Is the neighbor's house on fire???

one sunday evening last december, we we just finishing dinner when we heard a terrible racket of fire sirens and saw flashing red lights through the windows. they were definitely coming right into our court! we thought for sure that one of neighbor's houses was on fire and rushed outside to see what all the commotion was about. we were pleasantly surprised!

tonight, just after dinner, the same thing happened.

the fire trucks come first, sirens blaring, lights flashing, and decked out in colorful christmas lights. then come some of the firefighters, on foot, passing out candy canes. then you hear the music and the magical man of the hour makes his appearance! needless to say, the kids find it terribly exciting! alexander rushed out onto the rain-drenched sidewalk in stocking feet. hadley's socks were nowhere to be found, so alan carried her. by the time we came in, her little feet were pink and freezing!

5 random things...

this is for pinkmilk...she tagged me! i haven't forgotten you, i've just been busy!
but first off, let me say that i've done this before: http://spyderette.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

but i will do it again, for boredom's sake, and to brighten your dreary idahoian existence.

1. i LOVE the cure. (like anyone who knows me didn't know that.) but what you might not know is that i heart them in a freakish, obsessive, and downright disturbing way. i own all 23 albums. yes, that's right, 23! plus a few rarities, hard-to-find stuff, limited releases, and at least 3 concert bootlegs. robert smith's birthday is april 21, 1959, and i have tickets to see them at madison square garden in june.

2. i once met gwen stephani backstage after a gig in provo, utah at the geneva steelworker's hall. she was still with no doubt, and they rocked!

3. i can sing the entire score of "joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat". that's right! jealous?

4. i don't like chocolate that much. there, i said it! in fact, given the choice of a chocolately dessert amongst an array of others, i will NOT choose the chocolate every time. (does that even make any sense?)

5. i once did yoga in times square in new york and plan to again. and this random fact is a total cop-out if you read my previous random facts. :)

Sneaky McSneaker

alan and i have been amazed at hadley's ability to sneak SILENTLY out of bed and into the hallway, downstairs, etc. tonight, i caught a glimpse of the sneakmaster in action. i was in alexander's room, listening while he did his reading and i saw her in the hallway, seeming to glide past his open door. a closer look revealed her secret:

she had placed two thin paperback books on the floor, planted one tiny foot on each book, and was slowly (and silently) sliding each foot foward, making steady, quiet progress toward the bookshelf in the hallway. i was agog and nearly fell out of bed/laughed out loud. amazing. how on EARTH she came up with that one is beyond me, but i sense an elaborate alarm system in our future, particularly when she reaches her teenage years.