Natalie has learned a new trick; she can sit up. She has been working on this for about a week and is now no longer all wobbly. She sits and plays on the floor, and eventually ends up on her back eating her toes.
When Natalie was born Anna sent her a sent of headbands and bows. I totally love them and since she just upgraded (size) her wardrobe, she needed bows to match the new colors. So, here by request are the new bows. I do seem to add on an almost daily basis, so we shall see how many we end up with in the end.
On a side note, Ashley got her 1st test back today and got a 13/12!!! She was so excited I promised to blog about it. Way to go Ash!!!
Tonight was Austin's first Cub Scout activity. It was a pack meeting so the whole family went and it was a lot of fun. Austin is really excited to be a scout and got home and wanted to start working on his Bobcat.
Austin showing me how silly he is when he is excited about something.
Since my big kids are in school all day little Monkey has had a chance to get into a routine and is now sleeping pretty much all night. She still wakes up once but she eats and then goes back to sleep. And she does it on her own. She fusses (not cries, or screams) for about 5-10 min and then is out for the count. I even am getting 2 naps during the day!
I loved the drops of drool! I wanted to share my new book. I am reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Karp. I wish that I would have had this book when I had Ashley. There are so many Ah-ha moments while reading it and I think that all new mothers should read it. No hype, just common sense (in my opinion).
Our new favorite place to eat is "Chick-fil-a". Every Tuesday they have family night; where if you dress a certain way the kids eat free. I have a hard time turning it down and the kids love dressing up. This picture was from sports night. Also there is the plus that they serve DDP with "good ice".
The kiddos finally started school on September 8th. I know that I am way late posting but I have been sick so I am sorry on the delay. The above picture is of my new kindergartner. She really loves school and comes home everyday and excitedly tells me everything that she did.
Ashley is getting into the groove of 5th grade (can you believe that she is that old?!). She is signed up for band and Girls on the Run. Austin is in 2nd grade and has signed up for chess club with his best buddy.
Somehow we actually missed the bus on the first day and then Lewis took this cute shot of my three big kids walking up from the "Kiss and Ride".
I have been trying to cut corners and save wherever possible and a friend of mine asked me if I had been clipping coupons. I told her that in the past I had but couldn't seem to get organized to make it worth my while. She gave me a few tips and this week I have saved....
44%!!! That is right on my $207 grocery bill I saved $92. I can hardly believe it. On top of that I have a ton of extra that is going towards my food storage. Now I know that there are ladies out there that make money off grocery shopping but I am pretty happy with the savings and I may get there. So.. My sister and sister-in-law wanted to know how I was saving so much. Here is what I am doing and how I am organized.
This is my binder that goes with me everywhere. I have the weekly ads in the pocket with store specific coupons. Then I have all my coupons organized in baseball card protective sheets (these can be found at the front of the store at Wal-Mart, by where all the trading cards are). I buy a Sunday paper, on Monday, and cut all the coupons that I might use. I am not a clipper that clips everything, just things that I might eat or use.
I have 2 sets of 8 dividers; you need the plastic kind so that the tabs don't come off the divider page. Here are my categories: cereal/bread, snacks/treats, frozen food & treats, canned foods, condiments, baking, pasta/grains, dairy/meats, baby, shampoo/lotion/razors/body wash/deodorant, face wash/dental/meds/vitamins, first aid, bathroom & kitchen cleaners, laundry soap, paper goods/cat food/ect.., and misc.
Your receipts will be long and the savings big. I hope that this helps answer any questions you all had. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try my best to help out.
We started our day started out nice. The baby was in a great mood and the weather was overcast but hot and humid. We started at the Sacred Grove Visitors Center and then the tour takes you to the Joseph Smith Sr. Log cabin. The church has reproduced it and have done a great job!
From there you walk to the frame house but on the way you stop and can see the Palmyra Temple and take a picture.
This is the frame house and is 89% original. It was really neat. From there you walk over to the sacred grove.
Natalie loved looking up through the trees.
These were some of my favorite pics. The moment that you walked into the grove there was an immediate reverence. To think that I walked where Joseph saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ was very humbling.
After the Sacred Grove we went to lunch at a place called "Brad and Dad", it was a burger joint that Lewis' Aunt and Uncle recommended to us. From there we went to the printing place of the Book of Mormon.
There were 5000 originally ordered, and it took 18 months to make those; today it would take only 2 days to do that. Of the original 5000 only about 200 have survived to today.
Then we went to the temple and took some pictures.
Next we went to the Hill Cumorah and went through the visitors center and then to the Moroni Monument.
Us at the Moroni Monument.
Our last stop was at Lock 29 just outside of Palmyra. It was another cool piece of American history to stop at the Erie Canal. There was this cool water fall that Lewis caught on film. After Lock 29 we went to "Nima's Pizza" (another recommendation) and then back to the hotel. It was a really quick trip but I am so glad that we took the time to go. I loved visiting all the sites and hope that the kids will remember it.
On the way to Palmyra we stopped for breakfast at Gettysburg. I know it is not what you think of as a great food stop but the Mickey D's was clean and we were able to see a great piece of American history.
The state of PA put up this great memorial and you can climb up to the top and take pictures of all the fields.
Here we all are on the steps.
Here are the three big kids on top, with some of the battlefields in the background.
When Natalie was born Papa took a trip to Trader Joe's and came home with a LARGE assortment of treats and the kiddos and Nana and Papa watched a movie and had a picnic. So keeping in tradition we repeated this with Me and Lewis too.
I went looking for the kids one night so they could get into bed and this is what I found. All in the bed watching Top Chef.
On August 15th Austin was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Grandma and Grandpa showed up and surprised us that morning (they were originally not gonna be able to make it), so it was so nice for Austin to have both sets of Grandparents there.
it was a really beautiful ordinance and the spirit was really strong there. I know that Austin will be such a great young man as he continues to learn and grow. I am so proud of him and the wonderful choice that he made to be baptized.
After all was said and done we all went to Famous Daves for some "rips" (ribs) and then we all had a fun movie night at the house. It was so great that Grandma and Grandpa made it even if it was a way short trip.
My sweet little man is 8. He wanted a sleep over party and we did our best but it was so sad that no one could sleep over. Lewis took the boys to see "G-Force" (which the boys all loved!), came home and helped to make pizza and then had some cool summer peach desert. Austin had a blast and that is all that counts.
Today my friend Jennifer came and taught me how to make jam. I did a bang up job if I do say so myself. The kids think it is yummy and I think that I will never look at fruit the same way again.
My Jam.
You sit them upside down till they cool enough to handle and then you flip them over.
All Gone..
There is all my jam. I still have enough berries to make another batch but I ran out of pectin. I think the sweetest sound today was listening to all the seals pop down :)
Natalie enjoyed a pretzel and was a terrific girl while we did all this. It only took us two hours to make 4 batches of jam.
Natalie has learned a new trick; she can sit up. She has been working on this for about a week and is now no longer all wobbly. She sits and plays on the floor, and eventually ends up on her back eating her toes. 
Since my big kids are in school all day little Monkey has had a chance to get into a routine and is now sleeping pretty much all night. She still wakes up once but she eats and then goes back to sleep. And she does it on her own. She fusses (not cries, or screams) for about 5-10 min and then is out for the count. I even am getting 2 naps during the day!
Your receipts will be long and the savings big. I hope that this helps answer any questions you all had. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try my best to help out.
Here are the three big kids on top, with some of the battlefields in the background.
