Three of my favorite things: shopping, sales and food

I just started to get the hang of "couponing". My friends have been talking about it for a while now and anything that involves shopping, sales and food is something I want to get in on. So I've done some research and the picture above is my first stab at it. Here are the totals:

Original Price of Groceries: $87.71
Amount Spent: $35.28
Money Saved: $52.43

I'm sure I can get better deals as I get more organized and prepared, but I was pretty impressed with my first run. This is how I did it....I started collecting the coupon books from the Sunday paper and saving them whole (I don't cut out the coupons). Then I watched to tutorials on Savvy Shopper Deals.com and fiddled around on the site. They have an interactive "shopping wizard" which shows all sales for Target, Albertons, Smiths, Harmons, Maceys, Kmart, Reams, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Shopko. Then it pairs up coupons (from the paper) with sales and rates how good the deal is. If it is rated WOW! then it's a great deal.

Case in point: At Albertsons they have Betty Crocker cake mixes on sale 4 for $5. So $1.25 each. But if you buy 10 of them they will give you a $10 coupon off your next order at Albertsons. Which makes them $.25 each. So what I did is get the 10 cake mixes and buy them first. I got the $10 coupon from the register and applied it to the rest of my purchases. I ended up paying $12.50 for the 10 boxes of cake mix and $1.40 for the rest of my groceries (3 cans of soup, 2 packages of cheese slices, 2 Nabisco Go Paks and 4 loaves of Grandma Sycamore bread).

Not only is this practical but it's fun too. I love to get a deal and I love to buy food at a deal. I can't wait for my next time around!

Side Note: I went back the next day and bought $118 worth of groceries (mostly snack foods and cereals) for only $40!! I bought 39 items so they come out to be $1 a peice. Not bad!

St. George, Parade of Homes, Valentines Day...It's a long one!

Tre, Brook, and Belle

This post is a long one (sorry) about our trip to St. George for the Parade of Homes. We go annually with my whole family and it is a blast. This year we got to spend the weekend in Kara's parents house which turned out to be the best part of the weekend. The kids had their own rooms, we had a kitchen to make breakfast in, and Steph brought down Rock Band to play at night. Here are some pictures of our fun filled trip:

Belle exhausted after a Valentines Party at school, a 4 hour car trip, a late night dinner and then Rock Band in St. George

These pictures show her cute hair (and my uncanny creativity) on the Friday before Valentines Day.

Yep, this is a happy girl just after getting her hair done before school on Friday.

Hanging out at the house in St. George:

Hot Tub Fun:

Family Pics (yes, they are both at restaurants...we like to eat, okay?):

The Homes:

Snow in St. George? Yup, I guess so!


Awesome pool, slide, and love cave :)


This house was the favorite. Basketball court, putting green, peg wall (pictured above), 2 workout rooms, and a racket ball court all in the basement of this house. So cool!


Jeff and Kara

This is the slide my mom wants to build for her pool. I can't wait!


Playhouse structure: Belles favorite

This shows a really cool idea that we will have to steal. Under the built in trampoline was a sandbox with a tube leading down to it. It was really cool looking and a fun way to use that space.

Of course the homes are gorgeous and fun but the best thing about this trip is spending time with family doing something we all enjoy. I look forward to this every year!

Below is video of us playing Rock Band. Caution...listen at your own risk...

My baby is 6

My baby turned six today. Where does the time go? It just seems like yesterday when she was really a baby and not a reading, talking, tumbling, sassy little girl.

This years theme was High School Musical which totally threw me off. She is my tomboy and anything girly is beyond her so when she tossed this idea at me I had no idea what to do with it. Luckily we had a gymnastics party planned (which is right up our alley) and only had to take a trip to the party store to gather key items: HSM plates, gift bags, table cloth and cupcake holders.

Other parties included lunch and doughnuts at Nana and Papa's house, McDonald's for dinner and sugar cookies with my Grandma Chris, the Mounteers, and Jeff and Kara, and sprinkle doughnuts at school for her class. These birthday's wear me out! Not to mention the sugar rush. But it's over now...just in time for Valentines Day.


Key things about Anabelle on this 10th day of February 2009:

• Favorite color: Red "because it's the color of Utah"
• Favorite food: pizza "cause it's so yummy"
• Favorite movie: "that's a hard thing...The Simpson's Movie...cause Homer is funny"
• Favorite toy: Pixos (little bead like things that stick together with water to make pictures)
• Favorite T.V. show: Sponge Bob
• Favorite thing to do: crafts
• Favorite friends: Saeha Lee (neighbor and classmate) and Kiera (cousin) and Ivy (mom's BFF's daughter :)
  
• Other favorite things: a pink blankie that she sleeps with every night (still), running, Littlest Pet Shops, tickle game, picking on Tre, gymnastics (especially the pit), sleeping in, playing in the snow, playing alone and riding bikes to name a few.

Enjoy the slide show of the festivities below.

"That's Classic"

Jeremy took the kids to Classic Skating for a throwback night with his friends. They used to go every Thursday back in the day. There are many memories made at Classic. I am sure you have a few, too. Good times!

What is skating without cotton candy?

Amy and Christie and kids

Belle and her scooter (this was much easier than holding her up while she tried skating)

Tre and Jeremy...those rollerblades Tre's wearing are mine. When did he get so big?

Elle, Belle, Scott, and Parker

Belle is trying to get the hang of it

Chels and Elle

Belle