Leaving home check list......

1. Activate security system. Check.

2. Instruct Tyler how to use system while we will be out of town. Check.

3. Give Tyler the password in case alarm goes off and security company calls. Check.

4. Inform neighbors they are listed as emergency contacts. Ummm... Check - after security company calls them when alarm goes off. Okay, maybe they should have been informed when the security system was first activated! Oops - guess we forgot!

5. Notify Tyler that the police have been dispatched since he didn't answer the security company's phone call, nor did the emergency contacts have the password when they were called. Check.

6. Find the humor in the situation and realize that information is a good thing. Check!

Okay, so we learned we could be better with passing on information while on our way to UT. A crash course on the security system was not a good idea. We do have this neat little remote to turn the alarm on and off, which we thought would make it a lot easier for Tyler. While we were picking up Scooter from the vet, Tyler mentioned that he set the alarm when he left. When we got home, however, the system was not set. So, being the clever person that I am, I set it when we left that afternoon. When Tyler came back home, the remote did not turn the alarm off and this set off a series of events - the alarm blarring and making the neighbor's dog bark, which made them curious as to what was going on. Since the alarm was so loud, Tyler was outside calling us on his cell phone when the security company called on the house phone, which resulted in Tyler missing that call. The other neighbors were then called, only we had failed to inform them that we listed them as emergency contacts. They ran down the street to make sure everything was okay, but as mentioned, we did not give them the password, so the police were dispatched! Quite an exciting evening at our house, and Monique and I weren't even home to enjoy it!