Our Fun & Frugal Family

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Clara was a pumpkin fairy, Jake was Nemo, and Connor was a Lego! It's so fun to see their personalities come out in the costumes they pick!

Connor was not happy with me here....can you tell?

I could leave her in front of this mirror all day....she loves smiling at herself!

Connor's Scooter Party

2011-11-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

Clara was definately outnumbered by boys in our house this day! It was boy heaven full of sugar, guns, cars, scooters, bikes, balloons, and friends! Connor had a scooter themed party (which was his present) so all his friends brought their own scooters or bikes. We decorated their "vehicles" with streamers and balloons and then rode to the park behind us. They played on the playground a while and headed back for cake and presents. What a fun crazy day! I know Connor had a blast....which is what matters, right? ;-)

Playing at the park from left: Ryan Chadwick, Payton Stuart, and Jakie boy

All the food was even scooter themed! :-)

They made scooters out of nutter butters, mini oreos, and pretzels

Connor opening his scooter on Sunday.....can you tell its right after nap time? Happy birthday Connor boy, we love having your goofy, smart, energetic spirit in our family!

Jake's UP Party

2011-08-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Our Jakie boy turned 3 years old this Sunday-where in the world does time go? I sat him down and let him look at my favorite 3 boy themes from Karaspartyideas.blogspot.com (careful-I can spend all day on this site!) and pick which he like best. The UP won-I think mostly because of all the balloons! So, since I really wanted to also do a rainbow themed party-I just combined the two. One of my favorite shows is Cake Boss and I was so excited to finally have an excuse to try decorating my own cake! I made my fondant with marshmallows and powdered sugar, which is so much cheaper and tastes better than store bought fondant. Since it was my first time working with the stuff, I'm hoping for connor's birthday cake it will be a little faster and easier!

Here's me trying to work in the rainbow into the cake! :-) You can also see the little water bottles I filled with the colors of the rainbow in Kool-Aid. I also made fruit rainbow Shish-ka-bobs! So fun!

Having fun looking at Jake's new presents

This was the only time I saw him standing still-he watched like 20 seconds of the movie UP

Clara and Macey Stuart-they're 3 weeks apart and I love that they're both little fatso's!

Jake's UP cakeJakie and Maddy-these two and like two peas in a pod-they crack me up when they get together!

Last week Maddison asked Shannon if she can kiss Jake when she grows up! LOL, I thought that was too cute!

What a bunch of goofballs!

Since Jake's actual birthday was on Sunday, we let him open his birthday present after church-an orange scooter! He was SOO excited and said, "Is it my very own scooter?!?" Poor guy shares almost everything with Connor and gets all his hand-me-downs so it was a treat to get something just for him! We love you to pieces Jakie boy and are so lucky you're in our family!

Patriotic Craft Party!

2011-07-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Shannon and I threw a patriotic craft party for some girls in our ward. Just an excuse to throw a party and craft at the same time! :-) We love to throw parties with a specific theme and colors and had a blast with this one! there was red, white, and blue everywhere, and the whole feel was vintage patriotic. Outside I had mason jars with sand and votive candles and flags stuck in the ground lining our driveway and porch. I wish I took a picture of our invitation before they were all handed out. they took so long to make and turned out so adorable, now I know for next time! We all had a blast making patriotic crafts (everyone brought their own project) and chatting till 11pm! Mike took the boys fishing for most of the night, and they thought the "party" was so cool when they got home! This garland is what I started making-of course I didn't get much done at the party-too much talking to do! I love naptime-its when I can get my craft on!

Almost everyone invited was out of town on their summer vacations, but I always love having a smaller more intimate group to enjoy!

Our red, white, and blue drinks. You put ice in a tall glass (the ice is key so the liquids don't all mix) and layer cranberry juice, blue gatorade, and 7-up! Yummy and so cute!

My first time making a red velvet cake, and turned out oh-so-yummy and moist! I should have taken a picture after it was cut!

These centerpieces are made of paper towel and toilet paper rolls! Just wrap them in tissue paper and put a pipe cleaner sticking out the top and embellish with vintage images, lace, ribbon, glitter, etc.! So easy, cheap, and cute!

My patriotic entryway. I made these apothecary jars and fill them different with each holiday. For easter they had sticks, moss, and robins eggs! So easy and fun to fill throughout the year!

The favors we handed out full of patriotic candy, soap, and lifesavers wrapped in paper with ribbon sticking out to look like mini firecrackers.

I took this picture before most of the goodies were placed out, but you get the idea!

Kid updates....

2011-07-04T14:33:00.001-07:00

Because I'm incredibly cheap, I don't have the internet-except through Mike's Droid phone when he tethers it for free to our computer. So, I don't have as much leisure time on the internet as I used to, which has turned out to be a blessing since I only do those things I need to and then get off. So, blogging these days are rare occasions! Right now its a holiday, which means I get Mike's phone around most of the day! The kids are sleeping, my house is clean, and its one of those rare moments I can just sit and blog white eating my beloved mint oreos! Its times like these when I look back at pictures I've taken lately that I realize how fast time flies! I can't believe our little Clarabelle is already 6 months! She is the sweetest and happiest baby and we all just love her to pieces. Jake turns 3 next month and then Connor turns 5 in September! So here are some recent pictures of our kids!

Clara is so lucky to have 2 brothers that adore her so much!

Brotherly love.....sometimes!

No matter what time of day it is-my kids love getting in the bath at Grandma Colvins!
Love this one! She looks just like I did when I was a baby here!

When she smiles, she smiles with her whole body!

Don't you just want to squeeze her fat little cheeks!

My two little monsters...........growing up so fast!

Picking Blackberries!

2011-05-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

We finally went to a playdate in our new ward and this was todays activity: Picking blackberries! What a fun idea! They give you gloves and a bucket and you walk between orchard rows and pick all the blackberries you want! They had 3 huge rows full and I was surprised how many other people were there! The boys loved it-except when they would fight over who got to pick the blackberries I would find for them. Clara did not enjoy it at all-she was tired and the sun was in her eyes the whole time. I think everyone in the orchard could hear her! But it was a lot of fun and the next thing to pick is apricots when they're ready!

Clara's blessing

2011-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we blessed Clara at our house in the evening. It ended up being a perfectly relaxing and enjoyable event! There were only the adults there and it was fun visiting with everyone while eating some valentine treats I made! I've decided doing blessings at home are so much more enjoyable. Its more intimate and special in my opinion!

I actually bought Clara's dress before Connor was even born! I found it on clearance at Dillards for only $6! I love that its just a simple cotton fabric with eyelet details on it. Her flower was the first one I ever made by burning the silk layers to give it the curling effect. So many fun things to do with girls!

David had Jake and Connor laughing like crazy by throwing them in the air!

We are a happy Family!

Firing it up!

2011-02-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

This was our FHE activity a couple weeks ago. That's the nice thing about having no landscaping in our backyard yet and living on the edge of the desert-we can build a fire in our own backyard! We cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows on sticks. The boys were in heaven and I loved having that campfire smoky tasting food without having to pack everything and head out to the desert!

Clara Rose Lines

2011-02-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry so late on this post! Here's our little Clara who was born on January 1st! She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. She's now 5 weeks old and a chunk! I'm amazed at how quickly they grow! She's the sweetest little girl and smiles all the time! It's been pure joy watching Mike fall in love with his little girl and Connor and Jake can't get enough of her!

My aunt Stacy gave me this dress as a baby gift: it's my grandma Peters' baby dress! What a special gift that will be treasured!

She always has this expression on her face!

Our first picture as a family. I can't believe we're now a family of 5! Where does time go?!?

Jake is always so soft and always whispers to her. We're still working on Connor to do the same most days.... We're so blessed to have her in our family!

Sugar Plum Fairies Baby Shower!!!

2010-12-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

This Saturday my sister-in-law Shannon and my dear friend Briauna threw me a baby shower for our little Clara and Shammy hosted it in her beautiful home. Because of Clara's name, Shannon did a gorgeous Sugar Plum Fairies theme from the Nutcracker. There was glitter, sparkles, fairies, pink, gold, silver, and purple shades everywhere. It looked like a spread from a magazine-I swear this lady is so talented she could make a business of throwing parties! There was a ton of desserts-each gorgeous and delicious! Bri had a few hilarious games that we played. The first was a sugar and spice smelling game. The other was the first couple pics where 3 girls were blindfolded and had to get ready in the dark and cold to go to the hospital and put on everything in their bags-ranging from bright pink lipstick, pantyhose, jewelry, hair clips, body spray, scarves, nursing pads, slippers, etc. all with a huge pillow under their shirts. My favorite part was watching them try and put their pantyhoses on and nursing pads in!

Shammy shoving her pad in as fast as she can!
attempting to put on the nylons

My mom only got to stay a little while before she had to get on the road to go to Phoenix for my brother Robby's sealing to their adopted daughter, Grace

the diaper cake Bri made-GORGEOUS

Shammy, Lisa, and Shannon-I'm so lucky I got a picture of Shannon, she has a talent of disappearing when the camera comes out!

Me and Briauna-she's 3 weeks ahead of me and due any day!

The table was absolutely breathtaking. Everything sparkled and glittered-even all the food!

I had a blast visiting with friends and family and appreciate their support! Thanks Shannon and Bri for sharing your time and talents with us all-love you TONS!

A train and Monkey....so fitting.....

2010-11-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

If you know these boys very well, you know their costumes fit them to a T! Connor lives and breathes trains and Jake is just our little monkey! Mike made Connor's train costume by spraying foam on a cardboard box, cutting out the train shape and then painted it. Add a conductor's hat and train whistle and the boy was in heaven! Mike told me he didn't want to spend any money on costumes this year, so I made him do the work! :-) I did spend $6 on Jake's costume only because I found it 90% off and its so stinking cuter in person! I love his little blonde curls that kept poking out!

Cruising on the Ranger

2010-09-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

One nice thing about this rental house is that the desert is right in our backyard. Mike borrowed his dad's Ranger, loaded up the boys' carseats, and took them 4-wheeling out in the desert. After an hour I started getting worried and called Mike to see where they were. They cruised all the way to David and Shannon's house on the next exit East! Boys and their toys, what can I say.

Dry Ice again.....

2010-09-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know Mike, you know how much he loves dry ice. He's the expert of dry ice bombs. Well, he found a tiny wart and of course what does he need? A huge piece of dry ice! So, the boys had some fun with it the rest of the night. He tried to make a bomb, but luckily the ice evaporated too soon.

Once Mike put a big chunk in this bowl Jake was terrified!

But like father like sons, it only took him seconds before they all had a blast with it!

CANDYLAND!

2010-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

On August 7th our little Jakie boy turned 2! Where does time go?!? I decided to go with a Candyland theme and had a blast putting the party together! We had lots of fun hanging out with loved ones, swimming, eating good food, and of course eating lots of candy from the candy bar! My first cake fell apart while I started trying to make it, so this is my last minute "candyland" cake.

Angee holding baby Grace-her balloon is tied to her pacifier! Too cute!

Jake trying to get into the candy bar

When he gets nervous while people watch him he'll either get super serious or stick his tongue out. What a funny guy...

Jake, you're such a sweetheart and love bug, we love you SOOO much and are so happy you're part of our family!

Essence of Summer

2010-08-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of summer....at all. I absolutely hate the heat and stay inside as much as I can most days. But when there's a rare day of cool...er weather you'll find us outside. This slip and slide was the best $2 I've ever spent! They had a blast and Mike and I died laughing watching them run and slip and slide all over the place. It's these rare moments that I enjoy summer!

These pictures don't do these bubble guns justice! We had so much fun playing in a room full of bubbles! Why is it when I pull the camera out they boys are always half dressed?!?

Jet Ski's!!

2010-06-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

For family home evening yesterday we went to the wash with our friends the Stuarts. It was a GORGEOUS day and we were the only ones there! Everyone had a blast on the jet ski's, especially our big boys (AKA Clint and Mike). We grilled some burgers and hot dogs and enjoyed good company. It doesn't get any better than this!

Announcement and lots of pictures!

2010-06-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here's the big announcement (if you haven't read it on facebook yet ;-0) we're having another baby! #3 here we come! I'm almost 9 weeks and now am feeling great. I don't really get sick, just super super tired. The poor boys have been so good lately playing around me while I lay on the floor or couch too tired to move. Connor loves the fact that there's a "little baby" in my belly and always asks me, "Is the baby smiling?" "Is the baby hungry?" They're going to be such good big brothers to this new little one! Some days I wonder what in the world I'm thinking but then I have to remember, once you start having kids, you can't stop till the time's right! Jake and this little one will be 2 1/2 years apart, which we think is perfect. I'm due Jan 1st and we can't wait to find out what it is. I'm itching to enter the baby girl section, but will be perfectly happy with another little boy! I love my boys!

So, here's some pictures of my boys I love so much! The other weekend we took them to dinner and went down by the river to see the old train that's by the Hilton. If you know Connor, you know he's OBSESSED with trains and he was in heaven. We then walked along the river and saw a ton of different parties: we stuck out a lot-we were the only ones in clothes and white skin! It was a perfect evening together!

I love Connor's cheesy grin!

Golfing in the park

2010-05-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to the park today. We got there at 10:30 and only lasted till 11. It was so stinking hot already! But we did get in some golfing and ate some lunch. This golf set has a yellow thing you hit the balls into, but Connor didn't want to use that. He just kept walking around saying, "where's all the holes? Where's the holes you put the balls in?" After a while he gave up looking for the real golf holes and went on the swing set. Next time we go to the park its going to be in the morning!

My Sweetie

2010-05-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last night after Mike and I's date night, I felt much less than healthy (found out today I have strep throat). So, Mike got the kids ready for bed while I put on my pj's and curled under my covers. Connor came in concerned and asked, "What's wrong Momma?" I told him Momma was sick and didn't feel good. He said "Oh....you need some water then." So he ran to the kitchen, got a measuring cup out of the drawer (since he can't reach the cups) and came back with my little glass of water and said, "Here, drink this Momma, it will make you feel better." Then this morning Connor asked if we can go play with Grandma Colvin. I told him she had a headache and wasn't feeling good. He said, "Well, lets go take her some water!" I just love my little Connor boy!

It's payback time!

2010-04-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

So last week poor Jakie broke out in sores all over his mouth, along with a fever (a result of the sores), and 2 ear infections. He didn't eat for about 4 days and the little guy lost weight he couldn't afford to lose! Anyway, once our friend who is a dentist looked at Jake's gums and told us what was going on, all we could do was wait for it to go away in 10 days and buy numbing gel to put in his mouth so he could actually eat. Well, my dearest husband decided to take the clear numbing gel and completely coated my Sonicare when I wasn't looking. The next morning when I brushed my teeth, my WHOLE mouth, tongue, lips were completely numb! I was freaking out, but it went away in about 10 minutes. I told Mike later when he got home what happened and he just died laughing. Punk.......don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him. If any of you have suggestions, please share! :-)

General Conference snoozer!

2010-04-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

We had my parents and Robby and Angee over for lunch between the general conference sessions on Sunday. We started eating once the session started and this was Jake after the first speaker. He wasn't the only snoozer, but I won't name names! :-)

Easter craft and coloring eggs

2010-04-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

I made the above Frapp bottles for the boys' primary and nursery leaders. They took forever to make and I was so glad when they were done! A girl in our ward made these last year for Halloween and they were so cute, I tried to make some for Easter. I hope the teachers enjoyed them....Mike was so worried everyone would think I actually drink the Starbucks Frappucino! But don't worry, they were cheap with sales and coupons and I dumped them and washed them out.

Saturday night during the Priesthood session Jessica and I went to John and Claudia's to eat pizza, hang out, and color easter eggs! Once we got going, we to took the boys' clothes off so they wouldn't stain. It might seem like it, but I don't always let me kids stay naked! :-) The boys had so much fun watching the eggs change colors and then putting stickers on them when they were done.

I gave Jake an egg to play with, which he didn't like at all.....he's more of an observer!

Jessica and Christian-I always just want to squeeze this kid he's so stinking cute!

Fair Time!

2010-04-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

I love fair week. I don't love the prices, but I think it's worth the sacrifice for the kids and for the fact that you just feel like a kid when you're there! We went on our own this year with the boys and had a blast. It was the perfect family night out! We first let Connor go down the big slide. This is his favorite and is where most of our tickets went! We then ate Kamman sausages, went to the petting zoo (my favorite part, I was laughing my head off in there!), rode the ferris wheel, got some kettle corn, went down the big slide a couple more times, and let Connor ride the "train", which was actually a rocket (but don't tell him that!). Connor was so excited he got to be the caboose on the train! It scared him at first how fast it went, but loved it after the first couple seconds. I didn't find out until a couple days later that there was a whole kiddie section we missed! Oh well, we still had a blast!

The boys had a blast at the petting zoo!
I loved the huge llamas that were as tall as us adults and they'd just walk up and stare at you a couple inches from your face!

Connor especially loved all the baby animals and kept saying, "come here little baby" and cooing over them.

Jake kept wiping his hands on his shirt after he'd finish petting an animal

Mike and I took him down the big slide 2 times each, and he begged to go again after each time!

For the last year Connor has been asking where the fair went after we drive by the fairgrounds. Now I hope he understands he has to wait a whole year till we see it again!

A day at Sea World

2010-03-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to Sea World for the day since we had2 day tickets from last year that the 2nd unused day was about to expire. Can I just say, it was a real treat! I love how we can just wake up, load up the boys and be in San Diego in 3 hours. The weather was gorgeous, it was green, and flowers were everywhere. It was a perfect day to spend time together as a family and for Mike and I to be able to just focus on the boys for a whole day. The boys loved every second of everything. I accidently loaded my pictures backwards, so this is at the end of the afternoon when we're getting ready to leave. Jake passed out in the stroller and Mike was making Connor laugh. Too cute.

Poor Jakie boy.....

Too precious-Jakie loves his Daddy!

This was Connor's face expression all day

Jake loved touching the ice wall and then licking his fingers! EWW!

Connor was amazed at all the finger holes in the ice

Is this Bert or Ernie? I can never get them straight. Anyways, as Mike and I were walking along he came up, grabbed the stroller and walked off! It was pretty funny, I would have been freaked out if it was anyone not in a costume!

This is the underwater tunnel. Isn't that so cool?!?

This was the Bayside Skyride. Connor loved it.

Jake HATED it. Every time Mike would try to stand him up so he could see he would grab on to Mike for dear life and start to panic.

Connor was so confused why these were barking like dogs. I died laughing at his face expression the first time, I wish I got it on camera.

Watching the Shamu show, I think the longest Jake sat still was just long enough for me to snap this picture. Connor came home with a Shamu plate from his lunch and every time he eats from it now, he always asks when can we go to Sea World. Some day Connor, some day....

Our Garden!!!

2010-03-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, we just moved into a temporary rental house. Well, since Yuma is absolutely gorgeous this time of year, I decided to start my own garden at the end of Feb. But I found out its a little too late to start from seed or even starter plants. so we bought a litle bigger plants for like $2 at Target. It's only a couple weeks and they're getting huge! I couldn't find any big enough spots of dirt in the backyard that wasn't full of roots, so they're all in containers. I love gardening and the boys love having all these plants-the first couple days they were constantly giving me leaves picked off, thinking they were helping me. Connor and I even planted seeds from our apple and cucumber we ate a couple days ago-we'll see if it actually sprouts! I'm not a green thumb AT ALL, so we'll see if these actually survive. I had a gorgeous garden I built from seed last summer, but after weeks and weeks of giving it lots of love, within a couple days it all went black and died (right before harvest time!). I found out from a friend what I did wrong. I fed my poor plants Miracle Grow every day. I thought it was ok because the plants got HUGE! But turns out I was only killing them! So, now its only once ever 2 weeks for Miracle Grow! :-) Anyways, here's what we've got growning:

Zuchinni

cherry tomatoes

Bell peppers

Rosemary (I LOVE baked rosemary potatoes!)

2 strawberry plants-and they're covered in blooms and here's our biggest strawberry so far!

Mint-we LOVE Mojito drinks-Virgin of course! :-)

Sweet peas-can you see the first Pea? It seriously grew in like a day!

I forgot to take a picture of the cilantro plant, I love love love cilantro. Love the smell and love the taste! However, its not getting any bigger-the leaves are all just dying. Anyone know how to grow cilantro here?

Silly Connor....

2010-02-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

I'm terrible at keeping a journal (as in I haven't written in one since high school) and always forget to write down the things Connor says that make us laugh. I've seen how some people have quotes on the side of their blogs, so if you know how to add that, let me know! Anyway, tonight my mom was talking about how Jakie was sleeping and asked, "Is Connor a tired boy?" and he replied, "No, Connor is a watch-a-movie-boy!"

We have a stripper!

2010-02-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

Jake has figured out how to take his pants and diaper off, and is beginning to do this quite often now. I found him downstairs playing the piano wearing his birthday suit. What am I gonna do with these boys??

Valentine Craft Done!!

2010-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm done! I finally finished my valentine project in time to hang up and enjoy before the holiday is over! I had a lot of fun making it and love how it turned out, I just would love to find some big Hershey Kiss decorations to hold it up with on each side....or some kind of pink and brown decoration to hold it up! If you guys see anything in the stores, pass it on! :-)

Valentines Project!!!

2010-01-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

I found this post here at thepolkadotchair.blogspot.com for a super cute Valentines banner. Isn't it absolutely adorable?!? I'm super excited to put my Cricut and Storybook cartridge from Christmas to use! Now to find the time to actually do it.....

January=shopping! :-)

2010-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

I love January and August. Why you might ask? Because this is when the best end of the season sales are! I always have to remind Mike at the beginning of the month that this is what I do: I buy in bulk for the next year when I get stuff for 75% off-just to give him a heads up! So, first off, here is my Old Navy trip. This last weekend they had their clearance an extra 50% off. I didn't realize this until the end of the day, so by the time I finally went it was pretty picked over. BUT I did find some awesome deals for CHEAP! Plus I had an extra 20% off coupon on top of the extra 50% off clearance. Here's what I got:
1 t-shirt for Mike for work $0.80
1 long sleeve shirt for me $1.22
5 puff sleeve t-shirts for me $1.22
2 pairs denim jeans for Connor for next winter $9.00 each (this was my splurge but this was the last of what he needed for next year's clothes)
2 pairs of Christmas PJ's for next year $1.62 each
1 pair shoes for Jake $0.80
1 long sleeve shirt for Jake $1.22
2 pairs sweats for the boys for stay in days $1.41 each
5 pairs triple roll socks for Connor (not pictured because they're already used!) $0.80 each
I also wanted to let you guys know that not only do I stock up on clothes at the end of the season but also toys! Last week Target had a lot of their toys marked down to 75% off (you have to get their right when they open to get the best selection). So, I'm set on toys for the boys' birthdays, some of Christmas, and presents for family and friends' birthdays. I don't have a picture of all the things I got because I had to hide them before Connor saw anything. I saved a total of $422!

So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up to keep your eyes out for great end of the season sales! I know Children's Place will be having their huge sale (I might have already missed it) and keep an eye on clearance! Good luck saving and shopping! :-)

Christmas Craft DONE!

2010-01-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

I'm finally done with my advent calendar craft that I started the day after Christmas. Sad, I know. But it took a long time to gather all supplies, cut out all the paper pieces, glue it all together, and then I modge podged everything to make sure it will last for years of wear and tear (hopefully after all the hours I put into it!) This picture doesn't do it justice. I got the idea from a friend and am so excited how it turned out! Now I just have to wait a whole year before I can use it, so off into storage you go!

Only In Yuma

2010-01-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

Only in Yuma can you eat popsicles outside in the middle of winter and not even be cold. Gotta love that!

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-29T11:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve we spent at Jonathon's house for a delicious dinner. At the end of the evening Santa showed up to give all the kids candy canes and Elyssa a new puppy for Christmas. Connor was so excited to see Santa! This was perfect to get him excited for Christmas morning!

I am here to report another successful Christmas for 2009! Mike and I stayed up till after 1am putting Connor's train table together. I think because of all the Christmas excitement (not really for me, mainly to see the boys' reactions in the a.m.) I didn't sleep till after 2am. But thanks to adrenaline and sugar, I was wide awake, happy, and excited for most of Christmas! We spent most of the day at my parent's house (mostly because we live in the basement!) and opened presents, played with presents, and had a big delicious breakfast. While the boys took their naps, we went and saw Sherlock Holmes-what an AWESOME movie! We then came home and my mom and I made Christmas dinner. Ate another big delicious meal and then headed over to Lines' to visit. We couldn't stay long because Ryan was calling from the Phillippines at 8pm, so rushed home to talk to my little brother! Here's some pictures to capture some of my favorite moments.

Jakie riding his new rocket with his blankie
This gun was Mike's present to me. I think Connor enjoyed it the most!

Jake was scared of this toy at first because of all the sounds and lights it made. It took almost the entire day till he warmed up to it!

Connor now has a new obsession. We had to pull him away crying from his train table to eat and for potty breaks. If only I gave this to him sooner.....

Rees trying out our plamsa car (thanks for putting it together for me Rees!). It's not as fast as we thought, but its still fun entertainment for the boys and the adults!

Mike got The Office season 5! YAY! I think I was more excited about this one.

Jakie boy playing with his favorite person

Still playing......

Momma opening presents with Jake

Jake was too cute opening presents. After watching everyone do a couple rounds he figured out that after you open it there's a lot of Ooh's and Aah's and began making his own sound effects. I died laughing watching him.

The boys enjoying the plasma car

I got all the boys and my dad some Air Hogs helicopters at 75% off at the end of summer. They were a big hit. After playing games Saturday night, the boys decided to go for some more flying time at 11pm. Boys.....

What a wonderful Christmas this year filled with fun, family, traditions, and reminders of our Savior!

Last Minute Adventure

2009-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

There's a firestation right next to my parent's neighborhood, and every time we drive by and see the firetrucks, Connor asks if he can ride them. At about 8:30pm I found out that Toys for Tots was at the mall and they had firetrucks you could ride if you donated a toy. So, I ran to my presents box, grabbed a toy, threw a sweater, beanie, and slippers on Connor and ran out the door before they left the mall. We got to ride in the passengers seat all the way around the mall! In the back of the mall the fireman turned on the sirens and lights and Connor jumped and got so tense! But once he realized it was all for fun he smiled and had this little grin the whole ride. As we were walking back to our car he said, "Let's do it again!" I love little moments like these with my little boys-I would be perfectly happy if I had a house full of boys!

Attention all BARGAIN Shoppers!

2009-11-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

If you were planning on getting up at 3am this Friday to fight the crowds to get those items on your shopping list, let me give you a piece of advice. Right NOW Amazon is already selling their black friday deals. Some deals are going all day, some deals are at certain hours of the day. I've compared these to other stores deals and they're matching other's low prices! Also, sign up for their Prime Membership for a free 1 month trial (details here http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2009/11/update-amazon-free-trial/) to get free 2 day shipping on everything you buy! Plus, this link shows you how to automatically cancel your trial after 1 month, so you don't ever have to worry about being charged for it! There were a couple DVD's I wanted to get at Target, but instead I bought them on Amazon at the same price with free shipping! There was a Toy Story Woody doll I was going to get at Toys R Us' Black Friday, but instead got it on Amazon at their same price with free shipping! Get the idea? Check out the deals here: http://www.amazon.com/b/?ie=UTF8&node=384082011&tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3451119149&ref=pd_sl_36030tx8xv_e and check every day to see what's on sale! Also, if you haven't heard of CYBER MONDAY, you're missing out! It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and is basically almost all the Black Friday prices but online and most stores have free shipping codes or sales to take advantage of!

Anyways, I just wanted to give some advice for you guys in case you wanted to avoid all the Black Friday madness! I know I'm sleeping in and will join sisters-in-law for breakfast after they fight the crowds! :-)

Our zipling and rapelling adventure in Puerto Vallarta

2009-11-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

Because we have an entire cd with pictures from our ziplining and rapelling adventure in Puerto Vallarta, I decided it needed its own post. This was by far the coolest and funnest thing I've ever done. Once we got off the cruise ship, we took a speed boat for about 30 minutes where the rainforest mountains were. We loaded into big army trucks and headed up the mountain on crazy small and steep roads. We then hopped onto some horses and kept heading up the mountain. After that, we hiked some MORE and then were finally at the top. I think there was a total of 8 ziplines and rapell lines (I may be off by a couple). But they were all very high, very long, and very fast! The first one my heart skipped a beat when I looked down and saw how high I was and realized that rope holding was the only thing saving me from falling to my death! But after that one, I relaxed and had the time of my life.

This was actually our last line and we got to race each other! They let me get a head start and Mike still won!
Us and the Stuarts

I was freezing here, it was after the zipline that dove you STRAIGHT into a river, you get completely wet!

Freefall rapelling, an awesome feeling!

These pictures don't do justice to show how high up we were and how long of a drop we had!

Once again, Mike and Clint were like little boys on these things!

Isn't this gorgeous?!?

What a stud!

Yep, "He's mine"!

Standing on one of the platforms

This was my first zipline and I was concentrating my breaking and footing to get it just right so I didn't smack into the guys that helped us!

Getting our instructions before we went on our first line.

We couldn't take our own cameras because we got completely soaked, so one of the tour guys had a professional one taking pics the whole time and you bought the cd in the end. I thought it was worth every penny, these pictures are priceless-I know there were a lot here but I had a hard time picking my favorite ones to put in this post!

Back to the real life.....

2009-11-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Last week Mike and I were able to go on a cruise for a vacation and a week of sanity to ourselves. The last time we did this was 3 years ago when I was about 5 months pregnant with Connor on a little 3 day one. After months and months and months of scraping and saving to pay for it, it was WELL worth it in the end. After 3 days I missed my boys terribly and I tried my best to stay happy and enjoy my vacation time alone with Mike. We did the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Sapphire Princess and visited Puerto Vallarta (where we went ziplining through the rainforest and rapelling through waterfalls and rivers-we ), Mazatlan (the boys went parasailing, we ate at Senior Frogs, and walked on the beach), and Cabo San Lucas (we went kayaking and snorkeling). Our shore adventures were a BLAST and I loved every second of them. We had a total of 4 days of being on our ship in the middle of the ocean and on these days we relaxed, ate, slept, read, exercised in the gym, ate, watched shows and movies in the theatre, went to magic and comedy shows, ate, and relaxed some more. If you are thinking about a nice and relaxing vacation, can I just recommend a cruise! I added up the amount it would have cost us to stay a week at an all-inclusive resort on a few different beaches, the airline cost, and souveniers and excusions, the total was way more than double the total cost of our cruise.

Enjoying the beach in MazatlanMike taking off on his parasail

Formal night (this was the first, there were 2 formal nights). We're posing with Clint and Breaunna Stuart, who went with us. We actually went on our last cruise with them too! It was a blast hanging out with them and we've never laughed so much in a week!

We're taking a boat to a private island to go snorkeling and kayaking at Cabo. Here's our ship in the background!

Cabo San Lucas, I can't remember the name of these popular rocks

Mike and Clint hanging out with their favorite bartender. No they didn't drink any alcohol drinks but they had their fill of every version of non-alcoholic drink they could! This night Bre and I were upstairs in the jacuzzi chatting with an old lady till about 11pm. Wondering where the boys were, we went downstairs only to hear them laughing their heads off with this bartender. Bre and I were only reminded that men will always stay little boys-no matter what.

I had a blast and it was definately a joy to be home safe with our little boys. After 2 days with them I'm ready for our next cruise! My mom watched the boys and they were sick most of the time we were gone. They still are and its not fun taking care of sick kids! Most days I just have to keep reminding myself that they're worth all the sleepless nights, throwups, tantrums, fights, messes, and disobedience! We missed our little boys terribly, but everyone needs a little R&R time with their spouse!

We're Moving!

2009-10-28T20:57:00.001-07:00

We've sold our house and are now moving to.....my parent's basement! We're just grateful our house is sold and can start saving saving saving for our next house. I've been packing a little every day for the last couple weeks and its nice that I can take loads to my parent's and slowly settle in! Here's Mike and the boys today loading boxes into a truck to take to the shop where Mike has a box truck to store all our stuff.

Connor did great holding Jake around on the dolly while Mike pushed them around, until he stopped for them to get off. Connor just stood up and let go of Jake letting him fall to the ground.

This is poor Jakie afterwards!

CAUTION: Under Construction Party!!!!

2009-10-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

Connor is obsessed with tractors and construction trucks. So, of course for his birthday that's what we had: a construction party! Here's all the kids except Addison Smith, who just barely got cut out of the picture on the right.

Here's Miss Addison playing the ring toss.Brandon Adams throwing the bean bags into the truck.

Laura Smith trying to help the kids hammer the nails into the wood. Little did I know the wood was supposed to be on concrete because the grass just absorbed the shock. So, after all these poor kids hammered, we didn't get a single nail down. But they did have fun using a hammer!

Grandma Lines gave this airplane to him and he actually went to sleep with it that night- I figured it's his birthday, why not? Like his Kool-Aid mustache?

The kids liked playing in the sandbox....a lot. And I was actually impressed because none of them ended up covered in dirt (like Connor and Jake do almost every day)!

I think I have the world's best mom. I don't know what I would do without her and all her help!

I've decided this is Connor's future wife. She's such a cutie pie!!

My little happy camper, like always-he had a blast chasing all the older kids around!

Connor got a lot of help opening his presents!

Whenever Connor plays at Brandon's house, this is their favorite thing to do-shoot Nerf guns, so naturally that's what Brandon got him-his first Nerf gun! Waiting for us to stop singing so he can blow out his candle! His "cake" was a dump truck with chunks of brownies piled to look like dirt. We had a blast as always because both Connor and I were surrounded with friends and family!

Since Connor's big party wasn't actually on his birthday, here's his little family celebration we did on his actual birthday.

He got some trucks, which we used to play with in the sandbox (I got them all 75% off at the end-of-summer clearances!)

A little about our Connor boy: he has energy like none other! He's not bouncing off the walls or crazy, he just loves to play and play and play. He rarely walks because he's got things to do and places to go! He still loves to take everything apart and figure out how it all works. He loves all things boy: trucks, trains, guns, dogs, dirt, water, bubbles, etc. His favorite person in the world is still Grandma Colvin and gets very jealous when she pays attention to Jake. His favorite songs are his ABC's, Popcorn Popping, and the Wheels on the Bus. He's very social and when meeting new kids automatically goes up and says "Hi, I'm Connor, wanna play?" He's growing like a weed and is almost too big for his 3T shorts! He's my mini-Mike to a T and we love him dearly!!!

Disneyland Again!

2009-09-27T21:40:00.001-07:00

We went to Disneyland this past weekend before our annual passes expired (only to find out Mike's had expired the day before) and to be there for my dad's "Disneyland Challenge". We didn't participate in the challenge because there was no way we'd get anything done with the two boys by ourselves. But we did have fun riding the kiddie rides with the boys (we enjoyed it a lot, partly because we went 2 weeks ago for my b-day and got to ride all the big kid rides by ourselves!) and seeing their reactions to all the excitement. All week Connor had been asking in the mornings, "Are we going to Disneyland today? Let's go find Buzz Lightyear!" and I had a countdown going every morning until I could finally say, "YES! Let's get ready to go!" So, the first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear! Connor got super shy and awkward when he first saw Buzz when waiting in line and he had a blast shooting the gun!

There weren't many rides Connor liked. His favorites were Buzz Lightyear and the Toy Story Mania. Here he is on the teacups looking at my mom. He wasn't so sure about this one. He hardly smiled the whole ride and he kept looking at all of us like, "Why are we on this?" Jakie or course loved every second. There wasn't a ride he didn't like!

I love Jake's cute little grin before he shows you his buckteeth!

Here's Connor's other favorite ride, Autopia. The whole time we were in line he kept trying to push past people and cut to get up front. He just didn't understand why we didn't get to get on the cars NOW! He was so excited he FINALLY got to drive a car by himself!

Driving all by myself....it was actually really relaxing!

Jake with Grandma waiting till we got off the ride

Connor was so excited to get his first license! Of course he had no idea what we were talking about, his smile is so big because we're finally getting closer to the cars!

This is the first picture of him where I can see some bits of him that look like me! I usually call him my mini-Mike!

Here's Jakie on the teacups trying to hold tight to Mike

So, in all the excitement to GET to Disneyland I forgot our double jogging stroller in the garage....right next to the car. So, we had to rent one of their strollers and they didn't have any double ones. This is right after we checked it out. The boys were only happy for about 2 minutes....till Jake head-butted Connor and both were crying after that.

I love when I can get a picture of BOTH of them happy!

Posing in front of the pumpkin! When we got there Connor kept saying, "Momma! Momma! Look at that pumpkin! Oh! Look at that pumpkin!" But when he saw this one he was speechless.....for once.

We couldn't get Jake to turn his head around because we were facing the sun. Plus he kept watching the people behind us. I'm glad we got a couple good pictures where everyone is smiling and facing the camera this trip!

This is riding Peter Pan. Connor liked this one because that's one of his new favorite Disney movies. He doesn't really watch Nemo, Cars, Incredibles, etc anymore. He's into the older ones now like Peter Pan, the Aristocats, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, etc. I love watching those with him and having total dejavu!

This is riding It's A Small World BEFORE the ride. No one was smiling after the ride. As soon as we were outside Mike turned to me and said, "I think I just got stupider after riding that one" and then a minute later Connor turned to me and said, "I don't like that ride". I died laughing, me and Jake enjoyed it! The whole time he danced to the music and looked around!

Connor didn't like this ride either. I think he smiled twice. He's such a funny little boy. I think when you just leave him alone and let him soak in everything instead of constantly looking at him and saying, "Isn't this fun! Isn't this so cool? Do you like this? Are you having fun?" he likes things a lot better. I noticed when Mike just sat back and let him observe without us saying anything, he was a lot happier. At least I'm figuring out one thing with this kid! He's as complex as his father and mother together!

These guys were in California Adventure Park and were the army guys from Toy Story. They looked so strange because they were covered in green paint and had these vinyl looking uniforms on. They had to be so hot!

Last year we got a picture of Connor on the C. I wanted to get one this year to compare the two, but Connor finally fell asleep right before we took this picture. Till Jake hit him with the water bottle 5 minutes later.

And here are my sweet angels before we even got on the freeway! Connor took 2 bites of his doughnut and fell asleep with it on his thumb. Jake fought it longer and squealed and screamed at Mike and I a little longer and then suddenly conked out.

We won't be back to Disneyland for a couple years, so it was fun to get in our last little "Hoorah!" and have some fun family time there! What a blast it was! Although Connor was still 1/2" too short for the rides, he'll be able to ride them next time and probably not get scared.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-09-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Riding the Buzz Lightyear game...we're pretty serious!
Riding Thunder Mountain, our favorite ride besides Space Mountain

The trick is to keep your hands up! :-) And when you get to the turn around the goat, turn your WHOLE body to face the goat and look at it the WHOLE way around the turn. Try it and you'll feel like you're falling out and your stomach is going the opposite way!

I love this picture

Us and Papi before the ride started

Here we go!

Posing in front of the castle, I think its pretty funny we're standing exactly the same

This is on Matterhorn

This is on Splash Mountain.....before the big splash!

This year I got to spend my 25th birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth with Mike and my dad. It was SO much fun to ride all the rides without worrying about kids and taking turns. We got to sit and relax whenever we wanted and strolled wherever we wanted. Sigh......it was wonderful.....Thanks to Grandma Colvin for making this trip possible! I think she got a little glimpse into why I call my boys my little monsters! They can be a handful, but they're such a blast and I really did miss them......some of the time. :-) We get to go back in 2 weeks for my dad's "Disneyland Challenge" and take the boys with us. It will be so much fun seeing their reaction to everything. I measured Connor today and he's 1/2 inch away from the height requirement for most of the rides. Hopefully he'll grow a little, we'll spike his hair, and maybe stuff his shoes with toilet paper so he can have a little fun too! I'll post pics of that when we get back! :-)

Happy Birthday Jakie!

2009-08-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Jake is 1 year old already, where does time go?!? We celebrated his birthday a couple days after his actual birth date, which wasn't such a great idea. The poor guy had shots that day, was teething, and running a temperature. He wasn't his normal, happy self, which didn't make singing, cake time, and opening presents that fun for him. Luckily we had another small celebration at my parents a couple days later so he could actually dive into his own cake with our tradition and was back to his normal self. At the moment, I don't have those pictures, but I'll post a picture later with his birthday cake and SMILING! This one of him and my mom is the only one where he's smiling at his party while watching Connor swim. Jakie is such a total sweetheart and cuddlebug. He has the cutest smile with his 2 little buck teeth and is always sharing it with everyone. He can sing the tune "clean up" when we're cleaning up, he makes high pitch barking noises when he sees a dog, he walked at 11 months, loves to clap his hands and get your "yay!" reply, dances to music by shaking his head back and forth, is a total water baby, and loves to be outside. Connor isn't always nice to him or share toys, but Jake can sure hold his own and stick up for himself. We're so lucky to have this happy little guy in our family, we love you Jakie boy!

Here's grandpa playing with the new toys and entertaining the chillins

Momma and Daddy got some snuggle time by the pool! :-)

Can you tell he doesn't feel good? :-(

His big brother enjoying the water

Mission Beach

2009-08-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Mike and I had been dying to take the boys to the beach this summer and after all our waiting.....let's just say it wasn't what we had in mind. We took Connor to the beach for the first time at the same age as Jake 2 years ago and had the most perfect day. Jakie didn't like the cold water (even though we were there in the middle of the afternoon it was super cold!) and after a lot of crying finally stopped when we started jumping the waves as they came in. Connor was scared for his life and whenever some seaweed washed ashore close to us, he'd scream and run "It's gonna bite me!" and begged for Mike and I to hold him. Not to mention we all got hardly any sleep in our tent the night before and Connor hadn't eaten either dinner or breakfast (no matter how much bribing and disciplining we tried) because he was too busy playing in the mountains. So, we didn't show up at the beach in the best condition-plus we were all filthy dirty from the campout! But hey, at least we got some good pictures out of it! :-)

Jakie eating a sand covered cheeto

Here's a picture of Connor trying to get as far away from the seaweed as he can

Mountains and Beaches

2009-08-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to the Laguna Mountains for a ward campout and then headed off in the morning to the San Diego beaches. Because we have a ton of pictures of each, I broke them into 2 parts. These are from the mountains. It was GORGEOUS weather and it was so nice to get of the hot desert! The boys' favorite part was playing with the tent poles as we set up. I'm constantly amazed at how boys just have that masculine instinct in them to make every object a weapon. We got this tent when we were first married and after years of talking about going camping, we were so excited to finally use it! We love camping and this was our first opportunity when I haven't been pregnant or had a newborn. It's amazing at what just a little bit of fresh air can do for you. :-)

What a stud-he takes after his dad!
Once the tent was set up and the poles were no longer accessible, this was their second favorite thing to do: play with the water faucet

We rarely can get a good picture of these two monsters-they never can sit still long enough and rarely are they both happy at the same time, especially when they have to sit still!

Me and my boys-I'm one lucky mom!

Don't be fooled, this is NOT as comfortable as it looks!

Jakie and.....Easter Eggs??

2009-06-01T21:40:00.001-07:00

While we were playing games this Sunday at my parents house, Mike and my dad (I can't remember who started it) decided to have some fun picking on Jakie boy. At first is was the egg bra shot and then the poor boy was covered in eggs! We couldn't stop laughing and took them out immediately after taking a few pictures-I think they were starting to hurt his hair, but he was being such a good sport for the sake of our entertainment.

Look at all his rolls of fat! We love you Jakie boy! :-)

Jakie and our dog Lucky

2009-05-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

We don't own a dog because (1) we can't afford one and (2) I have 2 boys in diapers, I don't need to clean up any more poop. So, my mom found this dog Lucky that responds to voice commands. It has like 20 different tricks it does for you and is so fun to play with. Jake absolutely LOVES dogs and this is as close as it gets in our house! Enjoy!

Our weekend in San Diego

2009-05-24T22:35:00.001-07:00

So, I tried to upload these pictures in order, but once they downloaded, they got all mixed up. So, here's a random update on these events in San Diego! We went 2 days before Jeff and Laura's wedding and got to go to Sea World and stay in a really nice resort that was right on the beach and had ponds with lots of ducks to play with. The night before the wedding we went out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and had the WHOLE family there! It was very loud, crazy, and fun!

This is Eric entertaining Connor with his phone during dinner. I love that Connor has fun uncles that are always willing to play with him....and give me a break for a while! For some reason, Mike and I don't take many pictures together (probably because I'm always focusing on taking pics of my boys!), but Jessica was nice enough to snap this one of us together.

Garrett was OUT all during dinner. They ended up just laying him on the table the rest of the night and he slept the whole time! Lucky guy!

I love this picture of my little Jakie boy!

Here's Jake and Drew (Brian and Angies youngest) at Sea World. Can you tell their related? I love that they're both doing the same pose! I wish they lived closer (they're in Texas) and we could play with them more! Both our boys are super close in age to their 2 youngest.

This is Connor and Addie sharing Cheetos while we waited for some of our gang to get off a ride at Sea World. I love watching these 2 play together-they're only 2 weeks apart!

Connor getting every last lick of that cheeto! :-)

This was at the end of the day at Sea World-can you tell?

The boys LOVED all the fish and animals-I love going to these kind of places just to see their reaction to everything!

Connor was so excited because he got to see Nemo, Marlin, and Dory!

Watching Shamu seriously gave me chills. We sat way up on the stands so we didn't get soaked and he still looked huge! We all thoroughly enjoyed the show.....well, the boys enjoyed most of it-we couldn't keep their attention on it long enough

We sat with Brian and Angie and their kids (minus Garrett who sat below with the rest of the gang and got soaked!)

I love this picture of Connor watching the fish, he would have spent all day just watching them all!

Mike and Connor petting the sting rays-actually I don't think Connor ever did, the second they would get close enough he'd get scared and pull away

These were the ducks at our resort that Connor had a BLAST chasing. There were ducks everywhere you looked!

Here's my little Jakie boys, smiling once again! Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks!

So, there's our random update on our San Diego trip! It was exciting to see family that we hadn't seen in a long time and fun to have the whole family together!

Jeff and Laura's Wedding

2009-05-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time, to tell you the truth I actually forgot about blogging! We've just been busy trying to get our house ready to sell and with....LIFE! Here's a quick update on the last couple months: Jeff and Laura's wedding was in San Diego. Here's a picture of all my gorgeous sisters-in-law. I've always wanted a sister and now I have a total of 10! How lucky I am to be surrounded by these awesome women!

Camping in the Desert

2009-03-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the boys playing in the dirt
Connor trying to figure out how this lever works on the trailerJessica and Dominick this morning (I wish I looked this great in the mornings!)

This is the face Connor made when I asked him to smile.....not quite the look I was going for!

My sweet Jakie boy-the happiest baby on Earth!

About 5 minutes after this picture Dominick was covered in this yogurt but I didn't get a pic of that

Connor's safeguarding the tent trailor for us

Mike and Adam cooking our yummy breakfast burritos

This weekend we did an overnight campout with Adam, Jessica, and Dominick-the perfect little quick getaway! The boys had fun with the fire (as in Mike and Adam), Connor loved trying to figure all the knobs, screws, and pulls on the tent trailer, Dominick and Connor had fun playing (well, most of the time-they have a love/hate relationship) and it was just fun to relax and enjoy being outdoors before it becomes unbearably hot! We had the traditional yummy foil dinners and s'mores and made breakfast burritos for breakfast and were home before 10am Saturday morning. This was our first time taking the tent trailer out and it was a great trial run! We realized we forgot a few important items (fireworks, guns, matches-luckily I found a lighter stashed in the trailer, plates-also a backup supply in the trailer, etc.), but I think next time we'll get the hang of it! If it was up to me, next time we took it out it would be up in the mountains where its GREEN and there's more activities to do. But we had a blast and I know how much Mike loves the desert so I'm trying to be a good sport and let him enjoy it.

Our Sunday adventure

2009-03-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday after dinner the boys (Adam and Mike) decided to put Jeff's canoe in their swimming pool to see if it had any holes in it. Before long, we had the boat full of 6 adults, 3 boys, and 1 dog. We had a blast canoeing around the pool while Claudia, Jon, and Leonda watched and laughed. I can honestly say hanging out with family is one of our favorite things to do.

Fry's Trip saved $100!!!

2009-02-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

Here's what I got at Fry's tonight for only $46! That included 10 packs of toilet paper, 4 1/2 gallons milk, 4 containers Simply Orange, 2 packages chicken breasts, 2 loaves bread, 2 bags oranges, chips, vitamin smoothies for kids, soda, 3 packs cookies, shrimp, lettuce, & Tide! The guy behind me had a couple packs of beer and looked at my coupon container and asked, "You got any coupons for beer in there?" He was as excited as I was watching my total go down after all the coupons.

Welcome 4th Ward Women!

2009-02-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our family's blog! At the right you'll find all my favorite blogs and daily deal sites I visit constantly for great deals. To get to Pinching Your Pennies Best Advertised Price on Perishables you have to: click on their link at the right. At the top of their site click on Screaming Deals by State, click on Arizona and it will have a post for their Best Advertised Price on Perishables (this is a new post each week, which is why I can't give you a direct link). If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me!

Earn money searching the internet!

2009-02-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

Wanna earn money every time you do a search on the internet? Well, check out Swagbucks! It takes a minute to sign up and its free! Every time you search for stuff, just search through them and you accumulate points that you can turn in to gift cards! Why not make money by doing something you already do? Check it out here:

http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=344324

A Couple More Christmas Pictures

2009-02-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

My Dad took these and I kept forgetting to post them. My favorite is Jake malling the doll!

A Little Help For You

2009-02-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, I wish I had the time to sit and create blog entries every day of all the good deals I'm finding, but I barely find the time.....to find the deals! If that makes any sense. So, I'm putting all the blogs I find stuff at the right side of our blog. The Frugal Finds are various blogs that post about a million different things, mostly where I find all my good deals and sales. Then there's the daily deal finding web sites that I also visit daily. They list super-duper sales on the internet (and sometimes in stores) that you don't wanna miss. Then, I will also list my deal-a-day sites. These sites sell one item at an incredible price for one day. Most of them are baby items, but dillyeo.com and shnoop.com aren't. I hope these help you save as much as I have! :-)

Our Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

Since we live in the same city as both of our families, let me just say each holiday is crazy! Somehow we split each day in half and spend each half with each family. So, Christmas Eve and the first half of Christmas day we spent with my family. Christmas morning we opened presents at our own house and then went to my parent's house to open some with them and eat a yummy breakfast. We then went out to the desert to ride horses with my grandpa and some cousins (Kasey and Becca Self,their 5 kids, and Amanda Self). Mike got to ride and then came back and took Connor on a ride. Connor loved every second of course and had fun playing with his cousins. I just watched, took pictures, visited, and held Jake. I wasn't in the mood to smell like horses all day! After riding for a while, we went back to my parents house and made Christmas lunch. Ate some more yummy food and then headed home so Connor could take a nap and I could make a brownie trifle for Mike's family's Christmas dinner. We then headed into town where we ate lots more yummy food, opened presents, and visited. Talk about a fun, busy, & long day!

Mike and I have figured out a secret to Christmas shopping. Get the gifts the day AFTER Christmas! :-) Friday night we were going to go see Bedtime Stories, but the theatre was so packed, we decided to go another day and enjoy it more. Instead we got a smoothie and went to Sam's Club where they had all their Christmas stuff 50% off. Before Christmas shopping, we went as a family one night to Sam's Club and Connor saw a PegPerego jeep. After pulling him away from it (while he cried and yelled "Drive! Drive!), we just laughed it off. It was $500. But, last night it also was on sale for $250. I did my research and this is on Amazon for $600 and Ebay for $700!! Holy cow! Now, I'm all about a good deal, but that's still a lot of money. Well, we now are just going to take back the train table my mom bought for the boys and put that money towards the jeep. We paid for it with some of Mike's Christmas bonus that was on a Wal Mart gift card, and didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for it! We stayed up till past midnight last night putting it together while watching Season 4 of The Office (we've had to wait a whole year to see it! We just couldn't turn it off!) Once Connor got the key for it this morning(it doesn't start with it though, its just a play key) and started driving it in our living room (only about 2 feet in each direction constantly ramming into our couches), we couldn't get him off it! Thankfully it's now in our garage where he can drive it around our cul-de-sac. He's so proud of the fact that he has his OWN key to his OWN jeep (if you knew Connor, you'd understand how obsessed he is with keys and driving cars).

Mike and I have been married for almost 4 years and I have always wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have always mixed everything by hand or using my hand mixer. So, when I saw that I could get the professional 6 quart one for only $197, I was all over that! It's normally $500 and was on sale for $400. I got an extra 30% off with my Kohl's charge card (this is my only credit card and for this purpose, I can get anything for 30% every month!), free shipping, earned $60 Kohls cash back, and got a $50 mail in rebate. It's red and matches my red and white cherry themed kitchen. Merry Christmas to me!

For Mike, we'll be getting ammunition for our safe at home. Since we will soon be having a stupid president, prices on ammo are going to be insane and we wanted to stock up before that happened. So, this year for Christmas Mike got himself a rear view camera for his truck (I didn't think there were any more toys possible to put on that thing, but leave it to Mike to find it!) so he can see when he's backing up and have 3 night vision cameras on it so that if someone tried to damage or break into it, he can catch them. Now while Mike works on his truck, Connor can be along side him working on his Jeep because it has a fake engine under the hood along with tools to play with. Boys and their toys.......

I can't believe another year has already passed. Mike and I now have TWO sweet boys (its still hard for me to fathom) and our house is never boring! We were so blessed this year and have enjoyed being surrounded by all our family and friends! We're so grateful for all you do for us!

A Perfect Day in Disneyland

2008-12-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

Well, after our first day of torture in the cold and rain, the second day made the trip worth it! It was sunny and beautiful weather. Connor loved riding all the rides and was constantly absorbing everything in everywhere we went. We even got to see reindeer and santa! We didn't get a picture with him though because the line was incredibly long. He still isn't at the point where he understands all the little Christmas details, which I'm perfectly ok with right now! His favorite part was driving his car on Autopia. Both boys did great and Mike loved the jogging stroller. Not once did he want to give up pushing it! We did end up leaving at about 4:30, which meant we missed the fireworks and falling snow afterwards and see the Cinderella castle lit up. But I did a great job imagining it as we drove away! :-) We were all excited to see Connor's reaction to the Christmas Parade (especially my dad) but of course he fell asleep right before it got to us and missed the whole thing. Mike tried to wake him a couple times, but he was completely out! I'm starting to learn that things never go the way you plan with kids in the picture. I can now say that I've seen how gorgeous it is in Disneyland at Christmastime! The decorations everywhere were beautiful and got me in the Christmas mood! Thanks to the fact that we had my parents and brothers to help us, Mike and I got to ride some rides together and we went shopping in Downtown Disney and got my favorite ice cream- chocolate peanut butter Hagen Daaz! We love Disneyland!

Disneyland!!!

2008-12-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

After leaving this morning at 5am, we made it to Disneyland! We're here with my parents and brothers Rees and Ryan. We found out the day before leaving that it was going to be cold and rainy.....but we weren't expecting this! There are now reports that its supposed to snow here for the first time in 17 years! It is STINKING cold, windy, and pouring outside. So, yes, after we could finally check into our room, we are now enjoying Disneyland in the hotel. We tried to ride a couple rides (all inside rides), eat lunch (inside), and walk around (NOT inside). Lets just say that by the time we finally got to check in, we were all soaked, freezing, tired, and grumpy. My Christmas present was a double Schwinn jogging stroller and it is a lifesaver already! The thing rides super smooth, the boys are comfortable, and it kept them mostly dry (except their feet). I'm glad I got to open my Christmas present early! Right now you can't even see outside our room window because the windows are covered in frost. So, for now, we're just waiting for it to stop raining so we can actually enjoy this vacation. LOL, silly me. I'm just gonna say this is going to be an adventure!

And That's How You Do It!

2008-12-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, so everyone asks me how I end up making money when shopping or getting a bunch of free or super cheap stuff. Here's how I did this week at CVS and Fry's. The first picture is from my trip to CVS. It is missing one pack of diapers (which is already almost used up!) Overall, I spent only about .38 cents out of pocket (because I paid with ExtraBucks and they didn't match the total exactly)! I still have over $150 in Extra Bucks to use before they expire (leftover from the awesome Thanksgiving Day freebies). AND I earned $35 more extra bucks to use! Also, you can get $1 per pack of Huggies back from The Caregivers Marketplace, so I'll be getting back $5 from them!

The second picture is my trip to Fry's. I spent only $25 and saved over $60! They're tripling and quadrupling their coupons right now and are also accepting competitor's coupons-which I took advantage of!

So, what's the secret? You find super good sales at stores and then use coupons on top of the sales. Most of the time, you can get free stuff doing this (esp. when they double or triple coupons). For example: Fry's had their Bar-S hot dogs on sale for $1. I had some .25 cents off coupons, which when quadrupled, made them free!

Where do I get all these coupons? The internet sites (like Smart Source and Coupons.com), the Sunday paper (we only get the Sunday paper just for the coupons and get our money's worth!), and mailed coupons from Companies.

Here's how I do it: I have a ton of blogs on my "bookmarks" under my Google tab (some of my favorites are to the right on my blog). I try to visit these almost every day and they tell you exactly what is on sale at certain stores and what coupons to use. A lot of times if its an internet coupon, they'll have a link that takes you directly to print the coupon off. They do all the work-they're the smart ones here! So, when printing coupons, use it from their blogs (if you can) because they make a little money off each one you print. I hope this can help you guys! I will say it does take some time and committment, but it's saved us a ton!

My boys

2008-12-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

These are my recent photos I wanted to share of the two little boys who have completely stolen our hearts. For those of you who don't know Connor, well....he's quite a character! It's almost impossible to put into words what the little guy is like. He's got a mind of his own, he's obsessed with keys, cars, and phones. He has quite the collection of toys (mainly thanks to Grandma Colvin), but never plays with them. He'd rather walk around and take things apart, play in our carsm or study stuff. Sometimes it's a good thing....sometimes not. He's a one track minded boy that knows exactly what he wants and theres no distracting him. He's a total people person. Today when we got home our neighbors were outside while the kids played in the street. Connor looked at me as we got out of the car and said, "People! Play! Outside!" He's always quite the entertainer and is totally loveable. All it takes is one smile from him and you're wrapped around his finger. I don't know how, but the kid never runs out of energy! He's his dad to a T (both looks and personality!)!

Then there's our little Jakie boy. I can't say enough that this kid is seriously what Mike and I needed! He's the sweetest and happiest little guy I've ever seen! All you have to do is look at him and he'll give you the biggest smile. He is so good natured and has the sweetest spirit about him. He loves to baby talk at you and makes himself laugh when he squeals as loud as he can. And let me just say, this guy is a chunk! I think Connor was just as fat, but it still cracks us up how much their skin can stretch and fill up with dimples all over! It's been fun seeing his looks constantly change and now you can start to see the mix of genes in him! We are so blessed with our little boys!

I'm a Dove Chocolatier!

2008-12-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

After reading an article on how some moms are earning money on the side in a Parenting Magazine, I discovered Dove Chocolate Discoveries. People host a chocolate party and I'm the chocolatier that brings the chocolate! I do a short presentation and then people can eat and mingle while looking through catalogs. So, I'm making a little bit of money by going to parties and selling chocolate! I'm just starting out and have had a lot of fun with it already! So if any of you want to host a chocolate party, let me know! :-)

For Starters.........

2008-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

After following family and friends' blogs, I decided to finally make our own! My favorite blogging is on a bunch of sites where they give you tips for couponing, free stuff, and frugal shopping: which is what I'm all about these days! So, I'll give you links to some of my favorite and hopefully you can use them to help you save money as they have us! These women are awesome!