Adam and Anya

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Friday, July 22, 2011

Thanks to Dad for watching Monie Baby so we could go up north again for a Barry cabin trip. Watch the VIDEO to see what a Barry cabin trip looks like. I was very grateful for the rain, family, and food.

P.S. - I caught strep throat Sunday night. Boo!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cabin Summer, Lynx Lake

We had a great two weeks up at the cabin. We did a lot of work, played up in Jerome, enjoyed amazing Milky Way stars, went to the lake, and spent time with Mom and Uncle David. These are photos my dad took when we went to the lake for the day. I think we'll be going up again soon. Oh,we also saw the fireworks before heading home. Back to summer classes : (

We did some yard work and started on repairs. The neighbor is a pottery artist and invited us over to make wind bells. We loved that. She also had an old VW sitting on her driveway, so Adam was in heaven.

Lynx - small pretty lake, no wake, and quiet.

Ugly hat, but sunproof.

Ella's blue lips from DumDums (I think we ate the whole bag).

Ella love paddling around in the new canoe. She was a champ!

John just wanted to fish. He was much more patient than the average kid. John also met a neighbor boy who is also 8 years old. While we were visiting, the boy had the exact same eye surgery John had! John told him to not worry. Not to mention we found out the boy's father and Adam went to high school together and were on the same hockey team. Small world!

The bus enjoyed cooler weather.

And so did Monie Baby!

P.S.- She learned how to dive into the lake to fetch sticks.

Monie loves the lake.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Coupon Grump

I've been trying to prioritize every minute of my life and it seems like I'm drowning at times. My friend Jen wrote this article about prioritizing and I'm starting to see how important time is.

Three weeks ago I had a great idea to try out this Coupon$ense thing. I figured it would be "wise" to try and save the family a few dollars in groceries by logging onto to the paid membership website and make my grocery lists. For the past two weeks I have attempted to make purchases surrounding coupon sense suggested sales, saving newspapers, and looking for deals.

I was surprised at how time consuming it was. Not only that, every time I go to the store with my coupons I find the items cleared out from other "couponers". Today I went to CVS thinking I could get a few deals on body washes, shampoos, etc. Yeah right. Proctor and Gamble sure got my hopes up. I was very upset as I went down each isle. It was like trying to find Tickle Me Elmo on Christmas Eve. Nothing left for me....not even the Colgate toothpaste.

I did use some coupons and "saved" money on items I wouldn't usually buy. I cancelled my membership with coupon sense and I'm quite disappointed with myself for wasted time clipping, sorting, and telling the kids to "wait" while mommy organized her deal lists.

I've heard so many friends who have saved money on couponing. I'll continue to clip and keep my eye out for deals once in a while... And I like the Hip2Save website which features good online deals sometimes. I just found couponing to be overwhelming and not fit for our gluten-free kiddo. To me, coupon sense was more of a GAMBLE than a proctor. I'll stick with shopping at Sprouts and enjoying every moment watching John and Ella put watermelons on scales instead of searching through my envelope of pretty papers.

Don't get me wrong, I admire those who can get the deals! I just haven't been able to figure how to have balance with a wad of coupons in hand and crying children. Thus I am jealous to anyone who has conquered this.

P.S. - This grumpiness calls for sarcasm...