It is beyond funny to watch the two of them.

Here's Carter giving Blake a hug.

This next one is seriously the cutest picture in the ENTIRE world!!

So, naturally, when Courtney wanted me to take family pictures (which turned into just pictures of the kids when Ryan got a MAJOR black eye- stitches and all- at basketball this week) I was thrilled. The kids were so cooperative and their backyard was just beautiful. It is so fun having such great friends!!

Here are a few of Kenzie.

Blakers.


Older brothers in a nutshell! (My personal favorite.)

Blasted Skunk!

I would like to preface this with: I realize how unimportant this is in the big picture... even in the small picture, but I am a scrapbooker so every last detail of my kids' lives are documented in pictures, so I am anal.

Carter was the cutest Tom Arma bear for his first Halloween. We spent too much money on this knowing that we would have each of our kids wear it their first Halloween. So, 2 moves later, this costume is NOWHERE to be found. ANNOYING!!!!

So, I have been on the prowl for months for the PERFECT costume for Addi for Halloween. I REALLY wanted her to be a bunny. Not just any bunny, but the Tom Arma bunny. It's seriously the CUTEST thing ever and rabbits were my fave growing up. But this costume was far too expensive so my darling hubby put his foot down. After searching every store around I finally decided to jump into the world of ebay. I have never bought/sold anything on ebay so I was not real experienced in this whole thing. I'm more of a craigslist girl.

Anyways, the bunny outfits were all over $100 on ebay so I finally settled on this cute skunk costume. How freaking cute is that?

I payed nearly full price for it (absurd, I know). I had a great plan of making some really cute bows to tie on the ears or the tail or the hair.

So, I get it in the mail and there's no freaking head!!!!!!! I'm not kidding. There's no head! So, it looks like a... cat? It's still so cute but needless to say, I was beyond bummed. When I got back on ebay to look at the costume again it does say at the bottom of the page that she lost the head of the costume. Like I mentioned before, I have never done ebay before so I didn't know to look for a description.

After spending the evening in tears (yes, I still realize that this isn't a big deal and I shouldn't even care) and ripping the house apart looking for Carter's bear costume, I was still just as frustrated as I was when I opened the skunk package.

Bryan (I think because he was sick of dealing with me) decided for us that we would ebay the headless skunk and buy the other cute bunny that I wanted for Addi. So, she is going to be the world's most expensive bunny (unless we can actually sell the headless skunk) for Halloween. I better get some cute pictures of her in this little bunny costume!!! (It's pretty cute, huh?)

My Real Age?!?!

I took a quiz that a friend sent me. It shows you your "real age". It said that I am 9.2 years old and I should live until I am 92. Wow.... I do live a really healthy life but still! That's just crazy! Anyways, sometime when you have too much time on your hands you should take this quiz.

Daddy's Touch

As I have mentioned time and time again, Carter loves his Daddy. It makes me so happy to see the amazing faith that he has in Bryan. As long as he knows that Daddy is there, everything will be okay. When we were on the plane going to San Diego, he got a little worried when we took off. He just kept telling Bryan, "Hold on, Daddy! Hold on!" As long as he could feel Bryan there he was okay. I love to watch Carter hold Bryan's hand or just want to be near him. He watches him like a hawk and wants to be just like him. Hopefully as he grows his faith and admiration in Bryan will not falter.
It makes me think about how we should truly have the faith of a child. If we could have the confidence in our Father in Heaven the same way Carter has confidence in Bryan we would be so much better off... then again, if we could physically feel him there, it may change things. :)

San Diego in the Fall

Last weekend we all headed to San Diego to visit my parents and grandparents. It was so much fun and while it was a short weekend, quite relaxing! I loved it that my mom's parents got to meet Miss Addi-cakes and see Carter again. (He was about Addilyn's age last time they saw him.) As always, it was also so much fun to see my parents, as well. I just wish we had been there longer.
4 generations of women!

Granny and Gramp (my mom's parents) were visiting from Texas so we made a special trip out there to see them. It's not every day a kid gets to hang out with their great grandparents!

Grandma Great and Granky (my dad's parents) had us over for dinner on evening. Our kids are so lucky to have all 4 of their great grandparents alive on my side! (and 3 on Bryan's!!) I love having them so close to my parents. Every time we get out to Poway we make sure to pay them a visit. No one loves our kids the way they do. They also love to show them off to their friends. (Isn't it nice when someone else will brag about your kids?!?)
We spent Saturday morning at Bates Nut Farm (affectionately known as "Nate's Butt Farm"). It was so much fun!! There was a tractor-train ride, a petting zoo, and all kinds of fun shops.
Mr Llama needs to visit Bryan's dental chair... :)Yes, those are the goat's buck teeth you see. Seriously, Bryan should go into the animal dental field (if there is such a thing)... he'd make a killing! Carter had so much fun feeding the animals. I love it that he doesn't know to be a little frightened of them yet. He was all about sticking that little hand right in there with some food on it. The goat was nice and gentle with him. :)Daddy's little shadow. Boy, does that kid love his Daddy! Ultimately, Carter did decide that hay doesn't taste all that well. :)

While my dad always has fun with the kids, he got particularly attached to Addilyn this trip. She is the SWEETEST baby ever. It did help that he threw out his back the day before we arrived so he couldn't wrestle with Carter. Because of this, he had more time to cuddle with his new little granddaughter. I must say that I think the affection was mutual. She was never stingy with her smiles when Papa was around! I loved to watch them interact.