the park at dusk

Here are a few pics of our venture to the park down the street from us. The kids had a great time. Dad was able to go with us this time although he did homework off to the side he was able to get into the action later in the evening, we just love having him around and with his new schedule it seems that we have him a lot more.

It's pretty easy to get a good picture of Brennen, he just loves the opportunity to have his picture taken...isn't he so cool!
Ethan was not afraid of anything...but mommy was afraid for him! He would walk to the edge of every high point on the playground. Lucky for mom he has a great big sister and older brothers who love and help watch out for him.
It was pretty hard to get a picture of Ari without the growth on her ear. Mainly because she avoids having her picture taken and the only time I could sneak a picture in was when she was distracted by Kara...Thanks Kara!!
Devin and Brennen loved playing on the see saw, they got a bit crazy on it, but what do you expect from fun lovin' boys.
Ethan was petrified on the swing. He kept pointing over to the other kids on the swings so I though we would give it a try (we have never had much luck on the swings before...Devin was the same way) and once I let go of the swing he clenched on for dear life as the expression on his face changed from uncertainty to pure terror. Poor kid, I think we'll give him a break before we try that one again.

one more thing...

My computer let me print off 4 more coupons for the Malt-O-Meal cereals (see post below) even though 2 of them were only .75 off I got all 4 for .62, I'd say that's a pretty good deal.

no thumb

Okay, I think this is the funniest thing. I know other kids do this too, but Ethan is the first of ours to put socks on his hands ALL THE TIME. In fact he will remove them from his feet and put them on his hands. Today he insisted on eating his lunch with a sock (clean mind you) on one of his hands, it made the task of eating his pb&j sandwich very difficult considering he had no thumb to use.

clipping coupons

I thought everyone would like a picture of my groceries!! Actually, I started coupon clipping thanks to my good friend Patty, she got me hooked on http://www.thegrocerygame.com/. I went to Albertsons yesterday armed with my list and pile of coupons and in this photo got 62% taken off of my grocery bill!!! I was amazed. I have also heard that the longer you do it the more savings you get! Just ask Patty, she posted her cereal deal on her blog a while ago it was amazing. Photo does not include: Shampoo, Conditioner, Deodorant & Air Fresheners.

As I was leaving Albertsons I heard over the loud speaker that you could purchase 4 bags of cereal for $4, then on top of that they mentioned coupons you could print off of the Internet for $1 off making them free!!! I could not believe my ears and had a little talk with the store manager to make sure I heard him correctly, I raced home and started printing away and here is what I ended up with:
12 bags of cereal ALL 100% FREE!!!!

Just had to share.

Baby Malinda

Yesterday we went to Brian & Elaine's to see the baby. Isn't she so beautiful...not a surprise.

Brian & Elaine tell us that she is doing great and she was able to leave the hospital early because her recovery is going so well. She is also quite big considering her first two weeks of life. What an angel!!

soon to be craft room

This is the leftover room...after the kids picked their bedrooms, so now I get a craft room and it's the perfect room for it, it is pretty spacious allowing for variety (considering my attention span ;])

Notice the lovely blue walls (got to go)
...and all the many treasures that the previous owner left (also going to go).
Check out the shimmery wall paper (only on half of the room??)
...and the groovy multi-colored rug, hey Brian when do you want us to deliver it?

more house pics

Here is a photo of the front of the house. About a week ago the landlord changed out the windows (they were pretty bad) and it completely changed the look of the house...I love it!!

This is the backyard...it has a lot of work to be done to it, in fact the pool on the left hand side of the pic will soon be hauled away...yay, it is disgusting!!! The landlord wants to take out some of the concrete (there is a lot back there) and replace it with grass. Chris has already started working in the garden area (the brown spot on the right) so it will be ready for us next spring (can't wait!!).
This is the boys bathroom...lovely colors don't you think? The landlord wants to make changes and we're okay with that.
Here is the tub in the boys bathroom...at least it matches. Again, this should change also.
Master bathroom...Pink and Blue??? Whatever.
I didn't get any pictures of Ari's bathroom...it needs a lot of work, but she just loves having her own.

Just a few pics of our home...more to come

Okay, so here are just a few pics of the new place (sorry I'm posting at the library so I'm not totally prepared).

Above is the photo of the kitchen that will soon be changing, our landlord had "the cabinet guy" come over to measure our kitchen, he has another home that he ripped out (sounds so violent) the kitchen to update it...it was 2 years old!!! So we get the "old" stuff...darn it, I really liked the retro oven ;].
This is the photo of our living room...I think it's my favorite room, it really has great potential.
This is our family room...don't mind the mess, just moved in you know. This picture does it no justice, it really is a large room and around the corner to the right is the office space. By the way the log thing some call a couch is NOT ours, it's the last tenants...got to go!!

While at grandma & grandpa's

What a great surprise, while staying with mom for a few days Mindy and Jo just happened to stop in...from as far away as Utah! It was so great to visit with them.

Kissing cousins Ethan and Cailyn
The Frog at Great Grandmas
Devin and the frog at great grandmas
You don't need to cry Ethan!

Le Bel Family Campout

Just a few pics from the Le Bel family campout!