Luke's 1st bike ride and Addy's 2nd tooth!

Crazy coupons

I made a trip to Dillons tonight and came home with some late night pregnancy craving food.  I haven't done any couponing over the summer, but when I heard someone talking about Dillons having some good deals this week I decided to check it out.  There is a website called dillonsfrugalfritzie that puts all the deals and coupons together for you.  All you have to do is print out the coupons and make your list.  My total before coupons was $120.  BUT I got $20 off because every 10 items was $5 off due to the promotion they were running. Then I had a coupon for every single item that doubled to $1 off each item.  So take away another $40 and my total came to $62.  Plus I got 2 catalina coupons for $3 off my next order!  I hope I don't forget to use them!  And I got 92 fuel points so when I get 8 more I can get 10 cents off a gallon for gas.  Hope I don't forget to use that!

My receipt said I saved $106.  But that's if everything was regular price, and I never pay regular price for anything at Dillons.  But a 65% savings sounds pretty good! It was pretty exciting and the kids were thrilled by the cereal.  They've never seen Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in our house before.  We'll mix it with plain ol Cheerios of course and see how long we can make it last! The biggest excitement for the kids (and Scott) was the Toaster Strudels.  Those are a once a year treat at our house. So I guess I'm done for the year with special treats.  Guess I'll have to stop. :)

First Day of School

 We started school the other day. Addy is a first grader and is loving it. Her favorite subject is math and nature study.  She likes all the other things we do too, but she's not much into learning how to read yet.  She knows several words and can read a few small books, but it's just not her thing.  I'm expecting it to "click" here pretty soon and it will become one of her favorite things to do. 

Scott is teaching geometry and college algebra this year.  He is also taking one class from K-State.  No coaching soccer this season.  I say, "WOOO HOOOO!" 

 After the school day was done we headed out to my mom and dad's to spend some time with them before they get crazy busy with school.  My dad took us down to the dried up creek to explore.  The big kids got to ride on the horse and Brooke got to ride on Scott's shoulders.

That horse had to grab a mouthful of weeds to eat as he walked by. 

The kids had a great time picking up turkey feathers and clam shells.  We found a live clam and broke it open to see inside.  Luke did a little disection with it.  We even found a super old Oldsmobile matchbox car. We thought maybe it was one of my grandpa's old toys.  They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. 

Friends Reunited

After the fun day in Oklahoma, we headed to Albuquerque.  This was our first time to that part of the country. 

The kids did great during the long car ride.  The giant lollipops helped to keep them busy and quiet for awhile.  I gave them a small gift every few hours.  Things like pipe cleaners, activity books, little figurine toys.  But the best little gift was their own tape dispenser.  Luke folded and taped paper for hours.

We did many different and fun things.  Here we are at the Concert at the Zoo.  Sandy brought a lot of snacks and the kids played on the mat while we listened to music.

When it got dark the glo sticks were fun. 

When the Lees lived a couple blocks from us Luke was never all that excited to go to their house.  During this trip he was Mrs. Lee's little buddy.  Now he adores her.

Maybe Luke likes Mrs. Lee so much now because she let him throw water balloons at her!  He had a really great time. Luke also loved playing with Andrew and Matt and sleeping with them in their room.

Brooke conked out after the hike.  Sleeping little girls are so cute.

These two had a great time together.  They picked up where they left off.  It was another hard goodbye when we left.

They did a dance for us everyday. 

As we were leaving the Standerwicks were arriving.  It was great to be together. 

On the way home we stayed at a hotel in Liberal.  When we pulled up to the hotel Luke saw a van that looked like the Lee's and said, "LOOK! THE LEES ARE HERE!"  He was so excited.  Then he was disappointed that they weren't there.

Brooke loved staying in a hotel.  She thought everything about it was fun. Brooke did a really great job sleeping in the playpen beside us the entire trip. She never woke us up.  The first morning when she woke up and realized we were beside her she just kept repeating, "Hi...hi...hi." In a sweet little baby voice.  Then she would sit and play quietly until we were ready to get up.  She is amazing!  I think she is the best baby ever.

Luke has his mouth taped shut in this picture.  See I told you tape was the best gift for riding in the car!  On the way back we slowed down to go throught many many tiny towns.  They were all mainly a grain elevator with a few houses around it.  It was like the same thing over and over.  When we started getting into some bigger towns that had some restaurants like Emporia has Luke started asking, "Do we just have to find our house?"  I guess as things started looking more familiar he thought we could be home because up until then nothing looked familiar. 

We even got to make a quick stop in Pratt to visit our friends the Monhollons.  I forgot to take pictures. Darn.  It was good to catch up with them. They have two adorable little girls now and it was fun to meet their youngest for the first time.

As much as I loved visiting our friends and loved the sight of the Albuquerque mountain, I was glad to get home.  Those Flint Hills were a beautiful sight. It was neat to see how the beautiful mountains turned into flat, dry land with cactii and rocks then turned into flat green farmland (they irrigate in Western KS) then turned into beautiful rolling hills.  God really is AWESOME!

A Surprise from Nana!

To start off our summer 2012 vacation, we headed to Oklahoma to visit the cousins.  When we walked in the door we were welcomed by Nana!  What a surprise!  It was a great day.

We enjoyed swimming for a few hours.  I am sure Nana enjoyed the time with all the grandkids.

 The cousins decided it would be fun to all jump in at the same time.  Going off the diving board was a first for Addy. 

 All the cousins had so much fun together playing and eating.

And there's always time for a good book from Nana. 

A Big Weekend.

We have been having a fun time this summer doing many different things. 

 One day my grandma stopped by. Addy and Luke are always up for a book, and I think grandma is always up for reading one.

 Then we went to visit Papa Larry and Grandma Patty. Luke couldn't wait to get on the Prowler and had a great time driving it. Addy was a little hesitant at first, but eventually she hopped right on. Brooke wouldn't get on at all.

 Here's the pretty little baby.  She is growing up into a little girl so fast!

 She found a tricycle.  She could almost pedal!

 The kids always have a good time with Ike.

 It was a fun time. Probably the best part was when Patty told us about all the work God has been doing in her body to heal her.  She has been taking tons of treatments for cancer.  She showed us a picture of the scans when the cancer was all through her bones.  She said that most doctors would have told her there was nothing they could do and sent her home. She told us how this doctor didn't know how to treat her so he went to the Holy Spirit.  I know that many many people have been praying for her, and God answered our prayers the way we wanted.  She showed me the latest picture of the scans and the cancer is gone.  It was so neat to hear how she gives the glory to God for this healing.  He has definitely used this hard time for good.  What a testimony Patty has and is sharing.  Praise God!

 On our way home we stopped in Fredonia to see Scott's grandparents.  They just celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary!  They are always so glad to see us and we always have a great visit.

 Back home the Lyon County Fair was going on.  We got back just in time for the kid's tractor pull.  Luke couldn't wait to get on that tractor.  The only problem was the ride was too short.  He didn't want to get off.  He did a good job.  Since he got a full pull the first time he got to ride again.  He didn't win so we don't have to go to the State Fair.  Yes!!  Oh, I mean darn.

 Addy took her turn on the tractor too.  She pulled it a lot further than I thought she would. She had to pull quite a bit of weight and all the other kids seemed so much bigger than her.  I guess she has some pretty strong legs from riding her too small bike!  Both kids got a certificate for a free Braums ice cream cone, so they were very pleased.

 Next we went to see the animals.  Brooke took a liking to Natasha's heifer. 

 Luke liked the goats.  Natasha took some goats to the fair this year and Luke had a fun time leading them around the yard at Grandma Sharon's.

 But Luke's favorite thing was the chicken.  He even found a boy that had time to answer all his questions. Addy was busy looking at all the bunnies. 

On a side note, my mom entered the flower girl dress she made for Addy for Rachelle's wedding.  It had a couple holes and was a little dirty due to Addy rolling down a hill and playing outside after the wedding. But mom fixed it up and cleaned it and it won the Sweepstakes!!  Great job mom!

And to round things out we've been watching the Olympics.  Go USA!

Before and After

Our refrigerator quit working about a month ago.  We thought we would fix it, but then decided it wasn't worth it.  So we began the search for a new refrigerator.  We thought about what would be the best refrigerator to get.  Should we get a white one to match the stove?  Should we get a side by side or a french door? Then we thought about how none of our appliances would match if we went with the stainless steel fridge that we wanted.  Should we just get all new appliances that match?  Hmmm.  Our working appliances were about 15 years old, so instead of replacing them as they broke we decided to bite the bullet and upgrade our kitchen all at once.   Here is the before picture of the kitchen.

 Here is the after pictures.  While we were at it we replaced the cabinet hardware and painted the walls. 

 I liked my old dishwasher and stove.  They washed the dishes and cooked the food.  But I LOVE cooking on my new stove.  No heating coils to take out and clean!  I just wipe it off.  Woohoo!  And the oven has a light and we can see the food baking.  This is a great feature for the kids.  They sit there and watch. It's great entertainment!

 You may have also noticed the microwave above the stove.  We weren't planning on getting a new microwave.  I REALLY liked our old one, but when we found one in the dent and ding section that had a dent on the side you don't even see that was a little more than the hood, we couldn't resist.  More counter space is always a good thing and that's what moving the microwave above the stove would do.  It was a great choice because the new microwave is SO big!  You can put a whole casserole in there!  It also has a bunch of fancy buttons to push when you heat things up.  I haven't figured them out yet, but it softens butter wonderfully.

And here is the refrigerator. I love that the ice bin is on the door, so when I need to get a bunch of ice I don't have to reach my arm all the way in.  And look at all the counter space.  Enough room for 3 kids and a mixing bowl :)