Color Me Rad 5k

 

Before the Race, nice white and clean

So I finally ran a REAL 5k in November. For those who know me, I HATE running but know I need to. I figured this would motivate me to exercise and have a goal. With two babies to watch each day, it was a little tough but I was able to be in somewhat shape. I ran with Emily Beals from my ward and we had a blast. I am so grateful for her and that she ran about the same pace. The Monday before we ran the 5k I went to the gym to make sure that I could actually make it and I did it in like 40 minutes which is pretty slow. Emily said she did the same thing. When we went to the 5k we actually ran it under 30 minutes!! That's a huge difference. See what exercising with others can push you to do! Anyways, we had so much fun at this 5k because while you run they throw color powder at you at different spots, and some spots they sprayed you with color liquid. So by the end, your white clothes is now colored. Made running so much more bearable, I wish I could have that happen every time I run, it helps make the running fun. At one station where they were spraying color liquid on you, one guy just got a huge bowl full and dumped green liquid all on me! I was wet and now stained green! It was fun but I was green from clothes to skin. I recommend this to anyone! Yay for my first official 5k!

WE DID IT!!!

Right after I got dumped with green liquid!

Color Bomb at the end to celebrate finishing!

Peanut Butter Pie

I made this Peanut Butter Pie in November and it was super good! Unfortunately is was super rich. It was great making ti once but it is sad when you can barely eat a whole slice because it is too much. I was on peanut butter chocolate HIGH for several days. Sorry Gabby, you missed out! I got the recipe on Pinterest but when I find one that is just as good but a little lighter I will let you know.

Meeting Santa

We went to Bass Pro Shop and they had FREE photos with Santa with a little line. We took advantage and luckily Treyson reacted well to our jolly old friend. I am so excited for Treyson's first Christmas! I know he will probably like the wrapping more than the gifts but it's still exciting.

I'M THIRSTY!

I already created a bad habit with Treyson. He LOVES drinking out of my cup. Anytime I have a drink in my hand and holding him as well, he opens his mouth wide and sometimes grabs my drink. He is actually really good at drinking from a cup, not much mess if any at all. It is a good thing I usually have water because I think he would throw a fit if I didn't give him a sip. Now he even grabs the cup with both hands and his whole face is in the cup as he drinks. Super cute and super funny. Now if I can get him to figure out the sippy cup.

Nighty Night Lullaby

You can tell when Treyson is tired or about to fall asleep because he starts making a ton of noises and pretty much sings himself to sleep. Super funny but also kind of loud especially when we are at church :)

My First Halloween

So on our way to the pumpkin patch he fell asleep so he was
woken up for pictures. He isn't very alert in  these pictures.

Our first Halloween as a family was great! We went to the pumpkin patch and did Trunk or Treat at the church. I bought Treyson's lion costume for like $5 and it was super cute. My mom suggested that we dress up as the Wizard of Oz, me being Dorothy and Mark can be either the scarecrow or the tin man. I really didn't think Mark would dress up but he did. Now don't get me wrong he wasn't jumping at the chance or so excited that he made his own costume but he did tolerate my cutsie idea. I did however give him a choice of the scarecrow or the tin man and he said "are you calling me brainless or heartless?" I told him to decide that for himself so I guess he chose heartless! lol The hardest part of this idea was finding/making the costumes for Mark and I. All the Dorothy costumes were too....revealing shall we say. The one costume I did find that wasn't, was almost $40 without the ruby shoes! Ridiculous! So I even had a crazier idea to make it myself. Mind you, I haven't sewed since 5th or 6th grade let alone a dress like this. I also found DIY instructions on how to glitter shoes. So I went off to DI to find a cheap pair of shoes to glitterfy at home (which I later found kid sized rub red shoes at Target), I went through the costume rack and still...nothing. I was just browsing around and found a shower curtain with blue and white checkers, just like Dorothy's costume!!

This would have been super cute if he
was more awake, happy and the sun wasn't
in his eyes! Oh well!

Daddy and Treyson carved the pumpkin for FHE

The Wizard of Oz! A better picture was taken
 that night but haven't gotten the picture yet 

So I bought the fabric shower curtain and was determined to sew my dress. Problem was I didn't have a working sewing machine and didn't have much of a clue how to do it. I was able to borrow a sewing machine and they even had sort of a pattern to follow for the dress, problem is I don't remember much on how to read patterns and directions, so I just kind of made it up. It actually turned out better than I thought! I did learn that you can't sew on a waistband because then it won't stretch anymore. I had to put in a zipper (didn't really know how) as well because I messed up the waistband. All in all it turned out better than expected. Mark's was also interesting to figure out too but I think it turned out good. It is always good when others can recognize what you are, that means you must have done something right.Halloween was good, didn't get many kids come here which is bad because I help myself daily to our stash of candy. If I gain 20 pounds I blame the neighborhood kids!

 I am not one who likes to decorate for Halloween but I guess having kids kind of changes things. Not that I went all out but found some cute ideas on pinterest that I thought were too good and easy to pass up. Plus my parent's house had the perfect green door for my Frankenstein! It turned out super cute (I think!)

There's a Party in my Tummy!

First Feeding- More on his face than I think went in!

He was loving squash so much that he was sucking his bib,
 I couldn't get one of him actually sucking but you can tell by the bib.

So Treyson is now 6 months old and growing up so fast. He is now eating rice cereal and trying new flavors of baby food each week. He has only tried squash but soon he will try carrots. Supposedly introducing veggies first is the way to go, but who knows. Treyson now weighs 18 lbs 13 oz (almost 19 lbs!) and 27 inches long. He is still in the 75th percentile in both. The first time we introduce Treyson to baby cereal, he was super excited until we put it in his mouth. Once in his mouth he wasn't sure what to do. Most of the time he leaves his mouth open and gives you a look like "what did you put in my mouth?" 

Now that we have added squash to the cereal he seems to be liking it, in fact one day he cried when he was finished because he wanted more. On Sunday he discovered that his bib had the squash remnants on it and so he started sucking his bib! It was super funny! Anyways the video shows his very first bites. Sooner than we think he will be just like daddy and biting into a juicy Red Robin Banzai Burger!

Resurrection!

So I haven't looked at my garden since those horrible caterpillars ate it, but I just happen to go by today and I found the tomato plant and pepper plant growing leaves. The tomato plant even had a tomato!! YAY!! All is not lost! It's not the prettiest thing ever but hey it's still alive. Hopefully those visitors don't return.

Rolling Over!

I sent out a very short video of Treyson rolling over a week ago. Well Treyson has mastered rolling over and is doing it often now. Here is a better video of him rolling over. He is still working on rolling from back to tummy but he is SO close!

Zonked out!

So the other day I was at the table sewing my Dorothy costume for Halloween and Treyson was bouncing in his play jumparoo thingy. Anyways, after a while he started getting fussy so I was going to finish the part I was working on before getting him out. Then he stopped making noise. When I got up to get him out, I found him like this (watch video).

SO FUNNY!!! He was so dead asleep! I guess he pooped himself out with so much fun. Poor Baby!

COUPON EXTREMENESS!!!!

So the posts I have done before on my couponing madness is NOTHING compared to this weeks find!!! So before you look at the pictures and such...you CANNOT judge me! Yes, I do coupons and yes I buy things in bulk when it is on sell but it doesn't mean I need to go to CA -Coupon Anonymous (directed to my brother Paul). Lol all jokes aside, I was super excited about this deal, I came home on a coupon HIGH! Mark was all bugged eyed as I kept bringing more and more bags in. My poor husband has to deal with me. He doesn't share the same excitement but he sure is happy about the savings. 

My first trip- I bought a lot of other items that weren't free but dirt cheap and stocked up as well. 

So here is the break down of how much things costs for the things above. A little further down I will tell you how much I spent and how much I saved! Some was with coupons and some without coupons was still an amazing deal.

Betty Crocker=BC
Price is for how much it is each!

8-BC Deluxe Brownie Mix............$1.13 (with coupons)
6-BC Cake Mix..........$0.25
2-Bugles..............$0.75 (with coupons)
10-Chex Mix Party Bags................$0.75 (with coupons)
15-Hamburger/Chicken/Tuna Helper...........................$0.25 (with coupons- $0.50 without)
3-Totinos Frozen Pizza.............................$0.25
12-Pillsbury Toaster Strudel..............................$0.75 (with coupons - $1.00 without)
2- Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies....................$1.00 (with coupons-$1.50 without)
5 Old El Paso Taco Shells...............................FREE (actually I got $0.60 back with coupons)
7 GM Cereal...............................$1.00 (with coupons- $1.50 without)

Cost...............$36.65
Retail Value..........$154.61
Savings...........$117.96

So if thought that was good, wait for the next one! So you are probably wondering why these prices are so low and how I get things FREE. Well it doesn't show in the ad that they are FREE, that would be dumb! Everyone will get it then. It requires skill and my favorite website grocerysmarts.com to help out. So the ad had BC and other items on a certain page that said if you buy 5 participating items then you get $5 back (printed on a coupon when you check out). Does that make sense? So for example the taco shells were actually $1.00 but if you buy 5 taco shells then it's $5.00 but because you bought 5, you get $5.00 to use on the next purchase so really it's FREE! Get it? Another example is BC cake mix, the price was $1.25, you buy five the price is $6.25 but since you buy 5 then you get $5 back and so you only spent $1.25 which is $.025 each!

So my first visit I wanted to get more of the FREE items but I guess other coupon extremers cleaned the shelves out because there was none left. So I decided to go in the morning while Mark was home to see if the shelves were restocked with the items I didn't get the first time. So below is my second trip. All the following items were FREE. I paid nothing for this next shopping trip, actually I made $2.00 because I had coupons with some of it.

My second visit- ALL of this was free, actually I they gave me $2 because of coupons!!!! PROFIT!!

6 BC Roasted Garlic Mash Potatoes...........FREE
5 Old El paso Taco Shells............FREE
5 BC Grilled Cheese Macaroni and Cheese............FREE
5 BC Cheese Pizza Mac and Cheese............FREE
20 BC Mac and Cheese..................FREE
5 BC Scalloped Potatoes...................FREE
8 BC Loaded Mash Potatoes.................FREE
12 BC Julienne Potatoes.................FREE(used coupons for 10 items and got $0.25 for each of my 5 coupons)
9 BC Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes........FREE
5 BC Au Gratin Potatoes...................FREE
2 BC Parmesan and Asiago Potatoes.............FREE
3 BC Creamy Butter Mash Potatoes...........FREE

Total: -$2.00 (I got $2)
Retail: $121.25
Savings: $123.25

Impressed yet??? I was so excited about that one! So I would have stocked up more but I didn't have room in my cart for more and I kind of felt like I was stealing!! Also wanted to give others a chance to get some too. But lets just say that I almost cleared the shelves. So during the day as I was beaming in a job well done, I was thinking that I could totally shop for my family since Paul is coming down this week and he can take it to them. Hey...why not share? So I e-mailed them and they gave me their orders. Some of the items were cleared out when I went but I tried my best. So here is the third visit I did for my family. This one wasn't all FREE because they wanted to take advantage of the super cheap cake mixes and hamburger helpers. The only catch for me doing this for them was that they couldn't EVER make fun of me for couponing! I am such a nice sister :)

3rd visit- Helping out the Family

 3 BC Au Gratin Potatoes.............FREE
2 Parmesan and Asiago Potatoes..............FREE

6 BC Julienne Potatoes................FREE

25 BC Cake Mixes....................$0.25

14 Hamburger Helpers................$0.50

Total: $7.25 (spent the $2 I got from the second trip)

Retail: $90.97

Savings: $81.72

Have I made you into a believer in coupons? Well, don't think that every week is like this because it's not. The key to couponing is not to buy things just because you have coupons, use your coupons when the stuff is already on sale and it's okay if you don't ever use a coupon (more will always come). So yes, I have embraced couponing and I am learning new strategies often. Oh and yes.....I am the crazy coupon lady that now gets 5 Sunday papers that I don't read but just use for the coupons!! I will let you know when another awesome sale like this is on again. Fall is known for baking goods, can't wait to stock up!

Total items I got: 205

Total I spent: $43.90

Total Retail Value: $366.83

Total Savings: $322.93

My Great Finds!

 So a couple of weeks I was like a kid in a candy shop! I went to a consignment sale called "As They Grow" and to our neighborhood garage sale. I went crazy....but good crazy, I found some great buys. Anyways wanted to share what I got. It is probably good that they don't have garage sales all the time here, I would be broke!

So here is what I got at the garage sales. I got the castle slide
 for $10, the jumparoo $15, Double stroller $30, the floor
 mat $10 (yes that is Treyson on it lol), lot more in the pic though.

So that big pile of clothes on the couch on the first picture is some of these clothes. I went to a ladies house and she told me it was 25 cents each and so I started digging in her huge bin of clothes for cute clothes. Then after a while she said....you can have the whole bin if you want for $10. They range from 18 months to 3T! I was like OH YEAH!!! Basically got 73 articles of clothing for about 13 cents each. Some weren't as cute but beggars can't be choosers! 

So I bought this at the consignment sale a few days before the garage sale. I paid $50 and I thought I had a great deal until I found the other one at the garage sale for $30. So yep...I have two!!! Don't worry I am not keeping it, I am just selling this one. Let me know if you are interested!

5 Months!

 

So I saw on Pinterest to do the lipstick idea. When I finished
 kissing him, Treyson was very confused. Not sure if it was because
 I was kissing him all over or that mommy looked
different because she was wearing lipstick. LOL

So the photographer that took his photos when he was a month old, also did these. She felt bad that she booked another person soon after us and we didn't have much time and we didn't get any of the hat shoot in. Anyways, she decided to give us a free session later on. She did a great job once again. The owl hat was made by a member from my mission. She is so talented! Super cute too. Hope you enjoy!

BYU for his Daddy (Thanks Uncle Paul for the Hat)

Treyson's New Buddy

We started Treyson on a bedtime routine, which is great! I feed him, put on his pajamas, read him a story and then kiss him goodnight and put him to bed. I am SO happy that he is falling asleep on his own instead of having to rock him to sleep. Anyways, we have had two stuffed animals that have been in his crib since he was born. Not sure who gave them to him (sorry, but if it was you, let me know). Anyways, I was playing with him and grabbed one of the stuffed animals, the monkey, and Treyson instantly loved it. If you push his tummy they Monkey sings a song and the cheeks blink red. Anyways, Treyson snuggles his new buddy every night and sometimes during nap time. I am not sure if he is giving the monkey kisses or mauling his the monkeys face every time I give it to him but its cute. He snuggles him until he falls asleep and the monkey ends up usually laying on top of him. So Cute!

My 2nd Attempt at a Garden

This was 3 months ago, Jayden
 and I found our first caterpillar
 but we took it off and didn't find
one since the army took over.

Jayden helped me pick my very first tomato!!!

So last year I wanted to grow a garden, so I planted cucumber seeds and surprisingly they were growing really well and the plant was green and big. That is....until dead summer hit! On the seed package it said to put them in direct sun, so I did. When it hit 110 degrees, lets just say my poor cucumbers died instantly no matter how much water I gave it. Anyways, being heart broken about it, I was determined to try again this year and even went all out in getting a garden box, several plants etc. I planted peppers (red and green), Squash, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Strawberries. This time I didn't put them in direct sun and they stayed alive despite the heat. I was so excited. I also got some strawberries and some tomatoes (even though they looked like cherry tomatoes). I felt better about this whole garden thing even though it didn't produce much. The tomato and strawberry plants are the only ones that gave me anything even though the other plants looked alive and healthy. Well, a few weeks ago I went out to water the garden and I was devastated to find half the leaves of my tomato plant GONE!!! The other plants were also just sticks. I had no idea in a matter of days what had happened to it...until I found the culprits....Caterpillars! They were everywhere! There must have been 20 of them. I have no idea where they came from. In a matter of two days they managed to eat my whole garden and leave (I have no idea where they went). Anyways, I was heartbroken! Maybe better luck next year :)

After 2 days! Cleaned me out.

The day I discovered them!

Culprit! One of Many.

Belly Laughs!

The first couple of times I blew on his stomach he threw out his arms and was super scared at first and then laughed soon after. I think he was scared of the noise but laughed because it tickled. I wish I got a video of him doing that but now he is use to it and just laughs. I love babies laughing.

Extreme Couponer...sort of

Everyone in my family makes fun of me when they open my pantry and find a butt load of cereal on my shelves but I think you are all secretly jealous! Yes, I am a couponer and I drive around looking for the best deals, but it saves tons! I am not as crazy as those on the TV shows, partly because I don't have that much time and partly I don't know how to be that good (but learning!). Anyways, I figured I should share a little of my secrets and show you my latest savings (cuz I was just so tickled pink). Anyways here is what I bought for only $43.81 which would have been $127.68 (total of 65% savings!)

• 30 boxes of General Mills Cereal (such as Reeses Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chex, Total, etc) ~I got them for a little more or a little less than a dollar each
• 10 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (60 cents each)
• 2 Avacados
• 3 cans of Pineapple
• Roma Tomatoes
• 2 boxes of Chewy Granola Bars

I now have like 60 boxes of cereal in my pantry but I won't have to buy cereal for a good 6 months maybe. August is the best month to stock up on cereal and back to school things. Coming up during the fall I am going to stock up on Baking goods! A good place to start your couponing adventure is grocerysmarts.com, it is a great site that helps you match coupons and the weekly ads to get the most out of your coupons. I get a lot of toothpaste, floss, and other things free of almost free. You just have to plan it out right. Once you get the hang of it you can save even more. You can also print coupons on coupons.com. It takes time and energy but you save a lot! If you need help or want to tag along my shopping trips you are welcome to. 

GO COUGARS!!!

My BYU boys!

The day after we got back from Alaska, was the BYU cougars first Football game (Mark said I was able to go to Alaska if I promised to be back before the first game so him and Treyson can watch it together.) Mark requested his "Y" cookies decorated in blue and white. I am not the best at decorating cookies or cakes but I did try. Don't judge me! I am not as cute and creative as my sister-in-laws. (I blame it on being raised with only brothers lol) Although they didn't look all that great they did taste good! Luckily for our sakes and our neighbors, BYU won and Mark was happy. Haha. Treyson was awake for maybe 15 minutes of the game and then he fell asleep. I have a feeling Treyson has no choice but to be a BYU fan in this family. GO COUGARS!!!

My cookies! There were a lot more but
these were the ones that were decorated the best
 even though it may look like the rejects! haha!

Cooling off in Alaska

Treyson's First Flight

It was my Grandpa Burr's 80th birthday in August and Treyson and I decided to go up and surprise him in Alaska. Unfortunately Mark was unable to come due to work and he didn't like the idea of being away from Treyson...and me, but he was so gracious to let us take this adventure. I was so worried about him on his first airplane but he did surprisingly well! He was fussy before leaving the gate and until we took off each time. After that, he fell asleep and I didn't dare move much to wake him up. My arm was REALLY dead after 2 flights each time holding him for about 3 + hours. I was just so glad that he wasn't horrible and everyone judging me. Alaska was so beautiful and nice. Some days were raining but the nice days were just amazing! (Anywhere from High 50's to 60's)

Lake that my grandpa use to take me
when I was little to feed the ducks

Although my Grandpa figured out that they were having a surprise party for him, my arrival was kept secret. My grandma and mom picked me up at the airport and brought me to his house. I then went to the front door and rung the doorbell. He was looking through the glass and I thought he knew who I was but it wasn't until he opened the door to me and screaming Treyson that he finally got it. It was great! The party went great and I was able to spend some quality time with my grandparents and my mom. We got to see my dad for less than 12 hours before we left. I was glad that Treyson was able to see my grandparents and my parents and vice versa.

Nathan, Missi and Uncle Wes in front of the Temple

I was also able to be there for Missi's endowment in the Alaska Anchorage Temple. It was so special to share that great day with her.

Major Blowout That Could Have Gone Worse

Treyson before the blowout and spending
 his short time with Grandpa

When we arrived at the airport to head back to Las Vegas, I had a lot of help from my grandparents and parents to get my bags and stuff checked in and so forth. We decided to take pictures before heading through security and as I took Treyson out of his carseat, we realized that Treyson had a diaper blowout. It was everywhere....up his back, out the sides, everywhere! He was wearing a "I love my daddy" shirt so that Mark will see it when he picks us up but he ruined it. My mom and I took Treyson to the bathroom to clean him up. We had to completely strip him down and wipe him off. As he was laying butt naked on the changing table and while we were getting his new clothes and diaper, he peed right in his face. His arms where flying and he was shocked! It was the funniest thing to watch. It scared him that he started to cry. So now we had to wipe all the pee from his head and get paper towels to soak up the rest. I hope he has learned his lesson on how we feel when he pees on us! I was so glad we caught this BEFORE I got on the plane. I would have had poo all over me for the whole flight if I didn't notice it. Thank goodness! 

Grandma and Grandpa Burr at the airport after the blowout. He looks a lot happier after unloading that diaper.