Winter Weather Already???

Fall started with, well, winter weather! The first day of fall came with snow fall! I'm just not ready to put away the shorts one day and pull out sweaters the next! It also snowed on Thursday and this time it stuck to the ground. Derek took Friday morning off of work because we were supposed to go to a local pumpkin farm, but had to cancel our outing when we woke up to snow!

Today has been so cold and the roads are pure black ice. You can't tell from looking at them, but you slip and slide everywhere. There have been accidents everywhere and they even shut down the interstate for part of the day. Not to mention they postponed the Colorado Rockies baseball game! I would like to have a fall first please! Here are some pictures of the weather and Ryan dressed up all cute in his winter gear. I couldn't get Sean to sit still long enough to get a picture! :-)

Bargain Shopping!

Most of you know that I'm a major bargain shopper! I love finding great deals and it's been even more important since we've been living on 1 income! Over the past year, I've focused on reducing our grocery budget since it's one of the areas that we can decrease. I was so excited the other day when I went to Albertsons and here's what I got:

3 Freschetta Pizzas
3 Red Baron Pizza Singles
2 Gallons of Milk
1 Chex Mix
3 Cheerios Snack Mix
3 Barilla Pasta
2 Pillsbury Cookie Dough
3 Yoplait Yogurt Drinks (6 packs)
3 Green Giant Steamer Frozen Veggies
1 Box Mama Bella Garlic Bread
2 Dreyers Ice Cream (regular size)
2 Tony's Pizza's (smaller size)

Can you guess how much I spent for all of this? After all the sales and coupons (they were quadrupled this week!), my total was only $31.19! I saved $73.21! The cashier asked me if I had a coupon for every item and I literally almost did!

I just had to share my excitement! :-)

Weekend Trip to Estes Park!

A couple of weeks ago, we took a mini-trip up North to Estes Park. It was beautiful. We stayed in a cabin with Derek's dad and step-mom and it was a great getaway. Even though we've lived in Colorado for more than 2 years, we haven't had much of a chance to travel the state. There is so much more to see and we can't wait. It's getting easier as the boys get older.

We spent much of our time outside admiring God's beauty! We saw lots of elk and deer. It was amazing that they let us get so close to them. There was a big heard that just stayed on a nearby golf course all day. It was a funny sight.

The boys were content to explore their surroundings outside finding rocks, sticks, flowers, etc. We found an awesome park nearby; it was probably the best park we've ever been to. It had 2 big playgrounds, rocks to climb, fields to run, elk to see, and a beautiful view. While at the park, Grandpa found a little snake crossing the sidewalk and Sean held it!

Sean was most excited about making smores over the fire pit. We roasted hot dogs and made smores. I think Sean ate 2 of them! That's all he could talk about was making the smores!

One night we were awoken to 2 very large raccoons going through our trash. Those things can get mean when they are eating!

Look Who's 4!

Once again, I'm behind on updating our blog! I'm going all the way back to mid-September - Sean's 4th birthday party! I can't believe he is already 4! I remember when he was just a baby and we were bringing him home from the hospital (sniffle, sniffle!). We had a blast at his birthday party. The party theme this year was Star Wars. Sean wanted a GI Joe party, but we decided to go with Star Wars because the GI party decor was pretty much all black.

We decorated with the Star Wars theme, but added a few "princess" touches for the girls! The boys wore Captain Rex masks and the girls had princess wands. We had a Darth Vader pinata which we broke open with light sabers. We also rented a bouncy house and the kids had so much fun! The weather during the week leading up to his party was great - mid 60's - 70 degree temps, but it just so happened that the weather prediction for the day of his party was very cold and rainy! We couldn't believe it - the one day we needed nice weather. Our prayers were answered because the rain literally started 5 minutes after the guests left. Then, it rained pretty hard for hours. Sean's already asking how many days until he turns 5!

He got all sorts of awesome presents: GI Joes, Snake Eyes GI Joe sword and mask, Nerf sword, Star Wars action figures, Star Wars book, fishing pole, clothes, and more. Do you see the theme with his presents? Action figures and weapons! Lately, Sean thinks he is a GI Joe. I think he often thinks of our good friend and neighbor (we call him Mr. Tim) who is deployed right now and he wants to be a soldier too. Mommy and daddy got him a Leapster 2 learning handheld game system and 2 games. I scored an awesome deal on the system and games several months ago and could hardly wait until his birthday to give it to him!

Some things about Sean at 4 years old:

• Has endless energy!
  
  Favorite toys: any action figures especially Star Wars and GI Joe, weapons especially the ones that make sounds, play animals, stuffed animals, cars (not as much as he used to be though), any books.
  
• Could watch TV for hours if we let him!


• Likes to run around pretending that he is a GI Joe


• Likes to watch football with daddy and wears his Chicago Bears jersey on football Sundays


• Likes to play tackle football with daddy


• Already has an interest in playing video games (thanks daddy!)


• Has a large vocabulary


• Always asks "why"


• Likes to cuddle with mommy


• Favorite snack: popcorn!


• Loves to eat Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream


• Favorite place to eat: Chick Fil-A


• Hasn't learned to ride a bike yet, only wants to ride his 4 wheeler


• Loves to play outside
  
• Still throws temper tantrums


• Just started sleeping under the covers
  
• Is very picky about food

• Has an awesome imagination!


• Still has his Tigger and now he tells stories about Tigger and what he's done in his life. For example, I recently learned that Tigger used to work at Chick Fil-A!


• Is in his 2nd year of pre-school


• LOVES to talk!


• Doesn't care to wear shoes or a jacket


• Weighs about 33 pounds - tiny guy!


• Doesn't like to eat breakfast right away when he wakes up


• Just recently dropped his naps, but has "quiet time!" (mom's not so happy about this one!)

There's so much more, but this is all I could think of right now! We thank God for Sean and look forward to another blessed year! I don't have a whole lot of pictures to post right now because my friend who played photographer still has most of the pics!