Looking for a Laptop?

I went out of my way to get a coupon voucher for $70 off a Dell Laptop, which I planned to get for Shawn for Christmas. But then he sadly informed me that he has his eye on a different Laptop and it's not a Dell. So, if anyone in interested...I have a coupon good for either a Dell Inspiron or a Dell Studio Laptop. You have to buy online and it will save you $70! Coupon is good until Jan. 15, 2010. I really don't want a good coupon to go to waste.

Our Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, when Mom and Dad were here, they gave us a sign (with the help of my brother Drew) to put in the front of our home where we have our pumpkins growing. We have gotten a lot of compliments.

A few days later in the week(Sept. 30), it snows!! It wasn't a lot of snow, but it was Snow!!

Wyatt insisted on playing in the snow. I had to remind him that it wasn't snowman building time yet. Morgan thinks that Santa is coming.

We have trees!!

We got some trees for a really good deal at The Home Depot, so planted we them. One in the back yard and one in the front yard. We are not green thumbs by any means, but they came with a one year warranty, so why not. (We planted at the beginning of September)

Shawn doing most, okay all, of the work.

Back yard Elm tree

Front yard Mt. Fuji Cherry Blossom tree.

Now let's see if they survive our not so green thumbs.

Back to School (I know I'm late!)

Kevan started school on August 24th. I can't believe he is in the 2nd grade!

Wyatt started preschool on September 2nd. It is a preschool out of a home. It is ran by two of my friends that each still have a younger child at home. So I watch both of their children 1 day a week during preschool. They have 2 other moms that do it on the other preschool days. It feels like a play date for Morgan and I get a tremendous discount on preschool tuition. And Wyatt is having so much fun and learning a lot.

Bear World

(Sorry, several posts to read through)

While Shawn and I were celebrating our Anniversary, Shawn's parents took the kids over night and had a fun day at Bear World.

Shawn is officially a college student again!! Shawn has just been accepted to the University of Idaho to their Masters of Engineering Management Program.

Go Vandals!

Shawn's 50 Mile Hike

Shawn is the varsity coach and he took his scouts 50 miles thru Yellowstone during the summer. They were gone for 4 days. What a great experience!

Another Thrifty Deal!

I love the Ammon Albertson's. Right now they are having a Dr. Pepper Sale. Buy $20 worth of any kind of Dr. Pepper and get a $10 Catalina "On You Next Purchase." Also, Coke is having a deal that if you buy 2 cases of soda, you get 2 free. My Ammon store will only let each customer buy 8 cases of Dr. Pepper per day. Below is a picture of my trip this morning. Before tax, it would have cost me $70.45. I paid $13.49 with tax.

You can do this too. Get 8 cases of Dr. Pepper (regular, diet, caffeine free, and Cherry Vanilla) for $5.29 each. (2 separate transactions)

Pay $10.58 + tax out of pocket for the 1st transaction.

Next buy the other 4 and use $10 Catalina and pay $.58 + tax. Plus you get another $10 Cat.

Also right now, Albertson's is having a buy $10 worth of select items you get $3 off instantly.

I got 2 sparkle paper towels, 2 Angel soft toilet paper, and 3 Playtex disposable gloves for FREE.

This is how:

2 Sparkle Paper Towels - $1.00 each

2 Angel Soft toilet paper 4 pk- $2.50 each

3 Playtax Disposable Gloves - $1.00 each

Get $3 off instantly

Use (2) $2/1 Angel Soft/Sparkle found at pinchingyourpennies.com

Use (3) $1/1 Playtex Gloves from SS 5/3

= FREE + tax.

My Thrifty Deal

Amy inspired me to take a picture of my most resent deal at Albertson's. Before taxes and discounts, it would have cost me $42.20. But I got all this for $3.46 including tax!!

I love getting deals like this!

Random Summer Fun and 4th of July

In June, we were able to see a B-17 Flying Fortress. It was only here for a few days then it was off to another airport in another state. It was an amazing museum with wings.

You had to pay to go in, so being as thrifty as I was, I opted not to go in, but everyone else did. Plus, I think Morgan was free!

Here we visited the Titanic Exhibit. When we received our tickets, we also received a boarding pass of actual passengers. At the end we found out if any of our people were survivors. All but 1 person survived. A great exhibit if you ever have a chance to go.

Outside the museum

Waiting for the parade to start. Shawn go up at 4:30 in the morning to stake out our spots. It was a little sunny, but a great spot at the beginning to the parade route.

Morgan

Kevan

Wyatt

After the parade, we somehow started a tradition to eat lunch at Olive Garden. It is the only time we take the kids to Olive Garden all year.

Later that day for dinner, we had a BBQ at our place with the family and then heading over to Grandpa and Grandma Going's place for fireworks. The have a huge driveway that is perfect for our big show.

Morgan Turns 2

Sorry this post is a month late, but here is the latest on our little 2 year old.

I'm not as good as Shana, but this was my attempt to make a cute "flower" cake for Morgan.

Fathers and Sons Camping and Preschool Graduation

Here is an update on what happened to us during the month of May. First off was Fathers and Sons Camp out. The boys had a great time.

Here is poor Wyatt. He received a few war wounds while having a great time camping. The first wound was under his left eye when he walked into someone carrying firewood (he probably deserved that one). The second one was on the other eye. A friend was swing a stick around that was smoking from being in the fire, he was poked in the eye. He burned his eye lid and singed his eye lashes. The third accident happened to his nose. He was accidentally hit with firewood while it was being put in a pile. Poor guy had a gushing bloody nose for a while. The after math left him with a swollen nose for a few days. But if you ask him if he had a good time, he would answer with an enthusiastic "Yes!"

A few days later was Preschool Graduation. He had a great time, but I am so glad he has one more year to learn more things to be kindergarten ready.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Even though our summer activities are in full swing, I found some time this weekend to make Strawberry Freezer Jam. A lot easier than I thought it would be. Strawberries were a 5 STAR deal at our WinCo. $2.98 for 4 lbs.!!! I had to take advantage. Now Shawn is asking for Huckleberry Jam. Maybe I will if they are at the farmer's market...

Last Day of School Surprise!!

This Friday was Kevan last day of school. On this last day of school they had a field day/game day. Little did I know that one of the games was a fishing pond. The sneaky part was that even if you didn't catch a fish, they gave one to you anyway.

So Kevan walks in the a huge smile (he's been begging for a pet of any kind) and this fish already named Goldy.

So we ran to Wal-Mart and got a fish bowl (the last one), fish food, rocks, and a catching net. While we were there we ran into a classmate of Kevan's who was also there to get fish things. We have now invested $11 in the surprise pet. I hope he lasts the weekend.

Happy Mother's Day to My Mom

I just want to thank my mom for being my mom. My mom has so many skills that I can only dream about obtaining. My mom is terrific teacher, artist, gardener, and friend.

My mom once told me that she took some soup to a family who was going through some tough times and found that no one was home. So she put the pot of soup on the stove and noticed the sink was full of dishes and so she did them. And of course denied it after words when her friend questioned everyone she knew.

My mom loves to garden and you can tell by looking at her front yard. Her back yard lacks the space for a full garden of veggies, so she has made an art of growing food in buckets and planters. Amazing!

I often tell people who want me to join their preschool co-op or joy school, "I'm not a teacher, but my mom is." She has always had a love of learning and teaching others what she as learned. She went back to school to get her Teaching Degree at age 40 and then went on to receive her Masters. Incredible!

My mom is an amazing artist. She is incredibly creative. So is my Aunt Sandy. Thanks to my mom and her sister and, of course dad, my brothers and I have artistic blood in us.

I can honestly say that I understand my mother more and more as I raise my own children. Growing up with 5 brothers was mostly a lot of fun, but then again I wasn't the mom raising us either. And now that I have children, I wonder how my mom survived those early years of 4 children under the age of 5.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

Wyatt makes me laugh!

Even when I get upset with him.

A few Saturdays ago, Shawn was gone camping with his scouts, so I thought it would be fun to take the kids to a Thomas the Tank Engine party at Toys R Us.

The party was basically an advertisement for Thomas toys. So they had conductor hats for the kids to color and some freebies. But as I was trying to keep an eye on Morgan (who didn't want to do the craft and was hoarding all the crayons) I realized that Wyatt didn't want any part in this party. He wanted to wonder the store and find toys to buy with money he didn't have. So I was very happy when it was time to leave.

When we got home, Wyatt asked if they were good at the store so they could go the park later. I said forget it because he kept disappearing on me while at Toys R Us. Of course this statement just broke his little heart and with tears in his eyes he said, "But mom, I wasn't doing any magic!"

Let's just say we ending up going the park later that day.

Belated Easter HIghlights

This year the boys both got brand new bikes for Easter.

It may not be the Cox Easter Hunt, but the Goings sure know how to seek out eggs too. Here is Grandpa Going give last minute instructions on how the hunt is suppose to go. I'm not sure too many of the grand kids were listening.

It was a little cold outside so we all went inside to go through the baskets full of loot.

Easter Sunday

Spring Break 2009

This year we thought it would be fun to do something different this Spring break. So we decided to take a family trip to Arizona to see Grandpa and Grandma Edgar. This would be the first time that they would meet Wyatt and Morgan. We also made time to see Chris and Erin and cousins and also a Dinosaur museum in Utah at Thanksgiving point. Here are some highlights...

On our 1st travel day, we stopped at Scipio, UT. This the childhood town of Shawn's mom. In the background is building with a green roof. It was the store owned by Shawn's mom's dad.

Kevan is sitting on a rock with a bunch of dinosaur footprints. We are at Moqui Cave just outside of Kanab, UT.

Wyatt - Moqui Cave

Morgan - Moqui Cave

Family picture - Moqui Cave

Sunday dinner with new cousins. Wyatt, Kevan, Mia, Rendon, and Emily in the front.

More family pictures with family we met for the first time.

Tuzigoot National Monument, just outside of Clarkdale, Az.

Tuzigoot - At the top

A dwelling built in wall overlooking Montezuma Well. Pretty Cool. This is near Verde Valley, Az.

Montezuma Well

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma Castle

Grandma, Morgan, Kevan, Wyatt, and Grandpa

Hoover Dam - The kids liked seeing the water through this "window".

High Climber statue at Hoover Dam.

Posing at the Las Vegas hotel.

We visited the Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas. They had a real stuffed giraffe. This place was really fun to see.

Carousel ride at the Outlet Mall in Las Vegas.

Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, UT

What a handsome guy!!

Morgan's new sunglasses and more than ready to head home.

We had a great time, but now it is time to get back to life and our daily routine.