Card Club

I've been bringing home some mighty cute cards from card club lately. Take a look at my collection from August's get together:

Summer made this really cute fancy fold card. Loving the soft filter look it has? That's courtesy of little fingerprints on the lens.

Chere made this sweet spinner card. The folded flower rolls along that oval cut out, revealing "happy birthday" underneath.

Jen made this buckle card. That striped paper at the bottom is "buckled" into the oval cutout. You pull the paper out to open the card. Clever.

This was my card. It's a spinner too. Looking at the picture now, I realize I didn't get the zoom tag in straight. I added it after the fact, and was having difficulty getting enough adhesive up to fit the tag in. I think it turned out cute. I'm thinking of making more for Cards for Heros, an organization that sends letters to soldiers as well as homemade cards for the soldiers to send home.

Brenna's frogilicious birthday

Brenna had a great birthday. Like her sisters, she went to Disneyland with her aunt Tori. The next week we had birthday cake at grandma and grandpa's house. She received,among other things, all kinds of frog presents, and she had an adorable Tinkerbell cake.

Here are her answers to her interview questions:

What instrument do you want to learn to play? The recorder and the trumpet
What do you want to be when you grow up? a pool monitor or a musician
How many kids do you want to have? None, because I'd have to clean up after them (maybe Frank and I need to share our joy in parenthood more)
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Idaho, because they make french fries there. Or Florida, because that's where Disney world is. Or Washington, because they grow yummy apples. Is it obvious she's learning about the US right now? She finally settled on Florida though...Disneyland beat out apples and french fries.
What's your Favorite...
Food? Spaghetti
Color? Green (lime green)
Thing to do? Swimming
TV show? Imagination Movers
Animal? Frog

"If you won't feed me, I'll feed myself"

Kaleb is a take charge kind of boy. If he wants something, he'll find a way to get it. Look at some of his recent finds...

Shouldn't have left my dessert lying around. See that look of pure delight? I feel the same way when I eat a piece of good chocolate.


uh-oh. Someone's been caught!
Kaleb's learned how to climb. Now almost everything is accessible to him. Look how much damage he did before I found him. That cake was supposedly made with the same recipe Loma Linda market uses for their chocolate prune cake. Don't think so! Ended up more like a heavy (really heavy) brownie than a moist fluffy cake. Frosting was good though.


Kids aren't supposed to have peanut butter until they are what? two or three? Guess he can't wait

He's so happy about the food he finds and messes he makes. It's hard to be upset...although the peanut butter thing happened twice in a row, and it got old fast. Mommy's a slow learner sometimes.

Adventures in Couponing

I've been browsing on couponing blogs lately. Some people seem horribly fanatical, and all of you who know me, know that's not me. BUT, I can definitely appreciate a good deal and I decided it was time to get my feet wet in the world of couponing.

My MIL gave me her Sunday papers (Thank you Rose!) and I went to work. Today was my test run. I decided to head to CVS and Albertson's since they are in the same shopping center. I left at 9:30am, giving me enough time to get the shopping done before Kaleb's nap time. Unfortunately, I didn't consider Kaleb's extra early waking time this morning, and shortly after we got to the first store he started getting cranky. We also ended up with a few runs to the bathroom for Larissa. Maybe I should have ended my trip then and there, but I had set out to do something, and I wasn't leaving without getting it done--and I did, eventually.

With all of it behind me now, I consider my first adventure in couponing a success. I bought items we normally use or would use if it weren't so expensive. The retail value of the items was $112.78. I paid $75.89 out of pocket--NOT a big savings, right? But with the mail in rebate and store "cash" coupons, my total came out to $36.90 or a two-thirds savings. If not for the distraction of a cranky boy, I might have remembered the other $10 in coupons in my wallet and I would have ended up with a 75% savings.

I'll definitely try this again. And, I've been assured, that as my stock pile of coupons accumulates, I'll save even more.

Arghh! A pirates life for Larissa!

Larissa had a great birthday last month. It was all about Spiderman, Batman, and Pirates...mostly pirates. Months ago she asked for spiderman cake and batman plates, and she never changed her mind. For her birthday, Grandma Rose and Aunt Tori took Larissa to D-land for the morning. Her favorite ride was the Pirates of the Carribean. Later in the day, there was a family BBQ celebrating her birthday and Kaitlyn's baptism. Larissa received presents galore, spiderman toys, batman toys, pirate's booty, and more. Her favorite presents, though, were the treasure chest and "pirate boots" from Grandma Sharla. Grandma tried to actually find boots, but didn't have any luck -- it being summer. So she bought black Shaq tennis shoes and called them boots. Larissa's fine with that. She wears her "pirate boots" every day. Here's one of the few pics I took that day. Guess I was busy with the food...



Here are the birthday interview questions I asked Larissa--
Who is your hero? Spiderman
What instrument do you want to learn to play? Guitar
What do you want to be when you grow up? Fire Fighter
If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? The movies
What's your favorite--
Food? Spaghetti (I think it's cantaloupe)
Color? Green
Thing to do? Build Treasure Chests (just did that Sat)
TV show? Phineas and ferb
Temple? Redlands
Animal? Crocodile
Anything else you want to say about yourself?
"Brenna doesn't like me." I tried to assure her Brenna does like her, but Brenna was standing next to me and said, "No I don't" Hopefully it doesn't last.

Ahhh...Larissa's signature hair style. She won't let me put anything in her hair and 5 minutes after I comb it, it's a tangled mess. Good thing she has that cute face to make up for the bad hair days.

A couple weeks ago, she decided to roast her hot dog in front of the fire. What a crack up!

Happy Birthday!

Eight is Great!

Kaitlyn turned eight in June. She had a family party at John's Incredible Pizza, went to Disneyland, and was baptized.
Grandma Rose and Aunt Tori took her to Disneyland. Kaitlyn's favorite part her trip to D-land was meeting Tinker Bell and Sierra Mist.

A week after her birthday, Kaitlyn was baptized. I was asked if I was emotional about my little girl being baptized. No, or at least, not at first. The emotion hit me as we walked to the font. She is a sweet girl and will be a wonderful example to her sisters. Kaitlyn makes sure we never forget to pray at night, and has a simple sweet faith in Jesus Christ.

I like to ask my kids some questions each year. Here's what I asked Kaitlyn this year:
What instrument do you want to learn to play? Flute
What do you want to be when you grow up? An Artist
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? India
What is your favorite-
Food? Strawberries
Color? All the rainbow colors
Subject in school? Art
Temple? Salt Lake
Animal? Husky
Movie? Princess Protection Program

Mojo Monday...FINALLY decided to join in the fun

I've been following Mojo Monday for quite awhile. It's fun to see the different cards that come from one sketch. Finally, I decided to play along. Here's how it turned out...


Indecision is definitely one of my weaknesses. I started out with a paper I wanted to use, then saw another one I thought would make a cute card. As I was looking for a stamp to use for the card, I came across this cute tree and some red crystals...that changed things completely. Eventually, this is the card that evolved.