Cause of the Fire

Today when I was out looking at the devistation I talked to some other tenants and one lady told me that the family were heavy smokers. I'm not sure how a 4 year old could manage to use a lighter, I can't even use one myself. Such a sad story! When we drive in and out of our complex we go past the building that was burnt and it's just so sad. The air still smells like smoke and it just makes me want to cry.

The Destruction of Last Night's Fire

If you want an explanation of what happened, read my previous post. Here are the pictures of the damage from last night's fire...

I can't even explain what it was like for me to see the destruction this morning. Especially since this building looks indectical to the one we live in.

A Horrifing Night and Immense Gratitude

Last night, Sean and I got to bed a little late. It was 10:44 when my head hit the pillow. While we were getting ready we heard sirens, briefly. We just assumed that they were passing by. But immediately after laying down we smelt smoke coming from outside. Our window was open because our AC is still out (that is a whole other blog post). I just assumed someone had been BBQing. But Sean decided to go look out the window. He saw dozens of people standing around and then he noticed all the police, fire trucks and ambulance. And he quickly realized that one of the buildings in our complex was going up in flames!!! Luckily it wasn't a building next to us, so we weren't worried about our own safety. We quickly closed all our apartment windows so our girls wouldn't breathe in the smoke.

It was a horrifying scene though. The sky was filled with flames and smoke. The police were tapping off part of the complex. I went outside to get a look for myself. It was surreal. Everyone was outside waiting and watching. Some were just curious. Others had been evacuated. One man Sean talked to lived in the building across the parking lot from the one in flames. He said he woke up because of the intense heat and saw flames threw his window. Of course he got out of his apartment immediately. What I don't understand is why the police didn't leave their sirens on when they got here as a warning. If we hadn't had our windows open and smelt the smoke we probably wouldn't have know what was going on. And if they weren't going around knocking on doors that means others probably didn't know either.

Although the cause of the fire isn't known, I'm sure the fire could have easily been in our building. I was terrified all night. I couldn't sleep because of all my emotion and the extreme heat. Sean and I held each other and I cried. We had to go look at both of our girls and we offered a pray of gratitude for our safety.

Unfortunately everyone wasn't so lucky. I heard on the news this morning that 8 apartment units were effected and 4 were destroyed. And sadly an 18 month old little girl lost her life after she was trapped in the flames. I cry just thinking about her mother and her anguish. I couldn't imagine loosing either of my children. The thought simple breaks my heart and brings me to tears.

I haven't gone out and seen the devastation yet this morning. I'm waiting for Lexi to wake up. But I'm sure seeing it will make me cry because it will look just like our apartment would in shambles. We've been trying to get the managers to give us a price reduction in rent for all the problems we've had here (again, another blog post) and we've been looking into moving. After last night, I want to move even more. I know fires can happen everywhere but it's a lot more terrifying when it's so close to home.

There aren't much details yet about what happened and the cause is still under investigation but this is what I found so far.


Personal side note: The events of last night made me and Sean realize that we need to get Renter's Insurance and make 72 Hour Emergency Kits. And I felt every blessed that two different families from church who live close by check up on us last night. It felt good to be cared about.

5 Months of Baby Bliss

Our little Avery Joy is 5 months old today. It's been five months of baby bliss at our house. Avery is a doll! She is such a sweet little baby. I pretty much consider her perfect! Avery has the absolute best smile. And she is laughing so much more now.

Her little personality is starting to come through.

She wants to always been near Lexi, watching her and playing with whatever Lexi is.

Avery loves to sit in my lap and look at Sean. That is her favorite thing to do after Lexi goes to bed.

Avery will fall asleep in the car but other than that she HAS to nurse to fall asleep. I know I need to ween her of that but I am just not ready to let her cry it out at night and nap time, especially since she sleeps in our room.

Avery LOVES sippy cups. She mostly "chews" on them, I think.

Avery is our early riser. She consistantly wakes up 1 1/2 -2 hours BEFORE Lexi. It kinda drives me crazy but it's good for me.

Now that I work with the Beehives (12 & 13 year old girls) at church, Avery is always getting extra attention at church.

I gave Avery a break from rice cereal since she wasn't a fan (I don't blame her). Yesterday I gave her some fruity flavored oatmeal and she ate it all up!

Avery is still crazy about being on her tummy. I swear she doesn't like laying on her back!

Avery is getting close to being able to sit up by herself. Which makes her seem so much older to me.

Pretty much, Avery is the best baby! And we're so lucky to have our little "Wiggles."

(For fun here's the link to the post I did about Lexi when she was five months old.)

Weekly Menu

I've decided to post next week's menu on my blog. If it's a hit, I'll keep posting my weekly menu's. Enjoy, I know will.

Sunday: Penne Pasta with Cheesy Garlic Bread ... This is one of Sean favorite meals. We always wants me to make this bread.

Monday: Burrito's El Grande

Tuesday: Italian Chicken ... Gotta love easy Crop Pot meals!

Wednesday: Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage ... This is my first time trying this recipe but I got it from my favorite blog, Craftiness is not Optional, so I know it's gonna be good!

Thursday: Mexican Casserole

Friday: Baked Lasagna ... This is going to be my first time EVER making Lasagna but I'm sure that it will be good because I got the recipe from Sister's Stuff.

Saturday: Creamy Chicken and Pasta Bake ... My newest favorite recipe.

Diaries of a "Single Parent" - The Joys of Actually Having a Car at Home

As I mentioned yesterday, I was involved in a hit-and-run yesterday morning. I was driving home on the freeway after taking Sean to work. As traffic switched from five lanes to three everyone slowed down. The guy behind me didn't slow down fast enough and hit me. We were in the right lane so I immediately pulled off to the side of the road and the other driver just kept going!!! I was soooo mad. I merged back into traffic and tried to catch up to him but couldn't. Luckily I saw his license plate. I went to the police station and filed a report for a hit-and-run. So hopefully the police will find that jerk and make him pay. I know I sound like a crazy angry woman but that is just so rude! And I'm frustrated especially after Sean's hit-and-run earlier this year. What is wrong with people. We are fine. We didn't get hurt. Lexi did notice the hit and seemed a little confused and scared but quickly said, "I'm okay." There is a little paint scratch but I don't think there is really any other damage.

I was so excited to have the van today. I took the girls to Explora. It's a kids' science center. It was so much fun. There is a lot of things geared up for toddlers.

When you first walk in there is a giant ball run. Lexi and Avery watched it for 10 mintues!

Playing with marbles. A first for Lexi.


Avery did so good sitting up in the stroller. She liked watching all the other kids and Lexi play.

There was a room just for toddlers. It was amazing! Lexi loved playing with the clear tubes on wall. They were another big ball run.

There were just so many fun things for kids to play with. Lexi liked playing with these light switches.

Tons of puzzles, books and games in the toddler room. There was also a rocking chair which was great because I got to feed Avery while Lexi played.

There was an art room.

Avery was such an angel!

And Lexi's absolute favorite thing of the day - the bubble table!

I think eventually I'll look at getting a membership to Explora. If anyone ever comes and visits us here we'll have to take them to Explora.

Sean gets home tonight!!! I'm so glad it was only an overnight audit. I don't do good at home by myself.

Diaries of a "Single Parent" - The Pick-Me-Up I needed

I've had a horrible day already! I'm still sick. Our AC is still broken. And today Sean leaves on a overnight audit. He's heading up North, to a town a few hours from here near the Colorado border. He'll be back late tomorrow night. When I first found out that Sean was going out of town, I thought to myself, I'll have the van! I'll be able to do playdates and go to the park! (Now I'm not so sure about that!) So this morning we took him to work (it was way too early, espeically after we all went to bed later than normal). On the way home this morning, I was involved in a hit-and-run! I'll share more details later. As you can imagine, I was pretty upset. When I got home I saw this list on my friend Britney's blog. It made me laugh and cheered me up. For some reason, I can't just copy and paste the list.

Us Lately...

This has been a crazy busy week! We've had the missionaries in our home for my friend Emily's lessons. She is progressing so well and moving closer to baptism and it's so fun to be a part of it all! Meeting Emily and being a part of this special time in her life has been a huge blessing for me. Lexi loves the missionaries and alsways ask for more of them when they leave, it's so cute. She does the same thing with Emily and her son Fulcon.

This week we officially started our new callings at church. Sean was called to teach the Priest (16, 17, & 18 year old boys) and I was called to teach the Beehives (12 & 13 year old girls). We are THRILLED! I'm pretty sure that is Sean's dream calling. Haha. And we're both so excited to get more involved and get to know more people in our ward (that's Mormon lingo for congregation). This week we all when to mutual (the weekly activity for young men and women). It was an etiquette dinner. Lexi hand so much fun, she keeps asking for more church. I think she is really going to like our callings.

Lexi is growing up SOOO fast! Ever since she turned two her langauge skills have been getting so much better. She talks all the time. I am finally starting to have someone to "talk" to during the day. Lexi's catches on to EVERYTHING! She is always noticing new things and asking me for whatever it is. For example, there are several older kids in our apartment complex that have bikes. Lexi likes watching them ride there bikes. Earlier this week she told me, "I want bike." I told her we have to buy a house first (or an apartment with outdoor space for storage, which I want within the next year). So now Lexi keeps telling me, "Buy house." If only it was that easy! So all week I keep hearing, "I want pink bike. Buy house."

Lately Lexi has been getting sooo much better at recognizing her letters. Yesterday, she was eating letter shaped cookies. She brought me the letter "F "and said "F" and then said the f sound and said "fly." She is such a little smarty! Another thing she is - "a Little Monster." Sean calls the girls that jokingly (Monsters aren't a bad thing for us. After all, Elmo is a monster). The other day when I went to get Lexi up and she looked up at me and said, "I'm a little monster." It was adorable!!!

I want to start potty training Lexi but I need to make some time and I'm not sure if she's ready yet. I've bought her LOTS of under ware (Elmo and Minnie Mouse) as an incentive. She wants to wear them but doesn't use the potty yet so she has to wait. I haven't tried to potty train her yet so I shouldn't be frustrated that she still is in diapers. I need advice from parents out that on the best way to get started.

If you want to see recent pictures and videos, go to our Shutterfly site. I'm always updating it.

Also,last night I found out that I'm famous, kinda. My craft blog (which I am currently updating and making cuter) was "featured" on another craft blog! Check it out. I made this blog mostly for myself as a way to "book mark" all the things I want to do. I didn't really realize that other people looked at it. And speaking of crafts, my latest project is making Barbie clothes. If I remember I'll eventually post pictures.

One other thing, our AMAZING friends David and Chelsi became second time parents yesterday! There first daughter Madi is a few months older than Lexi and now their second daughter (name has not been announced) is a few months younger than Avery. Chelsi is a trooper! Their baby was 9 lbs 6 ozs!!! Avery was only 7lbs 11 ozs and thought the recovery from that was HARD! Anyway, We're so happy for you David and Chelsi and we can't wait for our daughters to all be friends!

From My Recipe Collection

If you're anything like me you love finding new recipes because you get tired of using all the same old stand by's. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you. These are in no particular order.

(Just click the name of the meal to see the recipe.)

1. Navajo Taco's - These are so easy and cheap. I always make some extra fry bread so we can eat some with honey for dessert.

2. Creamy Chicken & Pasta Bake - I just tried this recipe for the first time last week and we LOVE it! Simple ingredients and so yummy! Also easy to make.

3. Chicken & Rice Wrap - I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Michelle. It's great because I freeze the left overs and we use them for lunch.

4. Skillet Lasagna - I love this recipe because I pretty much always have all the ingredients on hand. Sean says this is homemade Hamburger Helper. I got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs Sister's Stuff. They have tons of great recipes and dinner ideas.

5. Cajun Chicken Pasta - This recipe is SOOO easy to make.

6. Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli - Whenever I ask Sean what we wants for dinner, he says this. It isn't healthy but it's yummy. Sean also likes me to use bowtie noodles instead of fettuccine.

7. Penne Pasta with Sausage and Cheesy Garlic Bread - Another yummy pasta recipe. The bread is pretty amazing and could be made by itself. I got this one from Sandra Lee on the Food Network (I went through a phase when I was pregnant with Avery where I LOVED the Food Network).

8. Hawaiian Haystacks - We have this at least once a month. This meal has everything and it's easy and delicious.

9. Ranch Chicken Wraps - I change this easy idea from Sister's Stuff a little. Really easy and quick.

10. Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole - Another easy Sister's Stuff recipe.

11. Mexican Casserole - Another Sister's Stuff casserole. This one is so delicious!

12. Chicken Pillows - This recipes is more work. I'd say it takes about an hour. But the ingredients are simple and it's delicious! I got this recipe from another great blog - Craftiness Is Not Optional. Every recipe I've tried on that blog has been amazing!

13. Taco Soup Style Chili - This is a yummy and EASY chili. I love to add corn and sour cream and eat it with tortilla chips.

14. Burritos El Grande - This is different burrito recipe. It's super filling.



Well there's two weeks worth of new reciepes. I hope you can find one that you enjoy.

Just in case you're wondering how I plan my meals, I'll tell you. I sit down and plan a weeks worth of dinner's. I pick my menu based on my I already have on hand, that way I buy less. Then I go shopping and get all the ingredients that I need. I write down the weekly menu on the calendar in my kitchen, that way when it comes time to make dinner I'm not trying to figure out what to make. And I like to space out my meats. For example, I try not to have a punch of chicken or pasta dinners in a row. I like variety. This is what works for me. I'd love to hear how other's plan their meals and of course I'm always up for easy, cheap and yummy new reciepes.

In case you're wondering, I keep all my reciepe on my reciepe blog. There are lots of reciepes on there I havent' tried though. Whenever I find a new reciepe I just save it on my blog so I can find it later.

Since Last Time...

You know when it's a long time since you last did a blog post and you're a little over whelmed because you don't know where to start. That's me right now. So I guess I'll share some pictures of what we've been up to since I last blogged...

Avery is still teething. She has been for a while but still no sign of any teeth (Lexi started showing signs of teething at 3 months but didn't get her first two teeth in until she was 6 months old). Avery isn't really mad in this picture she is just screaming and babbling. I think it's funny though.

After Avery's shots she got a little bit of a fever but nothing like Lexi 's fever after her four month shots.

For Labor Day weekend Sean had four days off. It was fantastic. We spent the weekend going to several of our favorite parks.

I can't wait for the girls to really play together at the park.

We also went to the temple grounds. Lexi loves the fountain and the flowers.

The temple is less than 10 minutes from our house. We love taking the girls there and just walking around and sitting on the grass. The temple really is one of our favorite places in Albuquerque.

Avery is getting chubbier. We had to go buy her some 6 month clothes because she has pretty much grown out of all her 3 month clothes. Lexi wore 6 month clothes in the cold Rexburg winter so all the long sleeve onesies she used won't work for Avery in the Albuquerque sunshine.

We got Lexi this princess dress. I think she might use it for her Halloween costume. Does she look so much older? But SOOOO adorable!!!

I think this is my favorite picture EVER of Avery!!! She is so perfect and adorable.

And we finally got some rain that didn't include lightning and thunder so Lexi got to go outside in her rain clothes. She was SOOOO happy. Too bad we don't live in Seattle.

We got a new cable package that pretty much includes every sports channel known to man so we have been watching A LOT of college football. Sean taught Lexi to chant, "BYU, BYU, BYU!" It's so cute.

I figured out a new hair style for Lexi which keeps her hair out of her eyes.

Avery tried rice cereal for the first time today. I'm excited and sad all at once. I don't want her to grow up but I want someone else to be able to feed her too and I want her to finally stop eating at night.

When ever Avery reaches a milestone

in her life I automatically think about when Lexi reached that milestone.

So today, I thought about Lexi trying cereal for the first time.

4 Month Stats

This morning was Miss Avery's 4 month well baby check up. She is growing quickly (as sadly all little babies do). Avery is now 13 lbs 10 ozs which puts her in the 50% for her age(not bad considering she was 7 lbs 11 ozs at birth). And Avery is 25 inches tall (75%). And I think her head was 16.25 inches around. Avery did get some shots today as well. She did GREAT! Of course she cried but she stopped pretty much as soon as I held her. Then she ate and fell asleep!

And for fun, here is a picture I took ealier this week. This is the first time Avery did this. Lexi did it all the time when she was her age and loved it, Avery on the other hand is sure yet.

Click here to see Lexi's 4 month stats for comparison.

Accountants Getting Creative

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that Sean's office likes to decorate every one's work space when they go away for training the first time. We'll they've done it again. and this time Sean got in on the action. Here it is, accountants getting creative....

I guess I should explain. Jimmy was the lucky recipient of this "work." Sean told me that Jimmy is very clean and very organized. So they decided to embrace his obsession with a sterile environment and also mock his organization (this is what I'm guessing).

Here is the entrance into his cubicle.

And the top of it. Was also wrapped in plastic wrap.

And the side of the entrance.
The other side.

Everything in his office was wrapped in plastic.

Notice the plastic sheet protectors. Sean didn't put those on. Jimmy did. I guess these papers are normally in sheet prtotectors and pinned up in a perfect like manner. Sean swears Jimmy must use a level. So, I guess to drive Jimmy crazy they did this to his papers.

(This would drive me crazy too!)

They did the same thing to the calendar pictures he had up.

Look at his phone! Everything was really wrapped in plastic.

Seriously, EVERYTHING was wrapped in plastic. Sean told me that even his scissors were wrapped in plastic. A little mean but also really funny!

Since Jimmy started working (two works after Sean) several more people have started which means they will soon be leaving for training. Which mean more decorating to come!