My Sweet Colin!

I just wanted to do a quick update on Colin. What a little doll he is! He'll be 11 months old next week and is officially everywhere. He's been on the move for a while now, but lately it's stepped up a notch, literally. I walked into the family room this last week to find him on the 3rd stair up! Yikes! Up goes the baby gate. He still does a funny little combination of army-crawl/ real crawl, but don't worry, this doesn't seem to slow him down. Whenever he pulls himself up to something new or turbo-crawls over to a new place he's always so proud of himself! I love his little celebration grins! I absolutely can't believe he'll be a year old in a few weeks. Where does the time go?! In other areas, he's thriving. He babbles on and on and loves to play peek-a-boo. He is a mama's boy and 90% of the time I adore that. {The other 10% of the time I need a break!} He's often my little side-kick though and I love it. Good thing he enjoys grocery shopping! :)

Thomas Started Kindergarten!

I know, I've been a blogging slacker! I apologize! Really, not much has changed until very recently. This last week we had a BIG milestone in our family's life-- Thomas started Kindergarten! Here he is on his big day wearing his new favorite color. Yes, green is the new orange. I decided to have him in afternoon Kindergarten because it's just going to be easier on our schedule. Colin & Hailey nap while Thomas is at school...so maybe I'll actually get a couple hours to myself?! We'll see! His teacher, Mrs. Wells is fantastic and the school is incredible. It looks much different now that it's almost finished, but if you have some spare time, you can go see details on it here. We're excited to have hit this incredible milestone with Thomas! One funny thing. He had to take his assessment test and was beyond excited about it all week. Oh how I love that the word test doesn't have negative connotation...yet!

Our California Vacation!

We've been back for a few weeks now and I finally feel like I'm getting settled! We took a 9-day vacation to California at the end of June, early July. We drove out (sounds scary, but it really wasn't too bad!) to San Jose and spent several days with Adrian's parents, then drove 3 hours north to Auburn, CA for a few days with my family!

In San Jose we swam at the pool a lot, but also took day trips to San Francisco, the beach, and Gilroy Gardens, a really fun children's amusement park. The kids played hard each day but did really well with the added driving, etc. They slept in a tent at Grammie & Papa's house- how fun was that?!

In Auburn, my step-dad, Michael surprised us with a plane ride! Adrian, Thomas I went up and flew all around Auburn for a while. It was SO MUCH FUN! i was a little nervous as my stomach just isn't very tolerant of events like this, but it was so worth the minor queasiness! Thomas loved it. I tell ya, I had so much fun watching him enjoy the ride.

My mom & Michael live in this neat community called the Lake of the Pines. It's a moutain-esque development built around a man made lake. There are beaches everywhere with playgrounds and built-in cabanas. Talk about being spoiled! It was a lot of fun swimming and haning out with my family!

Here are several pics from the trip. If you have a lot of extra time on your hands and want to see more, go here: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbtWLVkzZNWG8.

Williams Update

We're about to leave for vacation so I figured I should post a little update beforehand!

Things are going well! Adrian's settling nicely into his new job and the kids and I are starting to enjoy a nice summer at home! Thomas is officially registered for kindergarten (can you believe it?!) and I'm so thrilled for him- he's beyond excited. He'll be attending a brand new school here in the neighborhood. We haven't found out yet many details as the school is still being built!

Hailey is a little rascal and keeps me on my toes. Just today, while I was making lunch, I glanced up just in time to see her pour a (free sample!) bottle of shampoo on the kitchen table. Sigh. At least it was free, right?! It's a good thing she's so cute. She told me this afternoon that she's going to start preschool soon and that she'll miss me while she's gone. LOL. Creativity is certainly not lacking when it comes to conversations with Hailey! For 2.5, she's amazingly articulate and is really fun to talk to.

Colin is 8.5 months old and just cut his first tooth! Well, teeth really as his bottom two came in at the exact same time. He's rolling and has even gotten up on all 4's...but hasn't started crawling yet. I'm ok with that though- take your time buddy! He is such a cutie, as you can see!

As for me- I'm doing well. Life is busy and as these kids get older, it just keeps getting busier. My blog is doing really well too! I am getting about 1,200 hits a day now and am just having a good time with it. Another local blogger and I share a lot of deals and she recently wrote an article in the Salt Lake Tribune featuring our family! You can read about it here.

We're leaving for California in a couple days- we're all so excited! We haven't gone to CA for a couple years, so we're looking forward to taking the kids to the beach, San Francisco and of course, seeing a lot of family. I'll post about our trip after we return!

Here are a few pics of some recent activities.

Both of these garden pics were taken on the same day. We've had a very cool, unusually wet June here in Utah. Thankfully, my garden doesn't seem to mind. Still, very weird to take pics from a freak hail storm, then turn around and show how my tomatoes are doing!

My sweet Colin.

On a whim, we drove 30 minutes to Ogden to see the Disney Train Tour one evening. What a flop of an event! When we arrived, there was a 4 hour wait to just get in to see the train. No thanks! We walked around and took some pics then left. (Note: if the train comes to a city near you, just pass on this free event!)

We had a woman offer to take our picture. We agreed and said- yeah, we're trying to take a pic of our family in front of the water tower! Family- check. Water tower, well, not-so-much. LOL.

Vote for me!

I've been nominated for a blog award! It's an award to be nominated, really, but now it's up to voters to decide the winners. So, if you have a moment, with every spare email address that you have, email:

contest@utahbabyguide.com

And vote for my blog- utahdealdiva.com!

Thank you!!!

Graduation {from Preschool that is!}

Thomas graduated from Preschool yesterday! He's been going to Miss Charity's preschool (that's just next door!) since September of last year and his last day is next week! I can't believe my baby's going to SCHOOL! i'm so excited for him though- he's beyond ready! He's been reading for a while now and I'm just astonished at how well he writes! He's just going to love kindergarten! The school he will be attending is still being built, but should be completed by Fall. I think it will be fun for him to go to a brand new school!

Here he is with his friends eating ice cream after the little ceremony.

I loved how none of the kids quite knew what to do with their graduation hats!

Posing with Dad...

and Mom!

And just for fun, I had to throw these in! I've been giving Colin baths in the sink since he was born! He's getting WAY too big for that now, so I finally dug out this mesh bather and he loved it. He won't be using it for long as he's sitting up now, but he was tired and enjoyed louging in the bath just kicking around.

This isn't the most eventful video, but I still thought it was cute.

Adrian is now EMPLOYED!!!

I just wanted to give an awesome update: Adrian is employed!

The job he interviewed for 1.5 weeks ago called him back on Monday. He went in Tuesday for another first interview with a different group leader. That interview ended and they asked him if he could stick around and meet the Unit Leader! Two hours later he was finally on his way home- that's some interview!! As he was leaving they told him they wouldn't be making a decision until early the following week. Although, I guess they must have liked him because a few hours later they called him back and offered him a job!!!!

The company is great! It's called Westech Engineering. You can read more about it here. Adrian will be doing Project Management again, which he is very excited about. The job requires an Engineering background, so he'll fit right in! He starts Monday and boy are we excited about that!

We just want to thank everyone for all your thoughts, prayers and concern on our behalf. It has been an interesting last few months, to say the least! We feel incredibly blessed though. There are many, many others in similar situations who are doing far worse that we are. I am truly grateful for the many outreached hands that have been there for us to support us in a variety of ways. We love you and we'll keep you posted on how things go at his new job. We hope it's a very enriching and rewarding experience for Adrian and our family!

Hailey, Colin & the Carrots

This is what happens when mom gets Colin's dinner all ready, then leaves for a moment to answer the door...

BTW- whose idea was it to make white bibs?! White. Really?

Just admit it...

You see a slight resemblance too...

Tee hee! I love my little Colin and his sweet hairdo!

46 pounds and GROWING, apparently...

At least he's GOT to be, being as lately he's eating us out of house and home! I'm talking about Thomas in case you haven't guessed. My 5 1/2 year old. It's been going on for a while now, but in the last couple of weeks Thomas' appetite has increased exponentially. It's CRAZY. Now, I know I'm from a family of all girls, skinny girls nonetheless, but trust me, we can eat. Really, I'm not joking! But whoa, I really had no idea.

Here's a typical food consumption day for Thomas:

First Breakfast, 7:30am: 2-3 bowls of cereal. Good cereal too like Raisin Bran or Shredded Mini Wheats.

Second Breakfast 9am: A piece of toast w/jam, or a banana, or a few pancakes- essentially whatever I get up and make myself, he wants some of.

By 10:30 am he's asking if it's lunch time yet. I stare at him in disbelief and ask, "HONESTLY?!" Then I give him a banana or a thing of yogurt.

Lunch, noon: I give him one of those plastic, sectioned plates- each section is full and I pile stuff on top. A PB&J sandwich, string cheese, several apple slices, strawberries, graham crackers, and another container of yogurt. I stare when he asks Hailey, "You gonna eat that?"

3pm- snack time again. I shake my head and tell him to go drink a very big cup of water.

6pm- dinner. He eats a normal sized portion. For a 28 year old man. LOL. Seriously, he eats about the same amount as Adrian eats. And of course, he wants a treat afterwards because he's still hungry Mom!!

For anyone who has seen my other blog, this is why I use coupons.

Where did my baby go??

I can't believe in just a few days, Colin will be 6 months old!! Where on earth did the last 6 months go?

In honor of his half-Birthday, I'm going to give a little update on my baby boy. He's such a doll. He is growing and changing so fast. Life is certainly a lot busier with 3 kids, so often I find myself getting caught up in the hustle-bustle of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. However I have tried to make a special effort to have some one-on-one time with each of my 3 each day, and what a blessing that has been. Colin is easy- I'm still nursing, so I just find a quiet place, shut the door and voila. Something he's recently started doing though is nuzzling and oh how I love it! when he's getting tired, he just buries his head in my chest and lays there a while. Such nice moments those are! He is a sweetheart. He rolls now, although not as often as a couple weeks ago. He's very close to sitting up on his own too! He grabs at everything- as you can tell from some of my pictures! He talks/ yells a lot and is interacting more with his big brother and sister. I absolutely love watching them all play together!

I don't know how big Colin is because I haven't had his appt yet, but he's still a little guy! We did just start him on rice cereal, so maybe that will beef him up?? Hahaha- not likely. He is growing and is healthy though, so thats all that matters!

Enjoy the pics!

Here he is enjoying some rice cereal for the 2nd time.

He took to it like a champ- no funny faces or anything!

Uh Dad, you wanna help me here?
He was "helping" me organize my coupons.

I hope I didn't want to use that one...

This pic is at an odd angle because

I was trying to take it myself,

while Colin was in the sling!

I thought it was funny.

I'm going about, picking up the house with

Colin in tow and

I hear this slurping/ sucking noise... lololol!

Brothers & an update

I thought this was cute. The other day I put Colin in this sweatshirt & pant outfit. We got it as a gift way back before Thomas was born. I went back and looked at when Thomas started wearing it- January 2004, so he was about 4-5 months old. Which is fitting sinc ethe outfit is sized 3-6 months. I put it on Colin at nearly 6 months old and had to roll the waist, the legs and the sleeves. Poor widdle Colin. LOL! Although they may vary in size, I still think it's so cute to see their similarities. (Yes, their both wearing the same outfit. Our camera back then was TERRIBLE!)Not much is going on lately. We're still on the hunt for a new job. I wish I had a better update on that topic, but I don't. We're just continuing on, trying to save our pennies where we can and praying something comes along soon.

Although the last couple days aren't indicative of Spring (as it's snowed!), I do feel like it's approaching! I've planted my peas and our daffodils are blooming! I'll have to go out and take some pictures. The kids and I are soooo glad the weather is getting warmer. They've really enjoyed playing outside this last week when our weather was unseasonably warm.

I'll keep everyone posted on our job situation, but in the mean time we sure could use some prayers!

My new Blog!

So I've finally done it. I've combined my passion for finding a great deal with my love of blogging.

Come visit my new site! http://utahdealdiva.blogspot.com/

See you there!

Find your niche in specialty wards

Robert Kirby, Tribune columnist - Salt Lake Tribune

Most Sunday mornings, you'll find me on a pew in the Rosecrest 1st Ward chapel. It's where I'm supposed to go to church. Lucky for me, it's also where I want to go. Technically, Mormons don't have a choice. For church, we're bound by the geography of the ward boundary. We worship where we live.

The only time Mormons can switch wards without also contacting a Realtor is when we attend specialty wards. For example, I went to a Spanish-speaking ward in West Jordan for a while.
Specialty wards allow members with specific common needs to worship together and support each other in their exclusive part of the Lord's vineyard. There are (or have been) lots of LDS specialty wards, including singles wards, college wards, deaf wards, ethnic wards and nudist wards.

OK, I made up that last one. There are even seasonal "snowbird wards" in places where Mormon RV owners congregate.

I talked it over with my friend (despite a restraining order) Ken Wallentine. We think the specialty-ward idea needs to be improved on in our ever-changing and increasingly divided culture.

For example, there needs to be a late ward, a ward Mormons who are perpetually late for church could attend and not feel bad about dragging their herd in 15 minutes late. The only problem with a late ward would be showing up late for a meeting that was supposed to start late in the first place. Eventually, you would end up with a ward that ran out of time before it started.. "Welcome to the Tardy 3rd Ward, brothers and sisters. We will close now by singing hymn No. 145."

Given the high birthrate among Mormons, I thought about the need for maternity wards. Except that we already have those. They're called married student wards.

A Star Trek ward might do well. The bishop would preside from "the bridge" instead of the stand. High-council Sunday would be referred to as a "Klingon Sunday."

Harley riders congregate to the exclusion of just about everyone else. Why not an LDS biker ward? White shirts and neckties go well with black leather..

Ken really wants to attend a concealed-weapons ward. He says church would be a lot more interesting if real personal risks were involved in disagreeing with a lesson.

There could be a texting ward for teenagers. Bear your testimony with your thumb. In 25 years, they'll all belong to carpal-tunnel wards.

At the less-active ward, maybe there'll be a meeting and maybe there won't.

Testimony meeting in an anger-management ward might be interesting. Nobody's going to sleep through, "HEY! I KNOW THE CHURCH IS TRUE, STUPID!"

A big hit would be the Multi Level Marketing ward, also known as a "Gadianton robber ward." With all the financial scamming that goes on in this culture, it would be nice to have them all in one place for a three-hour block weekly.

I think a Democrat ward is a good idea, although in Utah the best we could probably hope for is a Democrat branch...

Living on a BUDGET.

Can I underline and put the word "budget" in bold?! We've always had a budget, but in the last couple weeks, I've been very selective with what I spend our money on. So the kids were just driving me batty and Adrian suggested I get out of the house for a while. (yay!!) I wanted to stop by Target for a few items I knew were on sale and ended up getting just those items! How often is it you go in a grocery store and get ONLY what's on the list?! Anyhow- I had to take a pic and post it for all my fellow couponers out there. Here's what I got:

2 packages London Broil steak, about 1 lb each

2 packages of Motts strawberry applesauce

2 heads of fresh broccoli

1 head of fresh cauliflower

1 bottle Suave shampoo/ conditioner for the kids

TOTAL out of pocket: $3.97

Coupons are so great!