Colorado

The kids were out for Spring Break so we made the trip to Colorado to see Eric's family. The kids did pretty well on the drive down but we did have to stop FOUR times to pee. Nobody threw up though! The kids loved swimming at the hotel and just hanging out with Grandma.

Look at these two old ladies!

Grandma had to work on Friday so the kids were trying to find some entertainment! These are Aunt Niki's from her work.


The kids enjoyed doing all of the Easter stuff especially dyeing eggs. The Easter Bunny even came to Grandma's house!


We went to the train station and watched the train coming into town from SLC. Easton was in heaven! They have a restaurant next to the train station called the PufferBelly. They had yummy food and lots of trains which Easton enjoyed looking at.


Uncle Chris works at the small airport in Grand Junction working on airplanes. He gave us a little tour and even let us get on some of the planes. Most of them are owned privately and you can't believe how nice they are! Seriously, who has that kind of money? Tyler especially loved it and asked lots of questions. It was very interesting.

We had a good time but it is always nice to be home. We only had to stop twice on the way home and seemed to make good time. I've spent all morning trying to catch up on laundry and putting stuff away!

Spring Fever

Just thought I would post a cute picture! This is from March of last year when we went to Riverdale. Easton loved Tyler's goggles and didn't want to take them off.
This past week has been pretty normal. We had our first family home evening. I know it's a shock to all of you! We have been talking about how we need to start but then neither of us put forth the effort. We realize we need to keep it short and simple with all of the little kids so we are starting with Bible stories. They listened well and hopefully will remember some of it! Eric and I made a goal to go back to the Temple so we are working on it. It has been awhile since we went and I think we just need to be good examples for our children. I enjoyed listening to conference yesterday and had it on the radio and tv. I cleaned the house TOP to BOTTOM and went through the kids closets. I don't think my washer and dryer stopped all day. The best part was that I stayed in my lounge clothes all day.
We sold Tyler's old bedroom set on KSL! I love it! After they picked it up we had to go by a dresser. We have been looking for while but we wanted something that was sturdy and going to last awhile. We had looked everywhere but couldn't find anything to match his new headboard. We headed to Shopko for a last ditch effort and surprisingly we left with a new dresser and a chair for our room! I was so excited and they were both on sale!
My kids have been saying some interesting things lately. Kylie and Kenadie are especially into noticing certain things. Kenadie said, "I have nipples." I said, "Yes, everyone has nipples." Kylie said, "Even Jesus has nipples." Well, there you go! The kids are especially excited to go see Grandma Pat, Aunt Niki, and Uncle Chris this next week. I am too if we survive the drive!

Kylie's Dance Recital

Kylie had her first "official" dance recital last night. She was sooo excited to get all dressed up, get her hair done, and makeup. She loves to shake her thing so it was funny to see her on stage. Tyler ended up having pack meeting at the exact same time so Eric and I had to split. I'm sure this will be the first of many times to come but it made me sad. I was able to see the tail end of pack meeting. Tyler loves scouts and being with his friends.



This week has been pretty normal other than a few kids with colds. I took Kylie back to Dr Wood this week since she has been draining constantly from her nose the past two months. He found she has a sinus infection and put her on antibiotics. Her tubes are still in and she will need to go back in a few months to get them checked again.
We signed Kylie up for Teeball and Tyler for coaches pitch. They are both excited to play again and Eric is going to assist. I don't look forward to the four games a week though.
Easton has started to pee in the toliet but nothing consistent. We try to make a big deal about it and cheer to make him feel good. If you don't ask him though he doesn't go on his own yet. It's a work in progress. I dread potty training but you would think I would be all excited since he's the last one. It's just so much work and effort!

Having Fun

Now this is my idea of fun! Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Pinching Your Pennies website. I started appr. a year or so ago and I became addicted. Since having four kids costs a lot of money I realized I needed to be more smart about how I shopped. I also wanted to build up our food storage but I didn't have a lot of extra money to do it. I wait until there is a good sale then I use my coupons along with it. That is what make's a great deal! I got all of this stuff for $50. I saved more money then I spent! I got toothpaste for $.25, pads for $1, and even some of the Quakers for free! Some items like the fabric softner and chicken nuggets usually never come on sale but I did get them for a pretty good price. Since I've started to stock up on items when they are on sale my regular grocery bill every two weeks has decreased. I used to spend about $200 and now it's more like $60! It does take some effort and planning but it is well worth it. I like to think that it allows us to have more money for the fun things, like vacations!

Besides groceries, Pinching Your Pennies has great links to online deals. I have bought numerous things and for way cheap. Some of the things that I have bought recently are: Thomas the train movies from $3.25 each, cute girls plaid OP shorts for $1.50, fitted sheets for $1.99 each, $120 worth of diapers for $44, and most of the time I get free shipping! I already have Easton's birthday taken care of and all of my kids summer and winter clothes.
Some of the other things that I do to save money:
I buy twenty loaves of bread at a time, when they are on sale, and freeze them
Always buy clothes for next year at the end of the season
If there is just a few grocery items on sale that week from different stores have Walmart price match
I always look for online shopping codes to get free shipping or extra discounts
Don't buy it unless you will really use it-this one I'm still working on
Stock up on the things that you know you will use-like shampoo, toliet paper, etc.
Use coupons!
Pay your credit card balance every month or don't use at all!
Our kids have been having a blast on our new trampoline! We have been promising them that we would get one ever since we moved in. I kept telling them that when we had grass and now finally we do! Eric bought it while I was at scrapaway and somehow managed to fit it in the trunk of our car. It took awhile to set up but it was worth the wait! The kids have been playing on it all weekend and just having fun being outside.

Girl Getaway's & Being Sick

I have been slacking lately with this whole blog thing. I went to a Scrapaway with 11 other women last week. It was fun but I ended up being sick the last day. For those of you who know me-it seems like I get sick often when I'm away from home. It really sucks and I hate it. Anyways, I did get 40 pages done but I was really hoping to get caught up. I didn't even start our trip to Disney World which is 180 pictures in it self. It was nice to stay up late, sleep in, have someone cook our meals, clean, etc. After I came home I felt a little better on and off but still really dizzy and nauseated at times. THIS week some neighbor girls and friends went up to Park City overnight. We did A LOT of shopping at the outlets and hung around the condo. We stayed up late talking about girl stuff and went to bed around 2am. We had to be out of the condo by 10 so I was tired. We did MORE shopping at the outlets and I really started to feel yucky. In fact, I about threw up three times in the bushes outside of the stores but I didn't. Well, my wonderful neighbor ended up leaving earlier than I'm sure she planned so I could get home. I felt better by the drive home but still not right. Eric picked me up in town so they could do even more shopping. It was fun but once again, I hate being sick! Here are the only pictures I took:



Yesterday I had to work and once again felt very dizzy and nauseous. I just want to say: I AM NOT PREGNANT! At least if you're pregnant being sick is for a good reason! I ended up having to come home for awhile and then I finally realized why I've been sick. I have a sinus infection. I have had several in the past couple years and have felt this same way. So, I'm taking antibiotics and hopefully will feel normal soon.
I have been really struggling not to plan a vacation but Eric did this time. We are going to a UFC fight in Las Vegas in May. Eric and I love to watch the fights and often get the pay per views. We have talked a lot about going to a fight but it just hasn't ever worked out. Eric bid on some tickets on eBay and even asked his mom to watch the kids. It will just be a night or two but just enough to get away.
The kids had parent teacher conferences and everything was great! Tyler got four out of four stars and she didn't really have any complaints. His teacher said "I can tell that he is loved and cared for." That made us feel good and like we are doing our job. Kylie's conference went well but her problem is that she tries to finish her work too fast and ends up not doing it as well. So we will be working on that. Both of them have good reading skills and Tyler is the second best reader in his class. Well, hopefully this week will bring better health!

So Thankful.....

A lot has happened lately that has just made me realize how blessed we are. We know many people right now who are struggling financially, with health issues, etc. I just wanted to list some of the things that I am thankful for:
Our kids health
wonderful neighborhood
awesome friends & family
Our jobs
a home
our church

On another note, I am going to go scrapbooking for 3 days and I am SOOO READY! I just need a break from all the chaos that has been happening lately.

Tyler

I thought that since Tyler had a birthday recently, I would write more about him and his personality. Tyler is definitely an oldest child. He is ultra responsible, almost to the point of being annoying! He loves structure, rules, and being in charge. Don't get me wrong-he still disobeys but it is pretty rare. You can usually talk him through things but whatever you do, don't pressure him to make a decision in a fast manner. It seems like the faster he needs to go the more he slows down. As a baby/toddler, he hated to get dirty and would actually wash his hands in between eating, playing, etc. He has always been a good sleeper and rarely comes in our bed. He is such a good helper. Almost every morning he is already showered, dressed, eaten breakfast, and is ready to go by the time I get up. He loves school and over holiday breaks gets bored. He loves all sports and likes to be active. He will make up games with the other kids and loves to include everyone. He has quite a few friends but can get a little bossy at times. (we are working on it) He loves to tease his sister's and his favorite thing is to steal their dolls and throw them around. He is very gentle with Easton and animals. All of our animals gravitate towards him because of this. He loves to learn about space, sports, science, animals, etc. He brings all sorts of library books home and loves to study them. He is such a blessing to our family and I don't know what I would do without him! I think heavenly father definitely knows what children to send to what families because he has taught me so much. We love you Tyler!