Our Trip Home

This past weekend we made the trek home to my parent's house. We haven't been for a visit since the beginning of August and we were anxious to get out of town for a couple of days. We had a really wonderful time visiting with Mom and Dad as well as my sisters and brother and their kids. We love hanging out with all the nieces and nephews! A neighbor of ours gave us about fifty pounds of corn so we took a big box with us to share with everyone - this is a picture of the little ones helping Grampa shuck the corn for dinner! They are too silly.
Cute little Lillie was in need of her dinner so we got her in her high chair and little Jordan wanted to be a big helper so he fed Lillie her banana chips. He was quite proud of himself!

After dinner the adults sat around and visited with everyone while the kiddos all ran around and played. We all took turns holding Lillie but she especially loved sitting on Grampa's lap and playing with the water bottle.

On Saturday Mark and I were able to take a few hours away and go to the temple and get some shopping done. So the girls stayed with Gramma and Grampa and watched movies, did crafts, and played with cousins. Emma loves the Lincoln Logs and always makes interesting things.

Now we are home and it's back to real life - school and work and cleaning house and running errands. We are looking forward to our next visit!

Coupons and More Coupons!

About a year ago I started educating myself on the art of couponing! It has since become a big blessing to our family. Couponing has helped me have the ability to stock up on all kinds of products, try things that I never would have been able to afford, and to spend a little less on our groceries each month. There has even been a couple of times when I was actually PAID to buy groceries! Can you imagine? I like nothing better than going to the checkout lane and watching my price drop dramatically when I enter all of my coupons! My girls call me the "Krazy Coupon Lady" which, by the way, is the title of a coupon blog that I check religiously. One of the aspects of couponing that I enjoy is signing up for free samples! There are always lots of different samples that you can request and so now I look forward to the mail coming each day to see what goodies I have been brought! Last week to my utter surprise when I went to the mailbox I had loads of free things and free coupons! I had two laundry detergents, a protein/breakfast bar, shampoo and conditioner, and coupons for a free bottle of Advil, two free boxes of Triscuits, two free tubs of Cottonelle wipes, plus five other very high values coupons! And that was just on one day! Now I know that couponing isn't for everybody - it takes alot of dedication and research and requires good organization skills - BUT.... I'm hooked!

First Day of School!

Yay! The school year has arrived and we couldn't be happier about it! All summer long I kept thinking about how much fun I was having being at home with my girls and I was kind of dreading the start of school. But the girls were so excited that I tried to put on a brave face. :) Samantha has entered Kindergarten and they have a staggered start. So, while Emma was able to start school on Tuesday, Sam had to wait until Friday for her first day. Emma started second grade and woke up at 6:00 on the first day. She got herself dressed, made her bed, packed her lunch, and brushed her hair, all before 6:30! She just couldn't contain her excitement.

It's been about a month since school started for us and everything is going so well. The girls adore their teachers and their classrooms. They have lots of new (and old) friends and we are really looking forward to having a great year!

Sleeping Beauties

On this particular day, both girls were being very cranky and I had reached my limit. We decided that it was time for some "Quiet Time" in their bedroom to calm down and relax and think about trying to have better attitudes. At the time I left their bedroom, both girls were reading on their own beds and all was fine. When I went back in about ten minutes later, this is what I saw:
Sometimes sisters just need to have a good snuggle. Of course when you see your little angels sleeping like this, it's quite impossible to still feel frustrated. Definitely a tender mercy!

It's the End of Summer!

The end of summer came quickly in La Grande and we were anxious to have one more outing together as a family. So we packed up our gear and headed up to Catherine Creek state park and had a wonderful day! The park was pretty much empty and the weather was perfect! The Creek itself was flowing nicely and we could even see some salmon spawning and jumping in the creek.

It was very refreshing to stick our feet in and cool off and enjoy the pretty scenery!

Then Dad fired up the barbeque and had a yummy hot dog roast!

The girls rode their bikes and went on a little hike. It was just so nice to get out of town and have one last family activity before school started and we had to get back to our routine. We had so much fun that the next week we met Gramma and Grampa, Uncle Jon, Aunt Natalie and cousins to come visit and do it all over again. (Except I didn't have my camera for that trip). What a blessing it is for us to live in the mountains!