Hey Audrey

 

Since you found this website and are always looking for pictures of yourself, here you go. Only a little over a month until we get to run the FoamFest....are you ready for the giant slides??

Extreme Couponing

Last night I watched some of the TLC Extreme Couponing show. It is obviously like all reality shows meant for entertainment purposes. So hopefully no one thinks I go and buy 300 toothbrushes or 200 deodorants on a shopping trip. And I think it is no coincidence they aired this episode before the Hoarders show. I also didn't think some of it was that great of deals. The one lady was paying 39 cents each for French's mustard...so she bought 62 of them I think. I have never spent any money, besides tax, on mustard. And since Audrey is the only one in our house who uses mustard, besides for making deviled eggs, the 1 bottle in the frig and the 2 downstairs will probably last us for at least 2 years.

On that note, I did go to Publix yesterday. And included in my order was 6 bags of Banquet chicken nuggets...crazy huh?? Well I am splitting it with a friend so only 3 bags are staying at our house. The total this week was $50 ($90 something before coupons), which is higher than usual for me. But I did earn a $10 gift card to Publix and I can never get the Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper for less than $3 a case...and at our house it is a necessity.

Victoria Bryant State Park

We spent an absolutely beautiful day hiking and having a picnic at Victoria Bryant State Park in Royton. I would do this every weekend if schedules allowed.

This is at the observation deck at the beaver dam. A tree had fallen on the deck and the men were throwing the tree parts back to the beavers.

Our junior hikers. We walked for around 4 hours...they did a great job.

Playing around on the rocks and in the water was probably our favorite part.

Budgets

At the end of last year I wanted to make my couponing more exciting. I had couponed for more than a year at that point and while there were some deals that made me feel great, it had lost some of the excitement. So I decided to set myself up a budget for 2011. I gave myself $250 a month to spend on groceries and drugstore items (paper products, medicines, cleaning products, and stuff like that). I found a nice excel spreadsheet that someone had created and put in my goal. The way the spreadsheet works is you enter each receipt on a monthly tab and then it rolls up into a nice summary. Below is my completed table for the first quarter of 2011. It is great to see where you are spending and saving the most. After January, it became obvious to me that I was spending too much at Walgreens for what I was getting, so I stopped going there unless they had a really good deal on something I really wanted.

It is hard to see (I think you can click on the picture and see it better). The great news is I have been under budget each month (in February $82 under) and that my savings rate is around 81%.

I am usually not a fan of budgets. I consider myself a saver but usually when I set myself up on a budget I immediately think of something I “really” need. But this budget has been a lot of fun. It is a game for me. How to get everything we need, and the most, with the smallest amount. And then using those items to create meals. Of course I still have some trips where I just walk into Publix and grab what I want. But those trips get logged in the table as well, so it helps me to try my best to plan ahead. I am still thinking of new ways to throw some excitement into all of this. But for this week 8 cents jars of peanut butter and 50 cent milk has me pretty excited! Happy shopping!

Skyrocketing food prices

Yesterday the AP published a news article about the skyrocketing price of food. This is due to several factors including the increase in oil prices and vegetable crops not being as plentiful. Food prices rose 3.9% in February, the steepest single month climb since 1974. I am sure you noticed foods that you buy seem to be increasing in price each time you shop. But you can do something about it. While there may not be a coupon for everything you need on your list...it still makes a difference. Yesterday at Publix my total was $128.37 before they started taking off my coupons. I ended up paying $80.14, which included $50 in gas cards...so I paid around $30 for the food pictured here. This weeks sales will make the kids very happy...lots of things the kids always want and that make packing lunches very easy. I will go back to the store this weekend and get milk, produce and a couple of meats and expect to spent around $20. That will be right on target for spending $50 a week on groceries.





So what is on your list at Publix this week?

Props

I am always surprised how things work out when I request "special" customer service from a store. Somehow this weekend I lost a small wallet that I carry my drugstore "fake" money in. It was quite a bummer because I had $11 in CVS money and $10 in Rite Aid money...which can go a long way at a drugstore. I figured CVS would be able to reissue my money...they are always so accomodating. I had heard Rite Aid does not reissue rewards. So this morning I called...and the outcome:


CVS: even though my "money" shows up on the website when I log in under my account the lady on the phone says she can only reissue my $1 reward, not my $10 one. I am shocked and really bummed.


Rite Aid: based on everything I read online I wasn't even going to try. But they have an instant chat where you can talk to a customer service person. I told her I lost my $10 heart healthy reward and wanted to know if it could be reprinted. Without hesitation she said she could mail it to me (but they generally do not reissue them).


So I only lost $10 now instead of $21 and my loyalty has slightly shifted towards Rite Aid. Now if I can only find a way to get back some of that "losing my mind" feeling from losing the wallet in the first place.


And since I have no picture to go along with that story...

The Drugstore Game

There are huge benefits in shopping the drugstores (CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens).

At the beginning of 2011 I put myself on a budget for grocery and drugstore shopping. My goal was to spend no more than $250 a month. I found an excel spreadsheet which keeps track of my trips calculating the amount saved and allows me to see which stores are actually saving me the most.

CVS is my long time favorite, but lately Rite Aid has been having awesome deals. Walgreens, well, every once in a while they have a deal I take advantage of but for the most part I stay away. As for grocery stores there is no question, Publix is definitely the way to go.

So I thought I would show some of the benefits of drug store shopping. I decided to go to Walgreens this week because they had a great deal on liquid acetaminophen, and we our on our last little bit. Kelsey is the only one in our house who still takes liquid, but since she takes 10 ml a dose, a bottle doesn’t last that long.

All the drugstores have “store money” that is basically like cash that you can use on your items at that store. Walgreens calls their money Register Rewards (RR) and they print on a Catalina machine after your purchase. I had a $3 RR I wanted to use at Walgreens, so this was my plan.

Buy:
4 Pediacare acetaminophen liquid (6.99 each) = $27.96
1 Nice and Easy hair foam (7.99 each) = $7.99 (generates a $1 RR)
3 cans of mandarin orances (1.29 each) = $3.87
TOTAL: $39.82

Use:
Walgreens Pediacare in ad coupon ($5 off each one) = -$20
Facebook coupon for a free nice and easy foam = -$7.99
Walgreens mandarin oranges in ad coupon (0.79 each) = -$2.37
Manufactures Pediacare printable coupon ($3 off 2) x 2 = -$6.00
And my $3 RR from last week = -$3.00

So my total was 0.46 plus $1.17 tax (so $1.63) and I had a $1 RR print that I can use on my next Walgreens trip. So basically I bought the oranges just so I could use my $3 RR from last week.

Rite Aid has two money-back programs. They have UP rewards (which are Rite Aid play money) and SCR (which are rebates). You enter your receipt online and if your qualify for a rebate (these are advertised) you get that amount entered into your account. At the end of the month you can request your check and you get a check in the mail for all your SCRs that you can cash at the bank. Rite Aid also has an online advertising program where if you watch these 30 second or so videos you get ride aid coupons for that product (or some are just $1 off any product). These are called video values (VV).

I went to Rite Aid with a $10 and $20 UP rewards (their form or Rite Aid money) that I wanted to spend. So basically my goal is to have my pretax total be slightly over $30 after coupons.

So I bought:
3 packs of dixie paper plates (3.59 each): 10.77
1 themacare: 3.59
2 Lysol disinfectant sprays (3.99 each) = 7.98
1 Keri lotion = 6.99
1 Tavist allergy tablets = 6.99
1 comtrex cold and sinus med = 4.99
1 bufferin 130 ct aspirin = 6.99
1 snickers bar = 0.88
1 cottenelle 12 pk toilet paper = 6.99
2 sambucol (herbal flu relief tabs) = 2.00
2 reese king size peanut butter cups = 1.59

TOTAL = $59.76

And then I used:
A $3/$15 coupon for completing a survey (printed on my receipt) = -$3.00
2 x $1 printable sambucol coupons = -$2.00
A video values reese printable coupon = -0.50
The in ad $5 off 3 dixie plates coupon = -$5.00
The video value $5 off 3 dixie plates coupon = -$5.00
2 mfr coupons ($1.50 each) for the Lysol disinfectant = -$3.00
A video values coupon for cottenelle = -$1.00
A mfr coupon for cottenelle = -$0.50
An in ad thermacare coupon = -$3.99
A printable keri lotion coupon = -$3.00
A mfr coupon for Comtrex = -$1.50
2 printable $1 Video values coupons (off anything) = -$2.00

Then my $10 and $20 rite aid UP bucks

It ended up being -0.82 before tax…normally you can’t go negative because UP rewards can’t be used to pay for tax…not sure why it worked but fine by me! After tax I paid $1.55 real cash.

But it gets even better. I had $1.88 print in new UP rewards print (from buying the snickers and the cottenelle). Then when I go online and enter my receipt I will get the SCR rebates for the Lysol, Keri lotion, Tavist, Comtrex, and Bufferin. These rebates will total $23 that I will receive as a check in the mail.

I don’t match up the coupons with the sales myself. Websites such as www.southernsavers.com and www.hip2save.com do most of the work for you. You just have to figure out which coupons you have and make up a scenario that works for you.

The way to make the drugstores really pay is to “roll” the play money these drugstores give you into the next week’s deals. You buy the items next week with your rewards that will generate new rewards. Most of the time you are not buying items that are on your shopping list for that week but eventually you will end up with a drugstore in your bathroom and when you need something you will never have to pay full price. Or you can just think Rite Aid paid me $23 to shop at their store today and go and give away all your items and make your friends or shelters happy!

My Great Idea

I had one of the greatest ideas ever this weekend. Randy and I were working on assembling Kelsey’s old bunk bed down in the basement play room. Once that was finished, we were cleaning up and moving things around. I saw a DVD shelf we no longer are using against the wall and it hit me…the idea not the shelf.

For a few weeks I have been looking online for a food rotation system for canned foods. These shelves allow you to easily rotate your canned foods so that you are using the oldest cans first. Currently I have my extra cans in our basement “food closet” on a shelf, so when I would buy more I would have to put the older cans in the back and slide them all forward…this was not one of my favorite things to do.

I found some really nice shelves online, but they were more expensive than I was willing to pay. Then I found some cardboard ones that were reasonably priced but when I went to order them the shipping was outrageous, so I reconsidered that. Then I found instructions on how to make your own out of scrap cardboard boxes, and thought maybe one day I will do that.

Then came the DVD shelf. I works PERFECTLY to hold cans. I stacked the cans from with the oldest cans on the right and the newest on the left, and they easily slide left to right. For normal sized cans each shelf holds 18 cans. For the small cans tomato sauce or paste cans it probably holds at least 32. I now have the fanciest canned food holder ever!





This freed up tons of space on my shelf so I reorganized the rest of the food closet too. The canned food shelf is on the facing wall to this shelf.



And here are some pictures of the cleaned up play room. I am sure in a few days it will look again like the Lego store exploded in here, but for now it is nicely organized and cleaned up.





Of course I have a running list of things I want to organize in the house. Audrey suggested I figure out which room can be her "trophy room" as her trophies keep getting bigger. This weekend she won first place in her karate sparring tournament. She thinks this is the best looking trophy ever.

We love Publix!

Here is a summary of my very exciting Publix trip.

Reese king size cups (2) 2.00
Reese mini king cups (2) 0.00 Used 2 B1G1 coupons for king size cups above
Thomas bagels (1) 2.10
Doritos (2) 3.99
Reach floss (4) -0.04 Used 4 x $1 coupons
Pillsbury Grands biscuits (4) 2.80 Used 2 x 0.30 off 2 (doubles to be $1.20 off total)
Hunt tomato sauce (4) 1.34
Mueller pasta (4) -1.22 Used 4 x $1 coupons
Idahoan potatoes (3) 2.00 Used 1.00 off 3
Bayer aspirin (2) -1.26 Used 2 x $2 publix coupons and 2 x $1 mfr coupons
Ground chuck 3.04
Strawberries (1) 0.67 Used $1 off produce wyb 2 frito lay chips (Doritos counted)
Hot mama garlic knots (1) 1.40
Classico alfredo sauce (5) 1.73 Used 5 x $1 coupons
Bread (1) 1.25
Green giant canned vegs (8) 3.16 Used 2 x $1/4 publix coupons
Hunts tomatoes (4) 2.54 Used 1 x 0.45/3 (doubled to 90 cents off)
Publix choc crème cookies (1) 0.01 Penny item for this week
-5.00 1 x $5 off 30 purchase publix coupon (was in last weeks paper)
-10.00 2 x $5 off wyb 20 participating Italian items (hunts, pillsbury, green giant)

Total from above ends up being $10.50 before tax, but my receipt says $9.61 before tax. It's not worth the time to figure out where my error is. I did get "lucky" on this trip and got an extra $4 off. There is a publix coupon for $1 off 4 hunts tomatoes that I didn't have and asked if the cashier had the code (publix coupons are a 4 digit code they enter). She didn't have it but asked the bagger to ask customer service for it. They ended up giving her the code for the $5 off 2o items (which i had already used). But she rang it up too fast because it was the last coupon. So I went to customer service and the lady said to not worry about it and that they weren't going to let me pay back the $4 difference.

I use http://www.iheartpublix/ and http://www.southernsavers.com/ to find these deals. Now I am off to find some deals on gas! :)

Catching up - Disney!

Kelsey

Kelsey has taken her lunch probably 95% of this Pre-K year. So now I pretty much don't even ask in the morning, I just pack her one. So this morning....

Me: Hey Kelsey I packed your lunch and put it in your bookbag, why didn’t you take your lunch yesterday?
Kelsey: Oh I wanted to eat at school. I want to eat at school today too.
Me: What?
Kelsey: I want to eat peanut butter and jelly at school. I want to eat at school everyday.
Me: I just packed you a peanut butter and jelly.
Kelsey: Yea but if I eat at school AND I want peanut butter and jelly I get to be in the front of the line. I like being in the front of the line.

I am such a pushover…I ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. She just totally cracked me up, and from the eyes of a 4 y/o I am sure being in the front of the line for the short walk to the cafeteria is HUGE.

Audrey

Audrey came home from school earlier this week with an honor roll certificate.

Me: Audrey, what is this?
Audrey: Oh that means I am the smartest kid in my class.
Me: Really?
Audrey: Or maybe my teacher said ONE of the smartest kids in my class.

LASIK and Six Flags

I don't have any pictures from the LASIK, but you probably wouldn't want to see them anyway. The procedure was a lot more uncomfortable than I thought it would be, but it is only like 3 minutes per eye, so you just bear it. The surgery was last Thursday and after about a half day of pain, I was seeing great! So on Saturday we went to Six Flags.

The weather for Six Flags was perfect and the crowds were not bad at all. The kids had a great day and I was able to avoid getting on most rides. Audrey would ride every roller coaster 10 times or more if you let her...and was quite upset that there are height restrictions on them.

Kelsey had to fight the crowds to ride this...

It is soooo cool to have a Daddy that can win those stuffed animal prizes!

Crazy girls being silly in line for the Monster Mansion. It was quite funny on this ride as we saw a toddler throw his mom's flip flop in the water while we were waiting in line...I don't think they were ever able to find the flip flop...hopefully they sell shoes somewhere in the park.

We have season tickets so at least every other day the girls are asking if we can go back. Audrey's favorite ride was a tie between the Mindbender and the Great American Scream Machine. Kelsey also loved the Scream Machine but admits it was a little bumpy. Audrey is trying to stretch herself so she can be 54 inches and ride more roller coasters.

Disney 2010!!!

I am counting down the days!! Randy surprised us and booked us a week at Disney. I am as impatient as the girls and wish every day was the day before we were leaving. We went last July and it was the most fun trip ever. This year it will be a little different because we will stay at a Disney hotel and have the Disney dining plan. We have already booked lots of fun meals. Oh and the best part is no driving, we are flying! We can leave Atlanta and arrive 1.5 hours later.

Tide at Target

Around 2 months ago I was thinking, man I wish I could find a good deal on Tide. I am pretty loyal when it comes to laundry soap. Well since then I have found tons of deals on Tide, and I probably have an 18 month supply of laundry stuff. But the deal this week at Target ranks among my favorites. So I bought....

2 - Tide w Febreeze 75 oz ($19.98)
2 - Tide Stain Release 18 ct (I love these things) ($13.98)
1 - box of fruit snacks ($2.04)
2 - Gillette Body Washes ($3.58)
6 - Special K Fruit Crisps boxes ($15) Audrey's new fave snack

Total - $54.58 + tax

Coupons used:
-3.00 for 2 target tide coupons
-0.70 for 2 mfr tide coupons
-13.98 for 2 free stain release coupons when you buy tide
-4.00 for buying 2 gillette body washes
-3.00 in target special k coupons
-4.25 in mfr special k fruit crisps coupons
-1.50 fruit snack coupon
-5.00 target coupon ($5 off $50 purchase)

So my total was $20.08 including tax. But get this. Part of the deals this week are if you buy two Tide you get a $5 gift card and if you buy 5 boxes of Kellogg's snacks you get a $5 giftcard. So if you take off the $10 in gift cards I received, I paid $10.08 for everything! I was very happy!!

Oh, and the Purex in the picture I got free from Walgreens this week. They had it B1G1 free and I had a B1G1 free coupon. I haven't ever used it but can't complain about 2 bottles of free laundry soap...so much for my Tide loyalty!

Family Hike

Last Sunday, we went on a family hike. We walked through the woods behind our house and around to some other woods we had never been through and then we came to a "highway" and crossed the road. We ended up here in the picture above. It is an area that they cleared last year or maybe even longer ago. I am not sure if a neighborhood was supposed to be built or what. But for now it is just piles of logs and dirt. It reminded me of the badlands or whatever they were called in The Lion King. Then when I saw this picture and noticed that Audrey had brought "the lion king" on the hike I had to laugh. While we sat here and had our snack we were swarmed by vultures. They were getting a little too close for me (and were starting to outnumber us). I guess they must have nests somewhere nearby.

The girls were asking yesterday if we could go another hike. I guess we could go a "snow hike" tonight. Yes, snow again...

An almost Friday funny

Too funny....

I went to Home Depot recently while not being altogether sure that course of action was a wise one. You see, the previous evening I had prepared and consumed a massive quantity of my patented 'you're definitely going to crap yourself' road-kill chili. Tasty stuff, although hot to the point of being painful, which comes with a written guarantee from me that if you eat it, the next day both of your butt cheeks WILL fall off.

Here's the thing. I had awakened that morning, and even after two cups of coffee (and all of you know what I mean) nothing happened. No 'Watson's Movement. Despite the chilies swimming their way through my intestinal tract, I was unable to create the usual morning symphony referred to by my dear wife as 'thunder and lightning'.

Knowing that a time of reckoning HAD to come, yet not sure of just when, I bravely set off for Home Depot, my quest being paint and supplies to refinish the deck. Upon entering the store at first all seemed normal. I selected a cart and began pushing it about dropping items in for purchase. It wasn't until I was at the opposite end of the store from the toilets that the pain hit me.

Oh, don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm referring to that 'Uh Oh, crap, gotta go' pain that always seems to hit us at the wrong time. The thing is, this pain was different. The chilies from the night before were staging a revolt. In a mad rush for freedom they bullied their way through the small intestines, forcing their way into the large intestines, and before I could take one step in the direction of the toilets which would bring sweet relief, it happened. The chilies fired a warning shot.

There I stood, alone in the paint and stain section, suddenly enveloped in a toxic cloud the likes of which has never before been recorded. I was afraid to move for fear that more of this vile odor might escape me. Slowly, oh so slowly, the pressure seemed to leave the lower part of my body, and I began to move up the aisle and out of it, just as an orange aproned clerk turned the corner and asked if I needed any help.

I don't know what made me do it, but I stopped to see what his reaction would be to the toxic non-visible fog that refused to dissipate.. Have you ever been torn in two different directions emotionally? Here's what I mean, and I'm sure some of you at least will be able to relate. I could've warned that poor clerk, but didn't. I simply watched as he walked into an invisible, and apparently indestructible, wall of odor so terrible that all he could do before gathering his senses and running, was to stand there blinking and waving his arms about his head as though trying to ward off angry bees. This, of course, made me feel terrible, but then made me laugh. .........BIG mistake!!!!!

Here's the thing. When you laugh, it's hard to keep things 'clamped down', if you know what I mean. With each new guffaw an explosive issue burst forth from my nether region. Some were so loud and echoing that I was later told a few folks in other aisles had ducked, fearing that someone was robbing the store and firing off a shotgun. Suddenly things were no longer funny. 'It' was coming, and I raced off through the store towards the toilet, laying down a cloud the whole way, praying that I'd make it before the grand explosion took place.

Luck was on my side. Just in the nick of time I got to the john, began the inevitable 'Oh my God', floating above the toilet seat because my butt is burning SO BAD, purging. One poor fellow walked in while I was in the middle of what is the true meaning of 'Shock and Awe'.. He made a gagging sound, and disgustedly said, 'Son-of-a-gun!, did it smell that bad when you ate it?', then quickly left.

Once finished and I left the restroom, reacquired my partially filled cart intending to carry on with my shopping when a store employee approached me and said, 'Sir, you might want to step outside for a few minutes. It appears some prankster set off a stink bomb in the store. The manager is going to run the vent fans on high for a minute or two which ought to take care of the problem.'

My smirking of course set me off again, causing residual gases to escape me. The employee took one sniff, jumped back pulling his apron up to cover his nose and, pointing at me in an accusing manner shouted, 'IT'S YOU!', then ran off returning moments later with the manager. I was unceremoniously escorted from the premises and asked none too kindly not to return.

Home again without my supplies, I realized that there was nothing to eat but leftover chili, so I consumed two more bowls. The next day I went to shop at Lowe's. I can't say anymore about that because we are in court over the whole matter. Claim they're going to have to repaint the store

New Hobby

So it has been a little while since I posted :) So in summary, we celebrated all the holidays, Audrey turned 7, Randy and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary, and it seems to snow here all the time lately.


So this is a picture of my latest hobby...extreme couponing. The picture below is from a trip to Publix, it was $50 but after coupons it was $11.73. I have so much "stuff" these days I have had to put a limit on myself. Since the end of January I have had a $50 a week grocery budget. Otherwise, I will just keep buying stuff. I am also shopping weekly at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid. I am using cash for those (from rebates) so technically I am not spending any new money there, I just keep "rolling" my money. I haven't been to Walmart in over 8 weeks and do not think I will ever go back. I do still shop Target but I haven't yet decided how to create my Target budget.


So most of this was learned by http://www.southernsavers.com/ I also use http://www.totallytarget.com/ and http://www.iheartpublix.com/. The woman who runs the southern savers website is doing a couponing workshop in Monroe on March 25th. The cost is $10.




It amazes me how much you really can get for free, or almost free. Since this was on the penny item day, the toilet paper was a penny (I have heard it isn't even worth that...we will see!). The 6 cans of Hunts tomoto sauce and the 2 cans of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce were free. The margarine was 15 cents, the knorr sides 10 cents, ragu 35 cents, uncrustables 45 cents, and lunch meat 50 cents. The cereal was $1 box (I can't believe how much I use to spend on cereal).

An Almost Friday Funny

Two rednecks walk into a bar. While enjoying a shot of whiskey,
they talkabout their moonshine operation. Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table who is eating a sandwich, begins to cough and sputter. After a minute or so, it becomes apparent that
she is in real distress.

One of the rednecks looks at her and says "Kin ya swallar?"

The woman shakes her head no.

"Kin ya breathe?"

The woman begins to turn blue and shakes her head no.

The redeck walks over to the woman, lifts up the back of her dress
yanks down her drawers and quickly gives her right butt cheek a lick with
his tongue.
The woman is so shocked that she has a violent spasm and the
0bstruction flies from her throat and out of her mouth. As she begins to
breathe again, the redneck walks slowly back to the bar.

His partner says, "Ya know, I'd heard of that there 'Hind Lick
Maneuver,' but I ain't niver seen nobody do it."

Pumpkin Patch and Aikido Audrey

We went to the Washington Farms pumpkin patch with the Otto's and Dauphin's. The weather was great and the crowd wasn't bad at all so it made for a great day. We saw the pig races, rode the cow train, the hayride, spent way too long in a corn maze, picked out some pumpkins, rode some big bikes and saw the farm animals.

This is my favorite picture of the day. Duane and David were chasing Kelsey on the big bikes and she was just so determined that they would not pass her.



Don't let these smiles fool you...we were thinking "if we don't get out of this corn maze soon..."



Kelsey on they hayride, also known as the roller coaster (at least when you ask her about it).



Audrey and Randy at the pumpkin slingshot. They were too strong, kept overshooting the target.




We came across some cute farm animals...




Almost everyone smiling....




Zoe, Kelsey, Trinity, Audrey and David. It is rough being the only boy (besides Baby Daniel).




Audrey is loving her Aikido class. She earned her blue and red stripes last week and was so excited that she could barely tell me about it. She said usually you can only earn one stripe in a day but she got two! So this means she knows her punches and her kicks for her white belt. I think she has already memorized all the colors of the belts before she gets to black.

I just loved Audrey's expression in this photo...she laughs so much during class. Even when she looks like she should be hurt she hops up laughing.




Happy spectators :)



Audrey breaking the blue board. She has put these breakable boards on her Christmas list. Along with all sorts of other things out of the martial arts holiday catalog her Sensei gave her (earrings, a shirt, some gloves for punching, and of course the giant foam thing you practice kicking...I asked her where we would put that and she said in her room...guess we could just get rid of her bed).



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!