Somethings are worth the money...

I finally bit the bullet and turned my blog into a book! Well, actually, 2 books, because it wouldn't fit into 1! I had 4 years to organize, over 800 posts & almost 3000 pictures to deal with. I kept it simple and after editing for a million hours- I just gave up and said who cares? So my 510 pages are filled with spelling errors and typos and I don't even care! I'm just thrilled to have them in my hands!!!
I am SOOO grateful I did it too. I really debated because I knew I should keep making double payments on our credit card- but I had such a strong feeling I should do it too, so when I had a few extra cleaning jobs come my way, I decided to FINALLy do it! (We also had a scare last month where we thought we had lost ALL of our family photos- thousands of them. We were sick to our stomachs and it was honestly awful to imagine all of those years gone. I was a little comforted because the blog covered the last 4 years- but I started thinking, what if ssomething happened to the blog too? So I really prayed and felt it was the right thing to spend the $ on! Luckily Trav recovered our pictures and they are now safely copied)
I can justify it in so many ways too! # 1- my blog has become my personal journal. # 2- I'm keeping track of what the kids do everyday # 3- it's a wonderful family history book that can be passed down too!...somethings are worth the money!

When it's too hot to play outside...

The kids were watching a movie today and I thought they looked pretty cute!

Why I love my husband...

This is why I adore him...
he still rocks Daisy at bedtime.

$ 3.00 Yard Sale Treasure!

Trav has been complaining for years about wanting a "Home Teacher" chair. I always told him we didn't have room (or the $), but when I saw this beauty at a yard sale for $ 3 bucks- I knew I could find the space!

Fun at the park...

We took the kids to the park Saturday evening to splash around in the water for awhile- nothing too amazing, just evidence that we are trying to be exciting parents!

Busy in the kitchen...

Today has been one of those days that has been really productive in the kitchen. Even though my bisquits didn't turn out very well last night, it was still fun to try my G-ma's reciepe and I still ate 50% of them with butter and yummy homemade jam! We made fruit smoothie popcicles today, mint chocolate dipped pretzels and shredded chicken to put in bags for the freezer! Plus I chopped up a bunch of fruit for the next few days!

Animal Refuge Center...

Yesterday we met at the animal refuge center for our ward's playdate! The kids had a GREAT time listening to stories, doing a craft project, playing with the displays and looking at the animals. Willow was squealing with delight over all the stuffed animals that were on display- it was SO cute! We went on a little hike around the nature trail and then it was finally time to get 5 tired kids back in the van for the ride home!

Thank you thrift store!!! Beating yard sale prices!

This morning after swim lessons, I noticed that the little thrift store a block away was open! I've been wanting to go in for years but it never worked out until today. They had a $ 5.00 fill-a-bag deal. i looked around at Tristin's size first to see if it would even be worth spending $ 5.00. I hardly ever find decent clothes at yard sales for him because boys are rough on clothes at age 9! I noticed there were a ton of tee shirts- exactly what I needed, so we grabbed a bag and the fun began! Over a hour later, we walked out with our bag that we were able to fit 58 pieces of clothing into! Yeah, I'll admit, I'm pretty good at packing things into a small space, I have a Volkswagon, remember!(And the lady told me to fit as much as I could!
I was pretty thrilled! Less than .10 an item! that beats yard sale prices!
Tristin = 17 shirts
Daisy = 10 items
Willow= 12 items (2 still had the tags on them!)
Baby stuff= 10 items
Me= 5 items
Grace= 4 items

5 Ingredient Winner...

I don't know about you guys, but I hate to cook, and I especially hate turning on the oven when it's 85-97 degrees out- so I had to post one of my yummy favorites that is super cheap right now.

Chicken Ceaser Wraps!
Oh yum!

Tortillas= .99 10 ct (at Albertson's right now)
Tillamock cheese= $ 1.00 a bag (at Fred meyer right now)
Chicken= $ 1.99 lb (at Albertsons right now) I used the grilled strips from Costco- but it is way expensive. I got with a coupon a long time ago and just finished the bag.
Ceaser Dressing= hopefully you have a FREE bottle lying around from coupons!
Lettuce= .48 a head (at Albertsons right now)

Swim Lessons have begun...

Thanks to my amazing Mother, the kids were able to get signed up for swim lessons this year and today was their first day! I was able to get them in their seperate classes but at the same time! Perfect! The next 2 weeks will be fun, thanks again Mom!

Cleaning the Gutters...

Before the cousins moved to Oakley, we had one last BBQ Saturday night. We were sitting around visiting when Caprial needed a job to do. I quickly told her she could pull the weeds that had been growing out of the rain gutter- and she happily agreed! Trav helped hold the box while she shouvled nasty mud & weeds out, thanks Caprial for your amazing help!

We did not get eaten by bears...

When Trav told me he wanted to go camping a few weeks ago, I started worrying like crazy about bears and other hungry critters out there that would naturally want to eat us. When I realized he was serious about going, I started freaking out even more about wild animals attacking my children and never being seen alive again. We went online and tried preparing for every animal attack none to man, but that was terrifying as well!
After realizing bears were not the threat nor in this area, I calmed down enough to get us packed and ready to venture out into the wilderness for a weekend. I talked to my brother, who just moved from the area we were planning on staying in and he reassured me that we would be fine. I borrowed a few supplies from my Mother- in- law and Friday at 3:45- we were off!
We had a WoNDEFUL time too! Me included! See, I may actually surprise you here, but I can live without the following for a few days: my cell phone, couponing, bubble baths, make up, my vaccuum cleaner, my comfy bed, The Office re runs, the computer and Windex. The thing about me is- I can adjust to anything. I may not want to do something- but I can deal with it. I love and appriciate the wilderness and all it's beauty- but I'm not crazy about all the dirt, germs and creatures living in it. Even with that said, I can handle it and make it fun, which is exactly what I did!
I may have had dirt under my finger nails and in my neck crease- but I survived, had a great time, and look forward to our next camping trip!
(And you better belive I brought my Clorox wipes to the nasty toilet there and wiped things down!!)

It was great to watch Trav hike up in the mountain for fire wood with the kids trailing behind him. It was fun to sit by the fire and roast marshmallows while trying to wipe away the stickyness with just a baby wipe. It was wonderful to watch the girls catching dragonflies and Tristin playing in the dirt and building camp fires. It was relaxing, beautiful and nice to get away from normal life and do something different and challenging- and camping with kiddos is very much a challenge. Just packing for the event wore me out! Take everything you need for camping and times it by 6 and the van fills up pretty quickly! The kids did really well though and had a lot of fun. We had tin foil dinners & hot dogs for dinners and eggs, pancakes, sausage, fruit, yogurt & cereal for breakfasts. Lunch included Cup of noodles, PB & J sandwiches and lots of snacks.
It was nice to return home and take showers and wash 7 loads of laundry- but it was great to get out and hike and be in the wilderness for a few days too. I was delighted to only see: birds, ants, spiders, bees, beetles and mosquitos and grateful that the mean, mean bears stayed far, far away!