Favorite Family Reads - Allie

Rules by Cynthia Lord

I thought that the book was really cool. One reason why I really liked it was

because it was a really funny story and helped me imagine the pictures, even though there were no pictures 1n the book. I love reading! Its one of my favorite things to do!

-Allie

Great Day at the Mall

Dallin and I took a trip to the mall today. I had some stuff to return to Target, plus I was hoping their backpacks were finally marked down to 75% off. They were! So, if you are in need of a backpack, get yourself to Target. I also noticed that some boys/girls items were marked 75% off. I picked up a swimsuit for Austin for $2.74.

In other bargain news, JCPenny is having an additional 40% off their clearance prices. That makes the clearance items at least 70% off the retail price. I had one of my best JCPenney shopping trips ever. I picked up 2 High School Musical shirts (to save for Allie next Spring) & a work/dress shirt for Steve. Guess how much I paid? You love this game, don't you? I paid $2.13!! I did have a $10 off a $10 purchase that JCPenney sent me, that's what made it an even better deal. The regular retail price was $77.48. YIKES! Who really pays that? The dress shirt was normally $37.50, and it was marked down to 5.97, then I got an additonal 40% off of that. Now is the time when I buy spring/summer clothes for the kids for next year, when they are cheap. JCPenney will eventually go to an additional 50% off, and that is usually when I do the shopping, but since I had the coupon I went now.

To finish off our fun trip to the mall we went to Auntie Anne's to get a "big pretzel", that's what Dallin calls them & we checked out the Star Wars books at the bookstore.

Also, I think I will soon be creating a separate blog for all the "frugal" type stuff. I am amazed how many people want and read that kind of info. I have obviously tricked a few people into thinking that I am "amazing", I am not. I was raised by a cheap father (sorry Dad, you are cheap!) & so the bargain stuff is just a part of me. My brain thinks in the "how can I get the most for my money" way. I am sure Steve finds it annoying at times, he doesn't think coupons for dinner during our date nights are very "romantic". Plus, he is tired of playing the "Guess how much I got this for game." I don't know why, I never tire of that game. I have learned where to look for the deals, and my hope is to find it all and put it in one place to share with you. We all can work together to increase our food storage, stock up on toiletries and get cheap clothes for our families. I will keep you updated if I decide to make the change.

Favorite Family Reads - Dallin

It only makes sense that Dallin's favorite book is a Star Wars book. He loves Star Wars - The Complete Visual Dictionary. Actually, all of our boys have loved these type of books. Dallin can look at it forever. The book is actually Austin's, so Dallin loves to sneak into Austin's room, pull the book out and look at it. His favorite parts are the one's about Darth Vader.

Favorite Family Reads - Levi

The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

I love this book, because it takes you on a real adventure. It's a very mysterious book, no wonder, the name of the book is a secret.

-Levi

Today is Dallin's Birthday

Somebody is four today!! Ten things about Dallin right now:

1. He is a small guy, he is just now fitting into some of his 3T clothes.

2. He loves Star Wars, and he can tell you exactly what color lightsaber everyone has.

3. He says "I want to sit at the monkey bar", when he sits up on the bar stools at the island counter.

4. The only kind of ice cream he likes is "white" ice cream. That is just plain vanilla, and it can't have any real vanilla bean flakes in it, because he tries to pick them out.

5. He is starting to come out of his shell, he is talking lots more, and he is not as shy around people as he used to be.

6. He sits on a bar stool in our pantry & pretends it is his "shop." We have to knock on the door, he opens it, and then sells us some food.

7. He can recognize all of his ABC's, and can tell you what sound they make.

8. He knows how to work his Daddy's iphone. He can work it better than his Mom.

9. He loves to sing High School Musical songs, his favorites are "Get Your Head in the Game" and "Bet on It".

10. He always makes sure we do a "group hug" after our family prayers.

Dallin Meets the "Real" Darth Vader

Dallin absolutely loves Star Wars. When I found out that Pottery Barn Kids was going to have some of the Star Wars characters come for a visit, I knew we had to go. You could get their autographs, and pose for a picture. We didn't have any idea which characters were going to show up, but when we got there we found out that Darth Vader was one of the characters. He is Dallin's favorite! When we saw the characters, the first thing Dallin noticed was that Obi Wan had a green lightsaber. He told us that Obi Wan doesn't have a green lightsaber, he is supposed to have a blue one. Too funny! We all had a great time, and Dallin keeps telling everyone that he got to meet the "real" Darth Vader.

Favorite Family Reads - Christy

Two of my favorites are:

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and
Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson

I have read all 4 books in the Twilight series, but the first book was my favorite. I actually bought the book because of a friend's recommendation. I was placing an order at Amazon & I needed to spend $5 more to get free shipping, so I put it in my cart. Since a friend recommended it I didn't even read what it was about. When I got it, I found out it was about vampires, and I thought YUCK! So, it sat on my nightstand for awhile. I finally decided to read it and I loved it! The series is getting a lot of attention, so I am sure you have heard about the it, but if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. All 4 books in the series are Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

My second book is a cookbook. I recently picked up this cupcake book, and there are so many cute cupcake ideas in it. It will be lots of fun to make some of these with the family. Dallin's birthday is coming soon, and he already picked the ones he wants, so look for those coming soon. We'll let you know how they turn out.

-Christy

Steve is home!!

For those of you that didn't know, Steve ended up in the hospital on Friday. He was having flu-like symptoms for a couple days, but they were really wiping him out, he couldn't keep anything down and he was starting to look jaundiced. So, I took him to the doctor & they suggested we take him to the ER. UGH! They still don't know exactly what was wrong, they think it was some kind of viral infection that affected his liver. The good news is that he is home, and hopefully on the road to recovery. Thanks so much to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and help. We really appreciate it!

This Photo Makes Me Smile

I love this photo of Dallin when he was a baby, it just makes me smile! It is hard to believe that my little guy will be turning 4 this month. Wow! Time really does fly. I made this frame to put in my scrapbook room (OK, technically it is a closet, since I use one of our walk-in closets). I got the shadow frame at Target on clearance awhile back, I like to switch out the picture every once and awhile just for fun. So, this is what is in it now, and it makes me happy.

I'll be back later today with "frugal friday", just had to share a photo of my cute little man first.

-Christy

Favorite Family Reads - Austin

This month we wanted to share some of our families favorite books, first up is Austin.

Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire by Wayne Thomas Batson.

I have really enjoyed this series. What's not to like, these books are about pirates. Both books have a great plot, and entertaining characters. The author is an excellent writer. I loved them!!
-Austin

Jordan's 4th Day of School.

I wasn't able to get Jordan's picture on the first day of school, so here is his fourth day of school photo. He is in 10th grade this year. I guess that makes Steve really old.

- Christy

Frugal Friday

I've decided that Fridays here on the blog are going to be Frugal Fridays. I have always been thrifty, but I have recently stepped-up my thriftiness in order to increase our food storage & to save money on our grocery bill. I have found lots of great resources to help me save. I am slightly nerdy when it comes to my bargain hunting.

If you were my husband, you would get an email that looks something like this:

Hey! Guess how much all of this would have cost me if I paid the regular price? Guess how much I got it for?



Regular price is $80.18. I paid $7.10!!!!! WOO HOO! That's a savings of $73.17.

So, here is a good deal this week that will get you some really cheap groceries. First, you need to go to http://www.coupons.com/ Print 2 each of the following coupons Pillsbury crescent rolls, Pillsbury sweet rolls, Chex Mix, & Progresso soup. Then take you fistful of coupons to Top Foods. Right now they are having a special when you spend $10 on certain products you will get $4 off.

So, you need to buy the following:

2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 Bags of Chex Mix

Sale price is 6/$10, after automatic $4 off, it makes them 6/$6, after your coupons, you will pay $ .80. Yes, that is right 80 cents!! The sweet rolls and crescent rolls are free after coupons. See, now isn't that fun? I get all giddy just talking about it.

If you want to add the soup, which I bought to add to our food storage. You will need to buy the following:

6 Progresso soups (make sure the are the 6/$10)

After auto $4 off and coupons, you will get 6 soups for $3.80. Not bad! That makes them only about .63 cents a can

You don't have to buy them in separate transactions you can do them all at once. If you want to check out the ad for yourself and see all the items that are on sale, go to http://www.top-foods.com/

Oh, and if you want to print more of the same coupons to get more deals, you can do so at http://www.smartsource.com/ and http://www.pillsbury.com/. You will need to click on the coupon link at the top of the page at the Pillsbury site.

Now go get some good deals! This offer is good until Tuesday, Sept. 9th.

- Christy

Our first post!

Our first post on our family blog, calls for some first day of school photos. I got a photo of everyone, except for Jordan, it was way too dark in the morning when he left. Plus, it is too embarrasing to have your Mom take your photo on the first day of school. Jordan is entering 10th grade this year. Seriously, how did we end up with a kid in high school? Austin is in 8th grade, and sporting his "I am excited for school" face. Levi is in 6th grade, and Allie is in 3rd. Dallin is at home with his Mom, and he thinks she is not nearly as exciting as his siblings.

- Christy