Family Vacation

Scott was able to take last week off work, so we packed up our bags, borrowed a camper trailer from Scott's uncle, and off we were for our little adventure. We did a little bit of camping in Valley of Fire National Park here in Nevada. Can you legally call it camping when you're sleeping in a camper trailer with a stove, a fridge, a king size bed, and a heater (although, the heater wasn't working)? It was so nice. It was the most luxurious camping I had ever done.

My little bug

It was beautiful out there. Who knew that the desert could be so pretty. Pictures don't do it any justice.

Can't go camping without roasting marshmallows.

Then we were off to Zion's to do some more camping there. It was the most perfect time of the year. The weather was absolutely beautiful and all the leaves were changing on the trees.

Andrew got to ride on Daddy's back for most of our hikes.

We then headed for Gunlock to get cleaned up and hang out with family. The boys decided to go fishing and the girls joined them later that afternoon. It was so much fun. Benjamin caught his first fish.

Andrew got a hold of a can of soda while I wasn't watching.

Gutting the fish

Our harvest

Eating the fish for dinner. Yum!

Work of art...

Benjamin's first drawing that actually has some form and shape to it. He has never really been into drawing until lately. It's fun to see the transition from squiggly mess to recognizable shapes. When we asked him what it was, he said "The one with the big head is me, and the one with the little head is Andrew."

Preschool

Benjamin started preschool this year. He goes twice a week for 2.5 hours. He couldn't wait to go to "school". He was a little dissapointed that he didn't get to ride the yellow school bus, though. Other than that, he absolutely loves it. He carries his backpack around and wants to take it everywhere we go. It's so fun to see his be so excited about school and learning. I'm so proud of him. Just the other day as we were stoped at a stop sign, he asked me what the red sign said. I told him it says "STOP". He goes, "it says (spelling it), S-T-zero-P". I couldn't believe it. Did he just spell it out? Did he learn that in preschool? I have no idea but, apperently, my three-year-old can spell.

All ready for preschool
He was pretty excited

Off he goes...

Update...finally

Has it really been 4 months since the last time I posted? What can I say, life's busy. I don't really have a good excuse. I'll try to do better, though. Here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to lately...

1. Benjamin turned 3. No more terrible twos, right?

2. Andrew is just barely starting to walk. The kid is sixteen months now. I don't think he really felt the need for walking since he is a super fast crawler and a crazy climber. How is it that I got two monkey boys? They are always climbing something.

3. I turned twenty seven. Here's to being yet another year older! But that's ok, my Beehives thought I was twenty one. Love those girls!

4. We've been going to Gunlock and going on a lake as much as we can. Not nearly enough.

5. We went to California and hung out at the beach.

6. I've been training for a half-marathon coming up in the beginning of November. My first 5-mile run felt like my biggest accomplishment ever. I've been really enjoying running lately, which is weird because I've always hated running.

7. Scott and I just celebrated our 5-year anniversary. We drove down to California to see Wicked. It was WICKED AWESOME, it's all I gotta say about it.

So here we are,

5 years ago...

...and now
Haven't changed a bit, right?

Happy Birthday, Andrew!!!

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY!!!

...

My little boy turned 1 this Thursday. I had to work on Thursday so we celebrated on Friday, which is Aunt Jamie’s birthday as well. So we had a little combined celebration for them.

The best gift ever… the quiet book made by grandma Hardy. Thank you, grandma. It’s priceless.
The best part of the day… All the boys got in the spa together and had some wild wet fun.
Daddy with his little boy

My little Loch Ness Monster

Grandpi with his boys

The Hardy girls

We had a great time. We had to forgo the cake and ice cream because of Ben's diet. We'll have to make up for it next year.


Happy Birthday, my little man. We love you!!!

Lovin' a great deal

I have heard before about the couponing craze and how people are saving tons of money by clipping coupons. It always seemed hard, confusing, overwhelming, and, most importantly, time consuming to me. It just didn't seem like something I would do. But a friend of mine was holding a couponing party/class and invited me to come. Reluctantly, I went. Boy did she change my mind. I decided to give this couponing thing a try. Yesterday I ventured out to CVS to see how much money I can save.

Here’s what I bought…

2 Crest Pro Health Toothpastes
1 Edge Hydrate Shave Gel
1 Bayer Aspirin Quick Release Crystals
4 Dove Skin Vitalizers
1 TREsemme 24 Hour Body Shampoo
2 TREsemme 24 Hour Conditioners

All the above items where on sale.
Their original price total would have been $81.09 + tax.
Their sale price total is $36.65 + tax (not bad).
I paid out of pocket $9.51 + tax, and got $5.00 to use for next purchase (even better).

I haven’t done any grocery shopping yet, but I’m excited to see how much I can save. I think this can get addicting. Who doesn’t like a great deal?

Easter Fun

We had a fun Easter this year. Scott's sister Jamie and her little family were in town. Benjamin and Jaxon had so much fun together. They had the best time tackling each other and just roughhousing like nothing else. They're two tough little guys, getting hurt didn't seem to bother either of them.

My cute Mom and us

After the egg hunt, boys had a great time in the sandbox. I love how both of them are just laughing their heads off.

I had to post this picture of Jaxon. I love it. He's completely covered with sand and loving it.