Halloween with Karlee

We had a really great Halloween. We spent the day as a family since Rob didn't have any work. We started the day off with carving our pumpkins, made mummies in a blanket for lunch/dinner, and then we dressed up Karlee in her costume and sat outside to hand out candy. Karlee was an adorable Lion. She loved her costume, and didn't fuss with it at all. She sat out on the blanket and watched all the little trick-or-treaters come to our house. She would just stare at them and study their costumes. Pretty darn adorable.

An altered Nacho Libre and our Precious Lion

Trick or Treat!!!!

Mom and Karlee (My witches hat was in the house)

Our Glow in the dark Pumpkins!

We can't get enough of our Karlee!

Pumpkins Galore

A home in our neighborhood has a tradition of carving pumpkins, this year they had carved 46 pumpkins. This was amazing to see. They had pumpkins carved into almost anything one could imagine. They started carving on Monday (seriously when did they sleep). They would soak the pumpkins in the pool for 1 hour everyday to keep them from rotting. Here were some of our favorites.

SpongeBob Square Pants and Patrick

Batman and the Joker!

Shrek!!!

Here we are enjoying the pumpkin display!

Dresser Make-Over

A couple weeks ago Rob brought home with him a FREE dresser. I was so excited since Karlee has been using a rubber-made storage container for her clothes for the past 8 months. It has done the job beautifully, but I am not shedding any tears by giving it the boot. The dresser was in excellent condition and was on its way to the D.I. so Rob brought home with him. The only problem (if you even can call it a problem) was that it was white. So I took on the project and stripped the paint off, sanded it, and stained it to match Karlee's crib. Oh yea I spray painted the hardware to a brushed nickel. It turned out beautiful! I am really pleased with how it turned out. Karlee has a real dresser now and it fits all her clothes and even has room for more. . . Hooray!! Let go shopping. Just kidden.

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Here is the Before:

Look it's in excellent condition. huh!

Close up of the brass hardware, that is no longer.

Here is the After:

Ta Da!!!

What Women Want Expo

This past weekend you could have found me at the What Women Want Expo supporting my wonderful husband while he sold my bags. Yep thats right. Rob is so awesome and told me that he would help me sell my bags if I would make them. So I got busy on Monday of this week and started sewing. I had a goal of making 15 bags to sell at the Expo. These booths at these expos are so darn expensive that it wouldn't be worth it to go in along, so I just took advantage of an already paid for booth, thanks to the business. Rob is so amazing. . . at the end of Friday Rob had sold 6 of the 15 bags. Way to go!!! Saturday morning Rob asked me where my Trick or Treat bags were, to which I replied. . . oh I decided not to do them. Rob thought strongly that I needed to make them, so needless to say I spent the next 2 hours making 6 Trick or Treat bags. I think they turned out pretty darn cute for as fast as I put them together. So at the end of the weekend the grand tally was 15 bags sold!!!! Way to go Rob!!! (I told him I would give him a cut of the profits. . . it was the least I could do. lol.) I had a couple people tell me that I should do various craft fairs around town. . . I might think about it. . . I said "think" about it. Nothing in the near future. Karlee came along for the event and was outstanding! She is quite the trooper, however I am sure I will pay later. My parents came over for the day to attend the temple, they made a stop over to the Expo so that was alot of fun to see them. So here ya'll go so photos of the day.

Karlee was easily entertained while I was sewing bag after bag.

Rob selling the bags... What a wonderful husband.

Getting up close and personal. . .

Trick or Treat!!!

Papa and Grandma come to see Karlee!

Haunted Houses - Halloween 2008

I got this in an email from my sister-in-law. Thanks Hayley. I thought it was funny and very sad too. (This is my poor excuse for a post this week. I have been busy but will post about it all in later.)

Coupons 101 (from a beginner)

Okay so I am replying to many of you out there who are interesting in "Coupons". I am not an expert by any means, but I do have some amazing friends that help me to figure things out. So I am going to attempt to explain how the system works. I should also tell you that there are actually 2 systems out there (according to me) First there is the Grocery side of it all, and then there is the Drugstore (Walgreens/RiteAid/CVS) side which I have only dabbled in. I don't feel completely comfortable with this side (since I am still trying to learn the rules) so I will try and explain the Grocery side.

There are a few things that you will need first:

• Time and a good pair of scissors
• Newspapers (multiples - I get 4 Sunday Papers)
• Printer
• Filing system (I will post a picture of mine later)
• Budget - it kinda makes it fun to see how much $$ you can actually save.
• Stores that accept competitors coupons (Albertsons does. hooray!!!)
• Printable Online coupon sites
• Good attitude
• Supportive Husband (Lucky Me!)

I really enjoy reading other peoples blogs to see what works for them and what wonderful advice they have. There are two blogs that I really think explains the coupon system: Couponing: I'm New...What Do I DO? from Mommy Managing, Tips When using Coupons from good or free deals (this is on the right side towards the bottom.

My favorite sites:

• Good or free deals
• Pinching your Pennies
• Money Saving Mom
• The "cents"ible sawyer

Okay so not sure if this will help any of you out there that are interesting in this Insane world of couponing. But I have been extremely amazed at what I am able to get. Infact just this week, I found an amazing deal: 18 bottles of Shampoo/Conditioner and only spent $0.97 .

So when you can figure out the method to the madness it can be alot of fun. One thing that I have found to be helpful is to have other people who do the coupons as well, they are able to see a deal and pass the word along. Please let me know of any other questions you may have... I am not sure if I have been very helpful, so let me know.

Happy Birthday Rob

Happy Birthday Rob. You are how old? WoW!!! We love you so much and we are so glad that you are having a birthday. This means we get lasanga, and breadsticks - Oh yea and Dark Chocolate Cake... Yummy!!! Can't think of anything better. We think you are pretty darn wonderful. We are so glad that you are in our lives! We love you!

My Latest Addiction

Okay so my latest addiction is Couponing. My life has been somewhat consumed with learning all there is to know about coupons, about finding a better deal for our needs, and then the perks of getting stuff for FREE. So I have the funnest neighbors here (also some that have recently moved :( ) that have been doing this couponing for awhile and are the real experts. I am amazed and what they can get for absolutely nothing or next to nothing. I am still learning the rules, lingo, and secrets to the way of shopping. So it has consumed a good portion of my day at times, that is after I have cleaned my house my top to bottom of course. lol. I have saved quite a bit of money which makes me happy. I have gotten a few things for next to nothing and some things absolutely FREE!!! I have lots of blogs that I use as helpful references in figuring out the rules, techniques, and where to find the good deals. Here are some of my recent purchase/savings: (I am such a nerd...I bring my groceries in and then set them all up and have to take a picture... silly ole me!)

Albertsons: 10/07/08.

Total: $120.63 Total w/coupons: $34.55 (...a savings of $86.08)
Not too bad for this being my first time couponing!

Walgreens: 10/07/08

Total: $34.81 total w/coupons: $10.65 (...a savings of $24.16)

Albertsons: 10/16/08
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Total: $185.79 Total w/coupons: $37.60
(... a savings of $148.19)

I guess I saved the best for last. Rob and I went to buy our Halloween candy, because the store was having a sale, plus our coupons this was going to be a "good deal". Okay so we bought 7 bags of candy, gave the cashier our coupons. We were expecting to pay some $ out of pocket, but when the cashier was done running our coupons, the store owed us money. So I hurried and grabbed a pkg of gum and in the end we got 7 bags of candy and a pkg of gum for $1.09. What actually happened was the cashier ran my coupons twice and so it was like I was doubling my coupons (which by the way the store doesn't double) and so it was taking more money off the items. Oh well, this was a learning experience and I am just glad that it worked to my benefit.

Total: 23.00 Total w/coupons: $1.09 (...a savings of $21.91)

My Rim to Rim that didn't happen...

Well I am sad to say that I did not do the Rim to Rim Grand Canyon hike this weekend due to the bad weather. I had been training these past 3 weeks daily and was getting really excited about completing this adventure once again. It is something that is so big (to me) that I really had to mentally prepare myself to do. The hike is 21.5 miles long (I think) and so for me it was something like I said that I had to prepare both physically and mentally for. The weather this hike this past weekend had reports of strong winds, rain, and extremely cold temperatures, so our group called it off. My dad however found a group of teachers that were still planning on going, so he caught a ride with them. He is such a "die-heart" - he said that the weather was really cold and windy, but that it ended up not being too bad. (darn it!!!!) He beat his time completing the hike in 9 hours and 45 minutes. Hooray!!!! My mom sent us kids some photos of my dad on his hike. So I wanted to post this picture of my dad. He is so awesome. What an inspiration... just 5 years ago (I think) he was 70-80 pounds heavier. He now walks 3 miles every morning and rides his bike 3 miles every afternoon. He is amazing! I love my dad and the example he sets for his family and everyone who knows him. So okay I am bummed that I didn't do the hike this weekend, but I am looking forward to May 2009 when we will do the Rim to Rim hike. This time will be the 10th time my dad has done this hike!

My dad completing his 9th Rim to Rim hike!

Milestone: 8 Months & Growing

Karlee enjoying her first full bowl of cereal!

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Karlee already 8 months old, and all I can say is how where is the time going. Karlee is so much fun. She is really getting to a fun stage. She is crawling/scooting all over the place. She is out growing all her cute "baby 0-6mo" clothes. I don't know what she weighs just now, but she is definitely filling her clothes out, so that must be a good sign. She is laughing when she gets her feet tickled. Just on Sunday she ate an entire bowl of yummy oatmeal cereal. I know I know most kids are probably eating solid foods by now, but Karlee is just taking her sweet time. She isn't in too much of a hurry for things, and I am loving that. Karlee loves when her daddy comes home from work, which usually means that it is time to get down and play. She plays well on the floor with her toys, and loves to venture up and down the hallway. We love Karlee so much and are so blessed to have her in our family.

General Conference Oct 2008

I love General Conference. I always am so excited to be able to hear the prayerfully prepared talks given by the Lord's Prophet and his Apostles. I look forward to receiving answers to questions and situations in my own life. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father hears and has answered many of my prayers from talks given in this conference. I always have the same feeling of wanting more when the Sunday afternoon session nears the end. I thought I would post some of my favorite conference moments:

President Thomas S. Monson announcing 5 new temples: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Greater Kansas City, Calgary, Alberta; Cordoba, Argentina; and Rome, Italy.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, of the quorum of the 12 Apostles, spoke of showing love and compassion to all. He said, "Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, he understand our suffering. He understands our grief.: He also said, "We experience hard things that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others." I just loved his humor, and his love and desire for being happy.

President Thomas S. Monson in his closing address Sunday afternoon assured us of a mindful Heavenly Father. President Monson said, "Our Heavenly Father knows the challenges we face in the world today. He loves each of us and will bless us as we strive to keep his commandments and seek him through prayer." Isn't it great to know that we are not alone in our challenges!

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Another special experience that I had was actually between sessions on Sunday. KSL TV had a special about the Panama Temple. As I watched this special I was overcome with emotion for the Panama people. As the reporter walked through the small villages and homes of some of the members, my mind was rushed back to memories of my mission in El Salvador. I saw in the people of Panama, the same humility, and dedication that I experienced with the people of El Salvador. I am so blessed to have had such an amazing opportunity to serve the people of El Salvador. I love and miss their spirits.

Costco Anyone?

(I know . . . who takes their camera to Costco! . . . ME!!!)

On Saturdays you can usually find Rob, Karlee and I at Costco. We go to spend time together... actually we go for all the free samples. Funny I know... However I am sure we are not the only ones that do this. We do make a purchase every once in awhile, the flour tortillas, ya know the ones that you get to bake at home. YUMMY!!! Karlee is really learning all the good things about Costco right now: their Free Samples (kinda hit and miss-experience), $1.50 hotdog and drink meal, and for Rob their yummy $1.25 chocolate ice cream cup. We do this so often, I guess it deserves its own post!