If this is what happens with 31 candles,

then what do I have to look forward to when I turn 62?

Seriously, there was a fire at the stables just up the street from us this afternoon. The kids were napping. Chris and I were catching up on Heroes online. Generally we were just enjoying the lazy afternoon for my birthday. Then came the knock at the door and the ringing of the doorbell. The stables, one hill up from our neighborhood, had caught fire and we needed to boogie. This is what I saw out our window:

After about 15 minutes, this is what the fire had grown into. If you look closely, you can actually see the fires just up the hill.

We quickly packed up (guess procrastinating on un-packing wasn't such a bad thing after all) and hit the road. Cynthia lives just a mile from Qualcomm stadium, which is being used as an evacuation center, so she said we'd be good there. Guess I really wanted to celebrate today with her.

After enjoying a nice meal and watching the start of the World Series (Go SOX! All I really wanted for my birthday was for the team to schmuck the Rox, and they have delivered thus far -- knock on wood!) we got the call that it was safe to trek back home. So that is where we are now -- home, safe and sound.

Please pray for all the responders. They have done an excellent job of keeping everyone up to date on the status of the fires and keeping us and our property safe. These fires have been absolutely crazy, and yet there is relatively little loss of life and loss of property is much less than what I would have expected with as many acres as have been burned. Thanks for all you do!