WE'RE BAAAACCCKKK!!!!!

Well, we finally arrived back home yesterday. We drove into town around 4:45 and pulled up at the house to find that they had changed the locks. So, we all piled back into the truck and went to the police station. While we were there they showed us the pictures they had taken of the house after the breakins. They also had 2 of our bikes there. What we can't figure out is why they stole the bike that didn't have any pedals and left another one that worked well and was whole. I guess we'll never figure that one out. In any case, we are still short 2 bikes. Anyways, after the police station we had to go to someones house to get our new keys. When we got there his brother came out to inform us that he was passed out. He went in to try and rouse him. Eventually his sister showed up and she was able to get him moving. But the keys were still proving to be elusive. It turns out he didn't have them, someone else did. So, he went to find her. After about 15 minutes he showed up at our house minus the keys. He couldn't find her. Then this very hungover man says we'll just remove the boards from one of the windows. So, he got a big sledge hammer from his truck and took one swing at the window. Then he decided that wasn't going to work. He would go home and get a saw. After another 10 minutes he is just coming back, he pulls into our driveway then states "that's the car I'm looking for" and takes off again. This time he was back in 5 minutes with the keys - thank God.

I thought that after seeing all the pictures I would be prepared for what awaited us. But it was still a tremendous shock. We just walked around looking at everything. Bursting into tears at some things. One of the most heart wrenching was finding that they had drawn rude things on a picture we had from when we were in Disneyland. It was one take the rides, so it is irreplaceable. Another was finding they had taken our wedding rings and other jewellry.We just wandered for over an hour. Since then we have spent all our time cleaning. The powder from the fire extinguishers is in absolutely everything. We have had to wash down walls and even after 3 washings the floors still have the powder on them. My laundry room is piled high with laundry. Practically everything we own has to be washed because of the powder. They had emptied all our drawers and stuff was thrown around everywhere. We still have tons of cleaning to do, but it will all come in time. We are coming to terms with things even though it has been hard. As we compile our list of missing and damaged items, I am more relieved than ever that we have insurance.

That's all for now. My next post will be about something more uplifting - promise.