Mish-mash of updates

Warning: this post is really long!

I haven't done a very good job lately of updating - so here it is all in one shot! These are just a few of the things we've been doing the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

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Unexpected fun:

Yesterday the girls and I were driving home after running some errands. We came across a "Neighborhood Fair" just a mile down the road from our house. There is a strip mall there and they had the parking lot full of games, food, crafts, and vendor booths. Jeff was out hiking with a friend (eeww....I do NOT hike!) so I stopped to have some fun with the girls.

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Of course, Beans noticed the pony rides right away. I was surprised at how cheap they were (in fact, every thing was really cheap - which made it even more fun for Mommy!)The little girl in front of Janae is one of her friends from church that we happened to bump into at the pony rides. I think this pict is so funny - they both have their heads down and look like they've been riding the trail way too long!When Janae finished Kiera started yelling "Mine, Mine, Mine!" I thought she'd be too worried, but she was determined to have a turn on that pony! They told me I could walk next to her, but she didn't want me to even touch her - she is a big girl I guess.Saying "cheese"

(This is the face she makes when she's trying to smile for the camera. Too cute!)The horseback riding pro!

I was really surprised when Janae said she wanted to have her face painted. She's had the opportunity before, but was afraid to do it. She stood in line in the hot sun to get a unicorn on her cheek......

....and loved it! She did not want to wash it off before bed last night - it took some convincing!
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I was really glad we found this community event - I'm sure they advertised, but I didn't know anything about it until we drove by. Lucky us!

Cake decorating progress:

Since my last post about decorating cakes with fondant, I have learned how to make roses. Some people can make beautiful roses out of buttercream icing - I am not one of those people. Fondant is definitely my rose medium!

(Sorry about the blurriness - camera phone!)

Swimming with Cooper:


The day Jeff had his post-op appointment at OHSU, Andrea and Chris watched the girls for us. This is what we came back to. Such cute cousins!

Janae graduated from Mini-School:

Janae finished her second year at Mini-School at the end of June. I cried the first day I dropped her off ("I'm leaving my baby!") and I cried her last day of school ("She's getting so big!"). I'm sure I will cry in September when she has her first day of Kindergarten. Anyway, she has learned so much this past year. Her pre-reading skills are amazing and her writing skills have really taken off. She's also had some great life-lessons; "so-n-so" didn't want to play with me today," and "so-n-so told me she wouldn't be my friend anymore," and "I lost my recess today." These all provided us with great opportunities to talk about friendship, sharing, kindness and LISTENING!

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Every year the school puts on Mini Olympics for the kids - they have a series of physical events to complete and they get stickers on their "medal" for finishing. This year I was unable to go because it was the same day as Jeff's surgery! My wonderful mom and sister Kim took Janae to school and went to watch the Mini Olympics.

Waiting in line

Walking the balance beam

Getting her sticker from Mrs. McCool (last year's teacher) We love her; she took a scared 3-year-old Janae under her wing and helped her to love preschool!

Walking the "bridge"

Making a basket

(I love that you can see the ball just about to go in!)Grandma helping Kiera get in on some of the action!

Beans won her "heat" for the tricycle races. She was so proud!

We are so proud of our Beans! She is growing up so fast, and is becoming a wonderful little girl.

Surprisingly Yummy!

A couple of years ago, Andrea and I took a cake decorating class from a lady in her ward. I loved it - it is so much fun! Since then I have made several cakes for family members. I had never tried fondant though because I'd always heard how gross it tastes. I love the way it looks - so smooth and perfect - but who wants to have grossness covering their cake?

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I heard about Marshmallow Fondant, so I thought I'd give it a try. Last week Andrea came up and we made our first fondant-covered cakes

It was so fun! Fondant is so easy to make and to work with...and most importantly the Marshmallow fondant was actually pretty yummy! Janae had fun helping - she cut out the flowers and pink circles, and helped roll some of the balls for the bottom edging.

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We will definitely be doing fondant-covered cakes again...soon!
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Below are pictures of a few of thecakes that I would love to be able to make...all done with fondant

Tomorrow is the day..........

Tomorrow morning Jeff goes in for his surgery. We will keep everyone updated on our "Brain Matters" blog.

We appreciate everyone keeping us in their thoughts and prayers.

Couponing Update

I have been couponing more seriously over the past 8-9 weeks or so. I am proud to report that I am doing better and better (ie. saving more $).
This is my latest haul from Albertsons.

total price: $59.09

coupons: $52.49

Final out-of-pocket: $6.60 !!!!!

That's an 88% savings! WooWoo!

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I also added up my last few Albies trips

Total for 3 trips: $87.19

Coupons: $60.67

Final out-of-pocket for 3 trips: $26.52

A 70% savings over 3 shopping trips - not too shabby! We have a good-sized pantry in our kitchen, but with all the stockpiling I've been doing, it is already full. I had to reorganize my cabinets to empty one out and turn it into a secondary pantry. I've already filled it up with food! I think our next step is shelving in the garage for the dry goods. I have found that this is a FABULESS way to acquire a year-supply of food (that we will actually eat!) for pennies on the dollar. (As a side-note, all of the cereal in this cupboard - about 20 boxes - I got for $.50 or less!)

When I started couponing, I made a decision that I wouldn't buy something just because I had a coupon for it. To me that totally defeats the purpose. I have only been buying the same foods/supplies as before - and buying a LOT more of them.

In 6 weeks I have cut my weekly grocery bill to about $50; I used to spend about $120 a week! Couponing takes planning and organization, but I approach it like a puzzle or game (I love puzzles...) and am actually having a lot of fun!

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UPDATE:

I get my coupons from several places, but the 2 main sources are

1. The inserts in the Sunday paper (Smart Source, Red Plum, P &G Saver) get the hard copies, but the you can also print from their websites. The more copies of a coupon you have = more savings!

2. coupons.com

If you are interested in starting to coupon - read the blogs that I have linked on the left-hand side. My favorites are Krazy Coupon Lady and FabuLESSly Frugal. These women are amazing couponers and I have learned so much by just copying what they are doing. I can now come up with my own deals - but I still check out their suggestions first.

It takes some time to get the hang of it; my biggest suggestion is to read the coupon blogs. They all have "newbie" sections to help you start. Also, don't expect to see a dramatic difference in the first couple of weeks. It took a good month or so before I saw my weekly grocery bills go down.

Good luck!

Another Free Chocolate Friday!

Its Friday again....don't forget to sign up for your chocolate!!

The first 250,000 people to go here and sign up will get a coupon for a free single-size package of M&Ms, Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Twix or Dove.

There is a limit of four coupons per household for this promotion - and you can only sign up once per day. So sign up every Friday for the next 4 weeks, and get 4 coupons!!

The best chocolate is FREE chocolate!

Woohoooo!!! New Moon trailer is out!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Thursday was Jeff's 33rd birthday. A few weeks ago, Janae realized that her Daddy's birthday was coming up, and she became determined to celebrate it "the right way. With friends, not just us." So we let her plan a party for her daddy. She decided to have the party at Kids Club, a local play/swim/dance/gym facility for kids. They have an awesome play structure and party rooms for pizza and cake. Janae decided which of Daddy's friends to invite, and she (with some help from Mommy) even made invitations to hand out. She chose the partyware - Star Wars plates and cups and helped decide how to decorate the cake. I think we've found her calling: party planner!

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We had a blast! It was fun to hang out with our friends and have some fun together. The staff at Kids Club kept getting confused because they were looking for a birthday "boy" not an adult - it was pretty funny.

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Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure - and there are a few more here on our friends blog.

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Thanks everyone for coming - it was great!!! And thanks, Beans, for planning such a fun party for Daddy! After going down this slide a few times with Jeff - Kiera decided to go for it on her own. She LOVED this slide and didn't really want to do anything else!Working her way up to the top!

Eating lunch in the party room

Look at all those cute kids!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!