carbon monoxide.
this past Monday Questar Gas was at our house to check on a gas leak that we have had challenges with for the past five years. At approximately 10:30 am they knocked on our front door and said,
“you need to evacuate your home, immediately.”
Evidently, the gas leak was bad. It has been leaking from our main line to our gas fireplace in the back yard all winter. Because it was winter, the snow pack and frozen soil has been holding the chemicals within the soil, for months…
not good.
The nice gas man said we could possibly return to our home that afternoon, or it could take up to a week to lower the levels of carbon monoxide in our back yard to a safe level that we could return home to. WHAT?!?! He adds, “we need to dig holes to release the gas in the soil.” WHAT?!?! My ever beloved back yard is going to have holes dug into it???
chaos hit inside our home, my ever prepared 72-hour-kits were not going to accommodate this. My mind went into hyper mode, “OK, the girls and KJ have school all week – pack school clothes. the girls have dance – throw together dance outfits. KJ and Myla have soccer – get soccer uni’s, practice stuff, shin guards, cleats. ok. pj’s for everyone. toothbrushes, my bathroom stuff. WAIT! clothes and stuff for me. and Dusty! OH! don’t forget the baby shower I am going to tonight, throw the gift in the car. AND my school stuff…throw in my camera bag. Where are we going to go? we have no family in town. They are also evacuating my nearest two neighbors homes…probably a hotel, throw in swimsuits for the kids! what else, what else, what else. food? toys? important documents? keepsakes? nope.
{door bell} nice gas man, “you need to leave right now.” RIGHT now? freak. almost ready!
all kids and stuff in car, walking out the back door.
to my surprise, what? they’ve wrapped my home in caution tape? and my guest home? and the neighbors? 
where did we go? 
the new Marriott in town, mini vacation, here we come! Dusty knows the owner of this new hotel in Provo. To our pleasant surprise, it is very up-to-date, snazzy, and convenient. The kids loved it.
Kiana and Myla had just returned home from the dentist on their way to school at 10:30 am this morning. Lucky me they were there as I yelled out orders as to what to pack, get this! get that! Lucky them they didn’t have to return to school and spent the afternoon exercising with me at the hotel gym and swimming with their little sis. Lucky all of us, no one, animal, or thing was harmed by the quiet killer. The gas company worked through the night piping holes in our back yard and removing the harmful chemicals. We returned home the next day and all is fine and back to normal.
oh my, I love the Hotel where you guys stayed. How fun to swim and play in a mini vacation.
Glad they worked everything out. Your backyard will heal!
Dang, i want that Photoshop!
How scary! I’m so glad they discovered the leak when they did and got you all out before you got sick. I’m also amazed at mad evacuation skills, if only the rest of us were that prepared.
Holy Cow! How scary! Thank goodness everything went well – it could have been a lot worse.
That’s scary. Looks like a fun adventure though
so i TOTALLY smelled that when i was there last week!!!! i’m glad everything is good now. that is crazy…
p.s. you’ll have to show me where to change my “quips” 😉
That’s no fun! Glad no one was harmed and that the gas company was on top of it!
It’s always fun to have a last minute vacation!
Your back yard? That will pretty much suck!
oh my goodness!!! so good that they found it and fixed it without too much trouble (although I guess moving a family of six out for the night is probably a bit of a production no matter what eh?). Glad you guys are safe!