What a Day!!

So today was packed full of ups and downs, excitement and sheer panick, good and shall we say... not so good. It started off fine. I had amillion things to do because it was Amanda's birthday. Dropped the kids off at the Babysitting Co-op so I could run many errands without having to buckle and unbuckle the boys a million times. Ran my errands and went to pick up the boys. Well, Lara and I got talking as we do - more now that we are in the Primary Presidency together. The boys (Ryan and Tyler plus her two Kyle-5 yrs and Ryan-3 yrs) were all playing in the back yard and eventually moved to the front yard. Kyle came into the house to ask if they could ride bikes. Lara said no, I told him we were leaving in a minute. So they went back out front. The front door was open, I was sitting at her bar so I could see the boys and we could both hear them. After a couple minutes I got up and we went to get the boys so I could go home and get them lunch. They were GONE! We looked in the back yard, looked through her house, they were really GONE! A moment of unbelief that this was happening... We jumped in my car and drove around her block. Nothing. Dropped her off at her house, we got in our own cars and started driving around. I went to the park and then over to my house, NOTHING! She went further up into her neighborhood and then back toward her house, NOTHING. We split up and drove again through neighboring subdivisions, NOTHING! My body is going numb. I am such an overprotective mom. I always know where my kids are at all times. To the point that some people have laughed at me or asked why I worry so much. But I always know where they are and freak out if I can't see them at all times! So I am really starting to freak out! Lara goes to wake up her husband - he is a cop and was sleeping from working the night shift. He goes out looking. I am running thru her neighborhood knocking on random doors asking if anyone has seen 4 little boys. I run to the park yelling their names. I see the Landscapers at the park but no little boys. Lara calls the Police, it has now been 30 minutes they have been missing. My friend that I was going to meet at the park is out on her bike looking everywhere for them. In the neighborhoods, the parks, can't find them. Everytime I call her to see if she has found them she answers her phone "Did you find them?" David is coming home from work, we now have 6 officers, neighbors and ward members all looking for 4 little boys who we think are together. Finally someone calls and tells us the Landscapers at the Park said they saw 4 little boys walking up Bridlegate toward Houston 25 minutes earlier (kind of toward my house). It has now been an hour that they are missing. Lara and I are crying and starting to really lose it. They won't let us leave Lara's house. Talk about feeling helpless! We were discussing how this could have happened and how noone saw them. when I remembered telling Kyle we were going to be going home soon. I called my friend Markelle again and asked her to go to my house and go IN my house and look for them. To go IN the backyard. I had driven past my house, Lara's husband had gone to my house and looked over the side wall into the back yard and yelled for them but found nothing. She said she would. I called her back and asked if she was there yet, she had just gotten there and was checking my front door. Locked. I told her to go into the back yard, she opened the big side gate and yelled "I FOUND THEM!! They are here." Then she said to the boys that the Police were out looking for them and then told me she was going to hang up and cry. I jumped in my car and flew to my house. There were now 2 police cars and a police motorcycle at my house. Rick had gotten there too and was helping get the boys out of the back yard. They had gotten into the pool area -thanks to a ladder they had propped up against the pool fence to get to the lock on the gate. Once inside the pool area they were locked in and couldn't get out. So, here are 4 little boys who CAN'T swim locked IN the pool area! This could have gone so wrong in so many ways! Come to find out, after much prodding and questioning by both Lara and myself, basically they didn't want to stop playing together, so they ran to my house - they wanted to hurry so they could hide and keep playing. They walked 3/4 mile to get to my house! I clocked it in the car with Ryan tonight! It also came out that they were afraid of the cars, so anytime they saw one, they would hide in the bushes. Thus the reason no one could find them. I have never felt so much fear and panick in my life. I was so scared! When I did see them, I just held them. Ryan was pretty upset and wouldn't let go of me. He was crying when the officer lifted him over the fence to me and wouldn't let go until David took him in the house. I don't know if he completely understands how scared I was, but Christina said that when she walked in from school he said "I was lost and made Mommy cry today." I just know I NEVER want to experience that feeling again!
On a lighter note... Today was Amanda's Birthday! She turned 7 today! She is getting so big! I can hardly believe it! We went out to dinner and then back home to open presents and have cake & ice cream. She seemed to enjoy it all very much! Screaming with such delight of each little gift. She would scream and get so excited and then look at it and ask "what is it?" She is a nut! Amanda is such an independent littel girl. I told her the other day that she is very stubborn. She asked what stubborn meant. I told her and we discussed it for a little while. She seemed satisfied. Then tonight she announced "I am stubborn" then looked at me and asked again "what does stubborn mean? Is it good?" She makes me laugh. She is a lot of fun to have in the family. She has a great laugh and loves school. She loves to do anything crafty - loves to make cards, necklaces, draw pictures, color, etc. She loves to dance in her room to her favorite cd's -not sure which one is the favorite this week... She is reading so well, and loves to read books and have them read to her. We went to the library recently and she chose -I think- half the library!! She had a stack of books to bring home. I think we must have brought home 20 or more, just for her. I am so happy to have her in our family. Love you Amanda Panda -aka Boo!