It is the end of October and yesterday it was 87 degrees. This is why I live in St. George and put up with the summers! Really this summer wasn't as hot as usually....I don't remember it getting up to 115 once! Boy I love Autumn....even if we don't get the colors changing!
One of Addisons nicknames is Addiebell. Recently we have heard Addie singing, a lot! The last few days when she is singing she has been singing her own name. "Addiebell, Addiebell" over and over! She is so stinkin cute!
So I have visited many amazing places in my very vivid dreams. I have done things I would never really attempt (I am a wimp) and gone places I will probably never go (cash flow). So what is the problem with vivid dreams? When your precious babies get hurt or lost in those dreams. Enough said!
So I have been looking for a piano for quite some time. I haven't wanted to spend a lot since we are trying to finish the basement and do the backyard and get grown up furniture and pay for gas! So I have been praying to find a piano. I have searched for months, daily, on craigslist. I had thought I had found one, it turned out not to be full size. I thought I had another one, when I called a person 10 minutes before bought it. Sunday I was talking to my friend Aja about craigslist. I told her I love it and am searching for a piano. She asks me if I want to "babysit" hers while they move to New Zealand for two years. (They are way fun and love to travel. So they are moving there for two years!) I of course said yes. Well last night, in the middle of Easton's puking, she called and asked if I still want it and if she can drop it off tomorrow! I am beyond thrilled. It is an answer to prayers. I don't have to spend any money, so more can go to the basement etc. I get to help out a great friend. Also, Brooke now has a real piano to practice on instead of the full size keyboard she has been using. Boy am I a thankful girl. Sometimes we have prayers answered that change our lives spiritually. We may have questions or doubts or struggles that require answers to prayers. Sometimes it is a silly prayer like, "help me find a piano". While the answer isn't always what we expect (I was thinking I would find a cheap one that someone just wanted to get rid of) But I am reminded today that while the answer isn't what we expect, it is what we need. I am determined to change my prayers to reflect this reminder. Instead of a prayer like "help me find a cheap piano on craigslist" I will now try to have prayers like, "help me find a piano"! Thanks Aja, you're an answer to prayer!
So here is a little info. about how I coupon. Sunday afternoon I take a walk with my family around the neighborhood and pick up the ad's from friends that don't want them. Remember, the more coupons you have the more you can get of an item. If you are getting it cheap, why not get a lot cheap. Works great for your year supply. A year supply isn't just for food. You are going to still want to wash yourself, house and clothes! I then have two sites that I go to for deals. www.hotcouponworld.com (HCW) and www.pinchingyourpennies.com (PYP) I use PYP for grocery stores and HCW for drug stores. (I get most of my cleaning supplies at Walgreeens! These are both free sites. On PYP I go to deals in your state. Then I pick which store I want to go to. They have listed everything in the ad and if it is a good deal. They also have listed what coupons go with it. They even have links to printable coupons! HCW has walgreens ad ups usually a week or two in advance. That way I can see if there is a really good deal coming up. If so then I track down more coupons. You can print two coupons per computer usually, so I will have Neil print them off each of the computers at his office. Or I go on ebay and for usually about 2.50 I can order a large quantity of the coupons. Like when I did the electrasol tabs deal. I ordered them, because the deal was worth it. In the beginning it took me a while to find the deals, get them organized and make it work. Now I spend maybe a 1/2 hour! I do clip all my coupons and organize them in a binder while I am waiting for kids at practices. I have friends that don't clip them until they want them because the posts say which date the coupon came out and which flyer it was in (ex. red plum flyer). I hope this isn't confusing! Have questions let me know!
Neil had to take a turn climbing the rock wall. He tried the "hard" side and made it up on his first try!
Brooke made it to the top on the "medium" side when I wasn't watching. After that she was determined to do it again so that I could see her do it. If she were just a few inches taller it would have been a breeze, but she kept getting stuck at this one spot. Brooke was persistant and tried maybe 15 times until she got to the top! We were all so proud of her! We had spent the entire morning climbing around on rocks on our hike so I know she had to be tired, which probably didn'thelp make it easier to get up! Way to go Brooke!
Easton also gave it a shot but wasn't loving it as much as Camden and Brooke. I think partly because he was a lot shorter then them, so it was a lot harder!
Brooke taking a turn on the "Easy" side. She scooted right up without any problems!
Neil just finished putting together a really big contract at work. To celebrate the signing, the other company put on a BBQ and we were invited. They had bounce houses and a climbing wall. I had no idea my kids would have such a good time rock climbing!
Camden hopped on the "easy" side and climbed right up to the top. I mean Fast! I couldn't believe how quickly he got to the top. He was just short enough that the "Medium" side was hard for him. Michael Dunn, our neighborhood rock climber, would be so proud of them!
So I have a lot of friends having babies! (man, why am I jealous?) One is naming their baby an odd name. I just politely smiled and held my tongue. I am sure some people don't like what I named my kids and I really believe that people should be able to name their kid whatever they want, unless it will turn out really bad when the nicknames start. Well last night I had a very vivid dream. This happens to me a lot. I always have very bizare dreams. (Like when I dreamt the elderly man in our ward, who is on a mission, got in a cussing brawl with our friend. What is that all about?) So last night I dreamt instead of the name I don't like, they were going to name the baby "Marison Manson" I really though, Ok, someone needs to buck up and tell them that while the name may sound cute, it is really close to two really terrible people. So I said, "You know, that name is very close to sounding like Marilyn Manson" She said, "Oh no, it is Marison, not Marilyn. No one will even connect the two" She then went on her way. So I guess the awful name they picked is much better then what it could be! You have any terrible names that people have used that you knew were awful but didn't say? (Don't mention mine though...hee hee)
Friday we went camping with the Loosli's and Saturday morning we went on a hike near our campsite. We went on the Anasazi Trail which leads to Indian ruins. These date back to 1000 AD if I remember correctly. THese dugouts were used to store grain. The Loosli kids are Ashton, Isaac, Eliza, Oliver and Silas! Easton and Eliza were in preschool together and are in the same primary class. Camden and Isaac are in the same primary class and Addie is in nursery with the twins. We had a great time!
We went to the local corn maze with our friends the Loosli's and with our 5th kid Samantha!
We had so much fun. Here is Addie with Silas. Silas and Ollie are twins and so dang cute. Addie fits right in their family with her light hair and curls.
They had these great "horse" tire swings that were attached to one of those systems for horses where it keeps them walking in a circle. (I know real technical terms here)
Instead of using a horse to keep the swings going there was a rope for the dads to get the swing moving. The kids loved it cause of course their dad is crazy and moved them around as fast as he could.
Neil taking a shot at ropin'!
The kids also had a great time seeing all the farm animals. We love this place, except for Neil who complains because the corn maze is really made from sorghum, not corn! Leave it to Neil to know the difference!
So I am finally feeling like I am back to normal. I am working on getting my energy back which has been the biggest problem for me. While I was sick and sipping on my favorite sugar cookie herb tea (celestial seasonings does great holiday herb teas like gingerbread) I thought "wow, if I weren't LDS and didn't believe in the word of wisdom I would totally be a coffee drinker" HA. Reasons....I love sipping of hot drinks like herb tea and hot cocoa. I love how it warms me up. I love traditions. I could totally see myself sitting on the back porch every morning, reading the paper, while I drink my cup of warm yummy! (ok...I know with my busy house this would never happen, but we are playing what if...and in my what if I have plenty of time to sit and read the paper each morning). I am also very social...so I can see me and my girlfriends meeting up at coffee shops to chat for a bit. Also, I LOVE the smell of coffee (unless I am pregnant, then I can't even walk down the cofee aisle, which happens to be the cereal aisle at most grocery stores. What are they thinking?) Thankfully my desire to be righteous and obey FAR outweighs my desire to drink coffee (also I have heard it tastes terrible!) So do you have any secret sins you would love to do if you weren't choosing the good life? If you weren't LDS is there something you would do? Maybe you would love a glass of wine with dinner (no desire there for me) would you want to be a stripper? (I hear they make good money) Or perhaps you would want to run around killing people (that thou shall not kill thing puts a damper on that one) I don't think for me is is so much the coffee itself, I think it is more the traditions behind it that are appealing to me. So I guess I will go whip up some yummy white chocolate cocoa! We were given a great hot chocolate maker last year and it has been one of my favorite gifts! I hope you don't think less of me because I am a potential sinner, but really, aren't we all!?
Yesterday while I was helping Easton do his homework he got frustrated with his pencil because the lead was running out and it needed to be sharpened. I figured this out when he said, "this pencil is running out of electricity". Perhaps we need a week without electronics at our house!
Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!
Yet another fantastic creation by my favorite blogger...grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com
The flu has hit our house...and man is it a killer. I would love to tell all about the fantastic weekend we had...but Addison and I are down for the count with the stomach flu. I think she is bouncing back a lot quicker then I am. I will blog when I have the strength to load all the great pictures from our weekend of fun!
Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!
My new favorite blog! A seamstress...oh I love the sound of the machinge and seeing the material become what I had envisioned! Locking myself away in my sewing room, knowing I will have created something that can be appreciated. I am inspired by this bloggers mad sewing skills!
Two very important people in my life just celebrated their birthdays....on the same day! Happy Birthday Neil and Mom! These two both mean the world to me and I can't begin to list all the many wonderful things they do! My mom is so amazing. Talk about a talented woman! Neil is also amazing...great dad, husband, son. He is such a hard worker and good provider! Happy birthday. My cousins new baby girl Sarah is lucky enough to share their birthday...she joins a great crowd. So happy 36th..?6th and first day Neil, Mom and baby Sarah!
Today is my friends birthday! Since I don't have any pictures of her I thought I would add pictures of her two cuties! Lindz is my carbon copy....only smarter, skinnier, wittier...etc. So I guess not exactly copies....but we share so many traits. We love to let everything go to pots in order to read a good book. We both have great hubbbies who let us do this! Lindz also likes to sew (as do I). We both LOVE Edward! Lindz is so great to always help me out in a jam and is so thoughtful! Can't believe how lucky I am to have her as both a visiting teaching companion and friend! Happy Birthday Lindsay...hope you have a great day!
This week we made the transition to the Big Girl Bed. Addie started climbing out of her crib, so we took the side off to convert it to her toddler bed. She is doing fairly well....but is enjoying the freedom a little too much. She spends a great deal of time playing before she sacks out! Yesterday when she got up from her nap she had on four extra shirts....and a pile of clothes on the floor! She is so dang cute.
Also this week I was working on flashcards with Easton. We are working on the words for each number and some basic words like "His" "me" "no" etc. We are also working on getting all of his numbers down. He can get one-10 and 20+ but the teens just stump this kid. He usually transposes the numbers so 19 becomes 91. I tried to explain that the one in front means you add "teen" to the other number. This worked great until he said "zero teen, I mean ten" Then he giggled uncontrollable for a few minutes! Man I love this boy!
There is a big rock where a bunch of sea lions. The boat captain did a great impression of one...they returned his "Mating?" call!
View of the arch from the Pacific Ocean
View from the Pacific Ocean
Everyday there were two or three cruise ships in the sea of Cortez! We now want to try a cruise...they seem like the best of both worlds....relaxing and visiting lots of new places!
We stopped our little boat with a ton of other boats and snorkelers and crushed crackers. We dropped them in the water and a ton of fish popped up! It was neat to see all of them jump out of the water to get some crackers.
I think this is called "hole in the rock"
Scooby Doo Rock!
See the witch face?
On Wednesday we went on a glass bottom boat tour. We went around lands end (literally where the end of the baja peninsula is) It was a great little hour long tour....unfotunately it was just choppy enough to get me a tad sea sick. I have never gotten sea sick before! Luckily no throwing up....just enough that I couldn't fully enjoy the voyage! Getting me back on dry land cured it!
See the face in the rock?
Here is a better view!
And from the other side!
A cave?
Here is the famous arch! We are on the sea of cortez and if you look through the arch you see the pacific ocean.
This was our view from our balcony!
Another shot of the Sea of Cortez! Each morning we woke up to the birds chirping (they didn't wake us) and each day there we two or three cruise ships on the water!
Looking down from our balcony you could see these pink flamingos! It was fun to see them!
This trip was my very first trip abroad! I have never before left the country. In fact I had to get a passport for the trip. Here is my first stamp in my passport (which you can't really see....but I am pointing at it) Don't I look excited! This picture was taken after waking up at 4 am....leaving my house at 5 am...driving two hours to Vegas...waiting two hours for our flight...flying to Phoenix....an hour layover...then two hour flight to Cabo...then 40 minute shuttle ride in the back of a 15 passenger van (that was full). Needless to say, not one of my better photos! More to come tomorrow!
Next week, the 16th and 17th, the kids don't have school. Why? UEA...which I have heard means Utah Enters Anaheim, but really is some sort of holiday so the teachers can meet for the Utah Education Association. We are thinking of going camping on the 17th to the 18th...anyone interested in going?!
We are back from Cabo. I say I am tan, but in truth I am probably now the same color as the average person instead of glowing white! We had a fantastic time. I can't post picture right now but I will soon. We took the memory card out of the camera for the flight home because we heard of friends getting their camera stolen and didn't want to lose the pictures too! So the memory card is currently in Neils wallet and he is off playing basketball. We did a lot of nothing while in Cabo. We mostly sat by the pool and relaxed! It was fantastic! The highlights of the trip: spending an entire week with my hubby and no one to interrupt, being offered both pot and cocaine (a first for the both of us and boy we were shocked) taking the city bus to walmart (that was an experience we will never forget and was only 70 cents each) and seeing the beauty that is Cabo! We had a great time! More to come!
