Full house...

We have a full house these days with my fire-evacuated family staying with us. We've done pretty well though without very many issues with the kids fighting or bumping into each other, or lines for the one bathroom. The kids have been happy to stay in the house all day and do nothing but play with each other and their toys. We have 5 kids and 5 adults in our 1,000 square foot house and it isn't really too bad. My parents have been spending a lot of time near their neighborhood and trying to find out what is going on with their house. My sister and her kids have visited the Qualcomm Stadium where they have set up a nice shelter for the evacuees to stay. From what I hear it has everything like acupuncture, massages, free food, supplies for just about anything you might need, donated books, crafts and games for the kids... They had a great time and she says that all the volunteers reached out to everyone and were so kind. I'm sure they have happy memories of their times with other evacuees.

My parents keep thanking us for sheltering them in our house, but really...it isn't a problem at all! We don't mind having them here. It kind of feels like we have family here from out of town. You know like for Thanksgiving or Christmas except that there aren't any turkey dinners or Christmas trees. We aren't cozy-ing up around the fire either...well, maybe we are...just a different type of fire!

We did venture out into the front yard today and the kids had fun playing with each other in the wagon. They climbed in and then out for a long time. We didn't stay out for long because the air was thick with smoke but at this time the sun was able to peek through and give us a little break from the 'gloomy' like feel of the gray sky.