HITZ CLAN: February 2010

Let me begin by saying a big "THANK YOU!" To all of you who were praying for us... What an adventure!

On Saturday, February 27th our day began at 1:55 a.m. Our neighbor, Vicki phoned in a panic..."Hi, it's Vicki from next door!" Yes, Vicki I do have you programmed into my phone. And the only reason I'm answering at this unholy hour is b/c I think that you are being robbed. The day prior the police were here escorting trespassers (who happen to be brothers of the guy that robbed neighbors on either side of us) off property. And the "trespassers" said that I, Me, Chandra, had given them PERMISSION to be there! But I digress, that is another story for another day. Anyhow, Vicki I would ask you if you're alright and being robbed and need help (Ryan has a gun-- although she has a pit bull) but I can't get a word in edgewise.

She continues "Have you heard? There is a tsunami warning! There's a tsunami on it's way and so we're packing up and heading up the mountain." And then she begins to read the report to me over the phone b/c she hadn't taken the time to read it before picking up the phone and waking me from blissful sleep. "Oh it doesn't get here until 11:19 a.m. Oh! What time is it? I don't even know!" "I don't know either, Vicki" I say as I fumble with my phone to try to find the time- which I never did. "Oh!" she says, "it's not even 2 a.m." I'm about ready to walk across the yard now and shoot her! What? Not even TWO? And you didn't bother to read the report BEFORE phoning me? OK, simmer down. I realize, this is serious but couldn't she have waited at least two more hours before phoning? Then she mentioned that "they" being the authorities will sound the tsunami sirens at 6 a.m.

Anyhow, she resolved that we had some time-- duh, I thanked her for the call and disconnected. Ryan (obviously awakened by the phone call) asked what was up and I told him. Then I rolled over and proceeded or rather attempted to go back to sleep. Sleep which never came. Within minutes Ryan was up and dressed. He went straight to his office to read the news report online and then to the kitchen and began filling bottles of water.

I laid in bed for another half hour pretending that this wasn't happening and trying to fall asleep b/c we had PLENTY of time. And then (amidst Ryan's noise) all these thoughts began flooding into my head of things that I and only I could prepare and grab: Insurance info, Legal documents and records, my journals and scriptures, my precious jewelry (not that I have a lot, but that was important to me), packing bags for the kids... and so out of bed I rolled.

Ryan had already grabbed our two 72 hour packs and filled every possible container with water, including dumping out the two 2 liter soda bottles from the refrigerator! That is the main thing. Where there is water, there is life. I don't care what you have in your food storage- how much or how little. If you do not have water- or enough water, that is a death sentence. You don't know what the world will be like around you. You don't know what kind of available water there will be after a disaster. We saw this most recently in Haiti. There was MUCH suffering for lack of water. OK, down I come from my soap box. GOT WATER?

Ryan and I spent the next couple of hours packing and preparing. I was so tired I would simply dump out the contents of bags onto my unmade bed and then begin to fill them with the important items. I didn't even bother to clean it up afterwards either. With the reports on the TV and internet the predictions looked grim for where our house is located. I didn't know if it was worth the effort to clean any of it up b/c it could all be wiped away in a matter of hours. So I left the messes. Left most everything.

It is amazing to me what suddenly became important and what I could care less about. Realizing that we only have one car and everything we were taking had to fit inside we had to be selective about what got packed. Each child got one bag with 3 changes of clothing (didn't know how long we'd be gone) a swimsuit (after all this IS Hawaii) and a jacket. They could also bring one blanket and their favorite stuffed animal. Ryan and I packed the same for ourselves as well as a small toiletries bag. And plenty of diapers and wipes for the baby- of course.

We also packed all of our protein bars, fruit snacks, juice boxes, goldfish (obviously tons of snacks) along with all that water. Ryan also put his gun safe in the car (you never know what kind of "crazies" you'll encounter during crisis situations.) We had our stroller and backpack to carry the baby, sleeping bags and emergency equipment such as a hand crank radio and flashlights. We also have a portable water purifier. There are some other items we packed as well, but these are the main (larger) items.

OK- all of that is the boring stuff. Back to the story. I showered at 4 a.m. I was not feeling well at all. SURPRISE! I'm pregnant. Baby #4. Today I am 12 weeks along. So needless to say, I'm exhausted and still feel the effects of the 1st Trimester. The shower helped as did the bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats! Then Ryan showered. Gabriella woke up around 5 a.m. This is when I finally began to get emotional and really felt the effects of being up for 3 hours already with less than 4 hours of sleep under my belt. Gabriella asked where we were going that day? She asks me this every morning. So I began to explain in kid language that we needed to leave b/c a big wave was coming and it wasn't safe to be in our house. I had to take a deep breath so I wouldn't lose it. I didn't know if she'd get to come back to her room again. I didn't know if our whole life as we built it (materially speaking) would be washed away. But it didn't really matter. Not really. So I put aside those feelings and went about finishing preparations; including waking the other two children and getting them in the car.

We decided that we would leave early. Before the sirens sounded at 6 a.m. and woke up all of the sleepyheads. We had worked out with some friends that we would drive over to their house (about 7 minutes up the road from us) and then up to the LDS church on the hill. Out of the flood zone. We pulled out at 5:30 a.m. I was driving the Yukon, Ryan was driving his Victory (motorcycle.) We would have to leave our cute little 150 cc scooter behind. We needed to get gas, but it was either 5 minutes in the opposite direction or not until Laie (12 minutes in the direction we were headed.) We decided to forego the gas b/c we wouldn't really be "driving, driving" the car. It will be parked. The motorcycle will have to stay parked at our friend's house in hopes that the water never makes it that far. Nevertheless- it'd be much safer there than at our "beach" house.

We arrive at Dave and Amy Evans' house. They had been up since 4 a.m. They have 5 children ranging in age from 8 to 2 yrs old. The two year olds are twins! Anyhow, all of their kids were still sleeping (of course) and so mine parked themselves on the couch watching cartoons. The Evans home is a picture of perfect order and tranquility. Everything was in its place. Everything was clean. Wow- I'd left my place looking like the tsunami had ALREADY hit! Ha! But not here. They had already been to 7 Eleven where Amy nearly cleaned out their candy aisle ($75 in candy!) and they'd been to the ATM with $900 cash. Keep in mind- all of the reports sounded really grim about the incoming tsunami. We didn't know how long we would be displaced from our homes or if we'd even have a home to come back to!!! The Evans also have gallons upon gallons of water. They filled the entire rear of a truck bed with water alone! This is how you do it people! They were prepared! We'd come to the right place! Ha! That is the second rule of thumb. If you are not totally prepared (well, really WE were...) then be friends with someone who IS! Hahahaha!

The Evans did not have their Suburban packed yet and I began bugging Ryan to get our car up to the parking lot. We were already hearing reports that it was getting full. (And the sirens hadn't even gone off yet!) So with some team work we got their car packed and the guys drove up, parked the cars in a quickly filling lot then rode bicycles back down to the Evans. About ten minutes later, we heard the sirens.

It was surreal. We'd heard them before b/c they will test them at the beginning of each month. But this time, there was real danger. The world began to come alive. People awoke to an avalanche of information coming their way. And they too packed and prepared. Ryan and I wre grateful to the friends from our ward (and some not in our ward) that phoned us to make sure we knew what was going on and that we had a safe place to be. We live the furthest out from our ward. We are in a married student ward that includes off-campus housing so we are pretty far removed from the nucleus of our ward. So thank you to those who thought of us and phoned or text to make sure we were taken care of!

We hung out at the Evans. We had a big, fun breakfast! Plenty of EGO waffles or dry cereal with muffins, juice and fruit! There were two others families that also met there; Dave's sister with her husband and 3 children and the couple (and their child) that live in an apartment above Dave's barn. All in all there were 8 adults and 11 children! It was a party! We sat around and watch CNN learning about the devastating earthquake in Chile (so glad you guys are OK Kim!) and the predictions of what was coming our way. The kids played. The Evans have a huge playroom (unheard of here where space is limited) so we barely knew they were there!

Ryan had an opportunity to go to 7 Eleven to get some cash and snacks. (Not like we needed more snacks!) 7 Eleven was closed by the time he got there and the ATM would only allow him to take $400 at that point. Knowing this crisis wouldn't last FOREVER we weren't too worried about not having more cash on hand. It's about 9:30 a.m. at this point and there began to be reports that Costco was closing its doors and they were all out of water. Along with most convenience stores and small, local grocery stores. Water. Water. Water. Water. GOT Water? Remember, we learn by repetition! =)

While Ryan was gone I snapped this photo out in their backyard. The first photo of the day. I thought the rainbow (the promise) was supposed to come AFTER the destruction and devastation! This was our first inclination that perhaps everything would turn out alright.

By 10 a.m. we decided to head up to the church parking lot. Reports are telling us that the first wave should hit the Big Island by 11:05 and then Oahu by 11:35. We needed a change of scene. Everyone is really tired but we're going on adrenaline here in anticipation of what may happen.

Dave Evans is a contractor. He owns his own company which equates to LOTS of equipment! So even though they already had his big work truck and his wife's Suburban at the church, there were still two pick-up trucks at the house (one filled with the water and other necessities) for us to pile into for the 2 minute drive up the hill.

I swear, this was the greatest day of my kids' lives! They were ecstatic to ride in the back of a pick-up truck! Feeling the air whip in their hair and against their cheeks! And NO seat belts! =) It was fun to watch them. Unfortunately my camera was in the cab of the other truck where Ryan was holding Kolea. So no picture. =(

Here is the view from the church parking lot! You can clearly see the ocean out a ways. The church is on a hill and the parking lot gradually goes up and up! We are near the back of the lot.

Here is our crew! You can see 6 of the 8 adults (obviously I'm behind the camera.) And all those kids!! This was like a fun vacation, or camping to the children! They were having a blast!

There is our black Yukon with Dave's truck on one side and Amy's Suburban on the other. And then that lame truck in front of us. That was really annoying to have to go around every time we wanted into our car. (Remember, I'm exhausted and preggers...) Ryan was very kind about it. He said "well if I'd shown up late to the party, I'd want a parking spot too- wherever I could get it!" Yeah, blah, blah. Just kidding. =)

Here is cutie Kolea enjoying a red vine. It was soooo humid all day (which added a bit to my discomfort.) She was soooo tired. But she had her red vine, so in this pic she was happy.

Hunter and Gabriella playing with the many children. Gabriella is in the dark pink shirt and Hunter is next to her in the blue shirt.

Yay! After about my fourth walk around the church parking lot I finally got her to fall asleep! You can tell how hot and humid it was. She's just laying in her stroller and she was all sweaty. It's about noon now. The first wave should've already come and gone but it hadn't. Time to break out the hand crank radio!

The kids were getting bored so I got out their sleeping bags to play in. Gabriella is showing off to her friends. =) We listened to the radio for about an hour and it looked like all the waves were much (much, much, much) smaller than expected. Report after report came in like that. And then finally I heard them say that the first tsunami wave had already moved through the entire island chain! What??? We'd totally missed it! However, there was one point around 12:30 p.m. where all the water from our view turned brown like it was being churned up with sand. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture. But I think that must have been that first wave. So we (3 of the 4 families) decided to leave the cars - not like we could get them out of the parking lot anyway- and head back to the Evans' home to watch CNN again. And then I could SLEEP! We figured that if something big did happen then we could jump back into the trucks and head up the hill again.

We muscled the stroller (Kolea sleeping and all) into the back of the pick-up with the rest of the kids and drove back. Again, sorry no pic. It was CERTAINLY a sight!! I tell you, only in Hawaii. I rolled the stroller right into their guest room and plopped down on the bed. About 15 min later, Kolea began to wake up. She was real uncomfortable laying in the same place on her back in the stroller. I tell you, one of my most fervent prayers that day happened at this point. I NEEDED TO SLEEP! I was going to be a crazy person! I laid her on the bed next to me and thankfully we slept for the next hour. That's right. Only one hour. But it was something.

While I was sleeping the reports came in that the tsunami warning had been called off. They still advised not going to the beaches (although I know a lot of guys that took off surfing immediately- Dave being one of them!) Amy took Ryan up to the church to retrieve our car. The lot was nearly empty.

We arrived home just after 3 p.m. This is a picture of our car after I'd already taken out the baby backpack and the big stroller. We'd laid down the other captain's chair to make more room. It was a messy and full car.

I immediately came out to the beach. I wanted to see where the water line was. I'm standing at the tree line and you can clearly see that the whole beach is wet. You see that "line" of rocks at the bottom of the picture- the water never gets that high unless we're having a really high tide- and the water had gone beyond that.

So there is the water line. And there is my house! So the water definitely DID rise. There was some tsunami action. It was just on a miniscule level. Which was fine with us! Even amidst all the packing, the sleepless morning, the anxiety of a crisis... this was still the best case scenario!

We are grateful and count our blessings. I enjoyed our church meetings today (it was fast Sunday b/c of Stake Conf. next week.) Many people bore testimony and spoke of the similarities between being physically prepared and spiritually prepared. I even had the thought at one point while I was packing. "If this is really IT. If we're going to be wiped out and die today" (k- don't laugh or think I'm being too dramatic, do I need to remind you?? Pregnant? hormones everywhere??) " "they" are right. You can't leave repenting or "fixing" things to the end. There is no time. It's not like I can read all my scriptures right this moment and say k- I'm ready to meet my Maker. You HAVE TO be living that way all along." And that's how my thoughts went. It was surreal to not just "believe" what we've been taught about how to live daily b/c we don't know when we'll take our last breath, but now to "know" that this teaching is so true.

I felt VERY prepared to grab items we needed which was a blessing. I have a shelf in my hall closet that has our 72 hour packs on it as well as other emergency equipment. It does help that I've recently moved and so as we unpacked I put everything where I wanted it- or knew where everything was! It's a good idea to do an inventory of your belongings! Know where everything is! I was able to go right to the box with our sleeping bags. Ryan was able to get our camp stove and other items from our camping equipment. I knew right were all of my important documents were such as: passports, birth certificates, S.S. cards, living will, etc. This also included knowing where our insurance information was (although we did FORGET to grab the file.) Next to our 72 hour packs I keep all the information I need (typed out) about a tsunami evacuation. We knew exactly what to do, where to go, and what to expect.

I also put important items up high; in closets or on top of the bunk bed- we were in a hurry at this point. I threw photo albums up there and my wedding album. In the future, if I could fit it I would bring my wedding album. Those are the only pictures we have. We don't have anything on a disk anywhere. The other thing I would do is make sure I have my children's baby books. That was the one thing I ran out of time to find. I am pretty sure I know where they are, but in our haste to leave I forgot about them. They can not be replaced. All of those memories! And of course, the photos from my computer. I think I'll start backing up my pictures once a month. I'm sure plenty of you already do this- but I do not. And the computer stays here. The computer is NOT important. It's the photos and the memories that have been created in those photos that are PRICELESS. That is what it comes down to. First, your families physical safety and well being. Second, the records of your life. That includes your scriptures you've marked up through the years- priceless. Baby books- priceless. Your journals- priceless. Wedding album- priceless. Every beautiful picture stored on your computer- so priceless. None of that can be replaced.

FAMILY HISTORY IS PRICELESS NO MATTER WHAT FORM IT COMES IN!

And this is where I'll end my saga. It was an adventurous day, although somewhat tiring! I feel like the Lord blessed us with a great practice run. We had soooo much time! That NEVER happens! Not in a REAL crisis, right? I feel like the next time it happens (and it will happen- we are in the Last Days) we will not have much time. We "must prepare every needful thing." And it "becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." Well, consider yourself "warned." I have only a little work to do to feel like I am totally on top of what I would need to grab with only a short amount of time. The TIME is what matters. You grab what you have TIME for. We were able to pull together many extra items like clothes for all of us and medications, extra food and water. BUT in the future we may not have that luxury. And it truly is a luxury. Look at the people of Chile. That type of disaster didn't give them any warning. It just happened. And now they are left picking up the pieces.

Be prepared. We are commanded in these latter days to be prepared and that is so that we can HELP our neighbors. They do not understand. They have not received these same commandments and warnings as they are not a part of our faith. It doesn't matter. We must first help ourselves and be prepared so we can bless the lives of others.

Thanks again for your prayers and blessings. By Saturday night I was so tired I knew that the only way I was still carrying on (cleaning up from the day, making dinner for our family - and our neighbors, cleaning up from that... ) was b/c of your prayers and I can't thank you enough. They were felt. Heavenly Father heard our prayers and blessed us. Now let's turn our prayers to those in Chile, Haiti, other countries where they are suffering. Even if you do not know them. They are still His children and they need to feel buoyed up as I did. Love you guys!

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This is Saturday afternoon. Kolea is playing with a ladybug. It was too cute so I pulled out the camera one last time that day.

Home sweet home. There really is no place like home where all the innocence of youth is nurtured.

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This is a pizza party we had at TVA (Temple View Apartments- on campus married student housing) on Friday night 2/26. It was lots of fun. Everyone made a pizza and brought it to share! Except for whoever brought that box of pizza! Ha!

A bunch of the crew that assembled for the pizza party!

This is the funny part. Koela had taken two naps that day so she didn't fall asleep on the way home- but the other two did! She crawled in the back seat when we got home to sit like a big girl with her brother and sister!

"Hey! They're not paying attention to me! Hunter? Hunter... are you sleeping?" Kolea's thoughts. =) She's never seen THEM sleep before! So she's checking things out!

Next she climbs onto Gabriella to get a close up of her cute sleeping face. Oh and to give her a kiss. =) Looks like Gabriella isn't sleeping now! She looks a bit confused, wondering why her baby sister is sitting on her!

OK, she just wants "loves" back to sleep... Isn't that the cutes thing ever? Kolea was soooo dang funny! She's just laying on Gabriella!

Gabriella woke up after that and went on up to bed. Next Kolea climbed onto Hunter and did the same thing. But the camera angle was off- no good shots. But she still couldn't figure out why he wouldn't wake up! Poor, sleepy Hunter! She finally woke him up too and laughed. He thought it was pretty funny for her to be climbing on him and waking him up! So cute.

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Just horsing around about a week ago... Hunter thinks it's really funny (which it is) to wear a fake beard and mustache. Usually because it scares Koela- which is hysterical! I know, we're so mean. Anyhow, he decided to make his own this day and tape it on his face!