SPRING BREAK PICTURES

Better late than never I always say!

Spring break we went to Nampa (Boise area) and spent time with my sister, Robyn, her family and also my Aunt and nephew. Friday night, we went to Nampa City Park. The weather was absolutely goregous!!! I think that it was 73 degrees. We ate pizza and played on the toys, etc. It was so much fun! These are a few of the pictures that I took that day.

Robyn calling to order pizza (at a discounted price, of course!)


Cousin time!!!
Here is Hallee & Faith (the oldest):

Here is Jaydn & Dawson (middle ones):

And finally Colt & Kate (our babies):

Here are my three together:

Walking over the bridge:
Robyn's three together. They would not look at me all at once - a photographer's nightmare!

Faith & Kate going down the slide. I do have to say that Kate really has no fear! She started going down all by herself on the tallest and longest slide at the park.




Thank you Robyn and family for offering your home and good times together during our spring break! We love you and can't wait for you to come down to Pocatello for good.

I LOVE SERVICE!!!

On Saturday, April 18th, our children participated in "All Paws for a Cause" fundraiser. This took place at McKee's petting zoo! The purpose: raising money to save the petting zoo. The government is always setting more and more restrictions and laws. In order for them to stay open, they needed the community's help.

That's where the youth service club came in. Our children are a part of Modern Woodmen of America Youth Service club. This club's motto is:

"There is a destiny that makes us brothers. None goes his way alone; all that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own."

Each month, Faith, Dawson, and Kate go and do a service project in the community. So far this year, we have adopted a grandma, cleaned DVD and VHS covers at the local library and also donated much needed CDs there, and picked up trash at the neighborhood park.

For April, club leaders Sara Bohney and Ana Beauchat put together this awesome fundraiser from 1 to 4 on Saturday the 18th. There was a dog show, the K-9 unit from the Police Department, a magic show, train rides, face painting, a raffle, and more!!!

It all started though, with awards from the major of Chubbuck presenting service awards to the children of our club. Parents did not know who was taking home what award.

Here is youth club leader Anya trying to get things started:

Sara explaining how the children were nominated for the awards and that Modern Woodmen decided.

There were 5 children who qualified (you have to be at least 8 years old). The other 4 children received a medal. (Faith did receive a medal last year as well.) Faith shaking hands with Major England to receive her award.

She received the highest honor, which was the 2009 Outstanding Junior Volunteer. It was a nice little plaque. She is always so shy and embarrassed about thing like this.

We are so proud of the service that she does in the community. We also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this company and the opportunities it gives our family to give back.

On May 2, it is National Join Hands Day. We will be going back to McKee to put in volunteer hours and hopefully make a difference. We were able to raise around $2500 from this event. The club also received a Shining Star award. This is given to only 34 clubs nationwide, so it's a pretty big deal. (I know that we have 4 clubs in the Pocatello area - there are hundreds if not thousands of clubs nationwide.)

Here is information about Join Hands Day:
What it is:
The goal of Join Hands Day is to bring young people and adults together to plan and implement projects that benefit their communities. It's the only day on the national calendar that brings generations together through volunteering. Join Hands Day is a national day of service sponsored by Modern Woodmen and America's fraternal benefit societies.

Why you should participate:

1. You'll help bridge the generation gap.
2. You'll help your community.
3. Members of your community will learn about your group's efforts.
4. It's easy and fun!

For those of you in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area, you can join us to make a difference! Come Saturday, May 2nd from 9-12 at McKee's Petting Zoo. At noon, they will be providing lunch for all the volunteers. I look forward to seeing you there!!!

Homemade Bread!

During our trip to Boise for spring break, we brought back 6 loaves of bread from my Aunt Sondra. She is an amazing woman and an amazing cook! Each loaf went to a different family. Let me tell you how delicious it was! So, we finally made our first loaf last week. We ground our own wheat with a hand grinder. Then we tried it with the Bosch mixer and with the bread maker (just the dough setting). I'll let you guess which loaf is done with the bread maker.

Here are the first two loaves:


And the loaf from today! I just love the smell of fresh baked bread.
Click here (on my Aunt Sondra's blogspot) for step by step instructions.

One last time - I promise!

So I wanted to blog one more time about couponing. (I know, I know - but it's the last time, really!)

Here is the picture of what I bought yesterday at Albertsons.


Going from left to right, 1 box of toaster pastries, 2 cans of frosting, 2 cookie mixes, 2 warm delights, 2 40 oz. packages of Bisquick, muffin mix, 10 yogurts, 1 box of granola bars, 1 box of strudles, and 2 packages of biscuits. (There was a total of 25 items.)

The total came to $18.08 (tax included) - the savings from Albertsons was $37.21.

Today, I went to do all of my regular grocery shopping and compared prices with WinCo. If I would have shopped at WinCo for these items, the total would have been $33.06 (tax included). If I would have used my manufacturers coupons at WinCo, the total price would have been $26.96 - so I still saved $8.88!

I figure every little bit saved helps my family, even if it's just a few dollars. Everyone can do it!!! Just ask me how.

My sister blew me out of the water though. I look forward to six months down the road when I will be able to do as well as she is doing right now. By then, though, she'll probably have the stores owing her money!!!

Coupons again - check it out!

Okay. Here is my trip today. I would have liked to do better, but again, I am just learning.

In this first picture (or first trip), I bought 1 lb. ground turkey, 3 lite cool whips, 2 packages of Lipton dried soup mix, 4 packages of cream cheese, 6 boxes of crystal light on the go, and 2 packages of cubed steaks (1 large, 1 small).


The total came to $19.47.

This next picture's purchase was 2 packages of Lipton dried soup, 2 cans of refried beans, 4 jars of peanut butter, 4 packages of marshmallows, 1 package of cream cheese, dreyers ice cream, snuggle fabric softener sheets, 2- 1 lb. packages of ground turkey, and stew meat.

The total here is blurry, but it is $19.70.


And finally, my kids really needed some 'fun' cereal and I was out of cake mixes (a staple at our house). This was not the best deal, but still okay (4 stars and not 5). 1 box of Cheerios, 1 box of Cocoa Puffs, 1 box of Trix, and 2 cake mixes.


The total came to $6.75.


I also bought a gallon of milk - $2.12 (including tax) - not the best, but I was already there.

SO, The grand total that I spent WAS $48.04.

NOW FOR THE GOOD PART!!! Here is what I saved:
Preferred savings: $49.69
Manufacturer's coupons: $14.25
Store Coupons: $20.00
TOTAL SAVINGS: $83.94

SO, if you are still thinking that you would like to do this, please email me at jolleys136@hotmail.com and let me know. If there is interest, I can put together a 'beginner's couponing class' or even just email you the forwards that I get for the great deals of the week! Let me know how I did this time!

LATEST COUPONING TRIP

My sister Robyn is a coupon queen! She is awesome and though I am just getting started (I think that I've only been 4 or 5 times), I enjoy it and can't wait to do it more.

This weekend I started my coupon binder - a work in progress. This will take me quite a bit of time to update each week, but then I will also be able to save SO much money!

Here is the picture of what I bought last night:
I bought 5 boxes of cereal (2 Raisen Bran, 3 Honey Bunches of Oats), 2 lysol wipes, 2 packages of toilet paper, 4 packages of Easter candy (2 butterfinger eggs and 2 starburst jelly beans), 1 dozen eggs, Reynolds Foil, and Colgate toothpaste. My grand total - $8.75 (that includes tax).

So, you tell me - how did I do?

MY FAVORITE

General Conference is always a fun time at our house.

This year, my mother and sister (Tracy) came over to help do some cleaning to get my house ready to go. It really made all of the difference. I have never seen my kitchen tile so light before!

And although I need to go and read and re-read the Ensign when it will get here, I really enjoyed conference overall. My favorite talk given was by Margaret S. Lifferth. She talked about increased reverence. OH, how we need that! I am hoping to do a family home evening soon on that topic soon! For those of you who cannot wait until the hard copy gets here, online versions in English will be available on Thursday. YEAH!

I guess that I should also add that a new apostle was added in place of Joseph B. Wirthlin. (I just added vinyl in my kitchen that says "Come what may and Love it! - Joseph B. Wirthlin" I looks awesome - come and see it!) Anyways, his name is Neil L. Andersen and he grew up in Pocatello. Small world! From the church's website:

Prior to his call as a General Authority, Elder Andersen served as a mission president in the France Bordeaux Mission, and as president of the Tampa Florida Stake.

Elder Andersen was born in Logan, Utah, and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, on a dairy farm where he remembers, "typical Idaho farm work, from morning to night.” In high school, he excelled in student government, serving as governor of Idaho Boys State.

He graduated from Brigham Young University, where he was a presidential scholar, and earned a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University. After completing his education, he settled in Tampa, Florida, where his business interests included advertising, real estate development, and health care.

Elder Andersen and his wife, Kathy Williams Andersen, are the parents of four children and twelve grandchildren.

If you haven't watched it all yet, do it! I always feel so uplifted after a long weekend like this one. Let me know 'what was your favorite talk?' I'd love to hear your comments!