No, really. They did. Here’s how it went down:

I saw this really cute idea on Pinterest that I thought might help us bond more as a family instead of waving at each other in the hallways of our house. The photo very clearly showed that this item was not going to get hot.

“But wait, Lorca,” you say, “aren’t you a science teacher? Didn’t you know that putting flaming charcoal briquettes in a terra cotta container would make the whole thing get hot?”

Shut up. You’re not the boss of me. And besides, I think that’s chemistry or something. I majored in biology. If you put flaming charcoal briquettes in a frog, I would totally be able to predict what would happen.

So there we were, having a family moment. Well, three of us were. My husband is afraid of bugs and he refused to come outside, even while I was roasting marshmallows in this handy dandy container and teaching them the words to “Cat’s in the Cradle.” We had a blast. Until this happened.

The best part of my husband’s stupid bug phobia is he still doesn’t know there’s a charred hole in our house. I paid a lot of money yesterday to have a little bit of wood delivered and I’m going to make this whole outdoor kid’s play thing that will cover up the hole. More family bonding, I get rid of the evidence, and then I’ll have something to post on Pinterest to sucker some other unsuspecting do-it-yourselfer into destroying her home. Win.