Fire hazard

The other day while I was downstairs moving a dresser from one room to the other, I heard the smoke alarm go off upstairs. At first I didn't think it was the smoke alarm because I had only been downstairs for about 3-5 minutes but the loud annoying beep got me concerned. As soon as I got to the stairs I realized that it was the smoke alarm so I ran up stairs to check things out. I caught a glimpse of Morgan taking off into the other room leaving the microwave door swinging open with smoke filtering out of it. As I got closer I saw a plastic green plate with only a memory of a grilled cheese sandwich sitting on it. The sandwich was black and the plate was melted. it was even melted to the microwave. I took care of the smoke alarm and opened all the windows and doors and then proceeded to deal with Morgan. I was pretty mad. Not only because we were moments away from a fire or because Devyn was asleep down the hall from the kitchen but because only a week before I had found Morgan warming up a soda bottle in the microwave. It had sprayed soda all over and I had made it clear that she is not to operate the microwave without my help. I was very clear on the possible dangers such as......a fire, maybe. I was really upset and she was too. I actually found her hiding behind a chair with a hot pad in her hand. She was prepared to take out a hot plate. I guess she didn't expect the smoke. Oh, and the microwave still had 2 minutes and 50 seconds left to go. We would have for sure had a fire. I think sometimes it is more of a miracle that we stay alive or that terrible things don't happen more often. I think more often than not we barely escape tragedy.

fun baking.

I found a picture in the Family Fun magazine of some cupcakes that look like apples. My creative juices started flowing and I wanted them. Sometimes I am that fun Mom who does things like that.......sometimes.

Family visit

My brother, Josh, and his wife, Becky, came to visit us from CA. We had a great time. On friday we went to Salt Lake City to the This is the Place monument. We had a fun time panning for gold and riding the little train.

1st day of school

The girls are getting so big and hitting these huge milestones that really won't matter in the future...but for now we are so excited for school. Rieley is officially a full day student. Morgan has begun kindergarten too. The excitement has been building since the first day of summer vacation and now we are here.

Morgan only went for an hour on her first day and then she is off the whole week for testing. I understand, but it sure is a bummer to keep sendind Rieley each morning and having to tell Morgan that she still has to wait. Rieley has loved all day school. She loves school lunch and wouldn't miss school on Friday because they were having P.E. that day. Leyton was bummed because she doesn't get to go. She still has two more years before kindergarten. On the day we went to find out the teachers she excitedly asked; "who's my teacher?" So sad. Atleast she'll get some one on one time with me......and Devyn. The picture of her and Todd from behind is what she looked like having to go back to the car while her sisters were staying at school.

You know you're in Utah when......

Okay, so there are a few requirements to living in Utah. The one that I am currently working on is the art of canning. I have been somewhat hesitant......not because I think it is lame, but because I am lame and afraid to do it. Some things I can't just read about and feel confident in executing. I can't just buy some jars and a large pot and give those veggies a water bath. Safety requires much more. So, our friend, Bonnie, feeling sorry for me, decided to walk us through a session of apricot jam canning. Basically she did it and I assisted, but it did the trick. I was ready to venture out on my own. Plus Todd has been pushing it for awhile and he decided to plant like 14 tomato plants. I really had no choice. I bought the pressure cooker(because if I'm going to do it, let's do it right). I looked up directions on line and I was off. The start was going pretty well. I peeled the tomatoes with the boiling water to ice water procedure. I filled the jars and was sterilizing the lids. I put the jars in for their "bath" and waited....and waited and waited for a boil. Okay, so my pot is huge and my stove doesn't get so hot. All I really got were some bubbles here and there. So now I have a giant, almost boiling pot on my stove. I don't know whether it is boiling enough to start the 45 minute timer. Then I notice that one jar has broken. "Great, is another one going to explode and go flying into my face or one of my girls?" Now the fun is all gone and I am afraid. I boiled it(semi-boiled) it for double the time just to be sure. If I really knew about canning then maybe I would have known what to do or what to expect. This is the whole reason I had taken so long to do it in the first place. By the end of the evening I was high strung and flustered. Not the best experience in my life. I will give it another try, though....but not for a little bit.