Criminal in Disguise

In the last several years, I have unintentionally started a tradition of having crazy things happen over the Thanksgiving holiday. Whether it's getting a horrible case of the stomach flu (this has happened twice) or a quick trip to Paris, including canceled flights and big adventures even getting there! This year absolutely takes the cake!!! I was held at gun point by a police officer!! Lest you think that I've turned to the dark side, let me explain the events leading up to it!!

I went to Price to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. As it turns out, my brother-in-law's family also lives in Price, so we spent quite a bit of time over at their house. On Friday night after spending the day there, my sister was going to take some of her kids home to go to bed, and I said I would go too. My sister was taking a few minutes rounding up her children and she had help already, so I was just standing around. Since I had to drive my own car back anyway, and I knew the garage code to get in, I just decided to leave. I went in through the garage, and as I was closing it, I saw a vehicle come around the corner into the cul de sac. I assumed it was my sister, and just went inside. I checked my email, went downstairs and packed up some of my stuff to prepare to leave in the morning. After about 15 minutes, I realized that no one had come in, and wondered what had happened to my sister. Shortly thereafter, I received a phonecall from my niece. She wondered where I was; I told her I was at her house and she was worried for me, thinking that a burglar was in the house with me. She descrbed how her Mom saw someone entering their house, and I told her it was probably just me coming in. She was relieved and said she would call her Dad to tell him. A few minutes later, I heard someone come in upstairs and I assumed it was Liz and Christian. I came up the stairs slowly and saw light from a flashlight reflecting on the wall. I said, "Liz and Christian??" Suddenly, a police officer turns around the corner and points a gun at me and says, "Who are you?" Completely startled, I raised my hands above my head and said I was Liz's sister and described that I was just there for the weekend visiting. I came up the stairs and saw 3-4 other police officers. They asked me about thirty questions before one of them left to consult with my brother-in-law about a female with long black hair who claimed to be his sister-in-law. Fortunately, my brother-in-law decided to claim me and not let me get hauled off in handcuffs for breaking and entering!!

As it turns out, my sister saw me closing the garage and not realizing that I was coming back too, thought that a stranger was entering their house. My brother-in-law called his parents house to make sure all his brothers were there, thinking it might have been one of them. When all of his siblings were accounted for, he decided he had better call the police. A few minutes thereafter, someone asked "Where's Sarah?" That's when the call came from my niece. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law's phone was dead and he didn't get the message my niece tried to send him.

We all had a good laugh about it afterwards, although there was a lot of embarrassment on the side of my sister and brother-in-law. I told them I could keep it a secret if he wanted in order to protect him from the mockery that would undoubtedly ensue for the next...well, maybe the rest of his life, but he admitted that this story needed to me exposed, so I decided to share it with the world in my blog!!

This Thanksgiving season, I am thanksful for my family and for their love and concern for me (even if I'm forgotten sometimes). I'm grateful for police officers who don't arrest poor innocent victims and for my completely transparent face which allows people to believe me when I am telling the truth!! I'm also thankful for BYU's stellar performance at the game on Saturday (that one's for you, Anna!!!)