"It can rain on my party, I don't care..."

... um, since when does it rain this much during August? Does the weather not know that it is my 30th birthday party this weekend? And, like I told Richard, "If I HAVE to turn 30, I better get a party." Not any ordinary party either. It's going to be a really cool "what I liked in the 80's" (since I was born in 1980) party!

There's going to be things like this:

(Our neighbor, Mike, put my high school face into this picture & then Richard had it put on edible paper for the cheesecake! I may have a little obsession with David Bowie!)

Also, things like my favorite foods (hot dogs & popcorn), favorite activities (slip-n-slide, dress ups, and, of course, karaoke), and favorite treats (penny candies - at the grocery store in my town you used to be able to buy sour patch kids and such for a penny each).

If you didn't get the facebook invite (then you probably aren't my facebook friend or you live far away), then consider yourself invited. I don't want anyone to miss out on the fun! So, Saturday, our house, 5 -7, be there or be somewhere else less cool!

And, yes, this is the third post in one week! It must be a special week!

Good Deals

Awhile ago, I posted my favorite deals of the week on the side of my blog. A few people commented occasionally, but I never knew that people really paid attention to it until I stopped doing it. I've had some people ask if I was going to do it again. To tell you the truth, I mainly stopped because the smell of newspaper made me sick while I was pregnant. Now that Clive is out of me and in the world, I started couponing again! I've taken couponing to another level as well - the online level. Not only have I been scoring some great deals in the grocery stores (although I will always miss Albertson's), but I have joined several daily deals sites and browse other deal sites to get amazing things at amazing prices! Yes, I do want to share these deals with my family and friends, but I don't want to overwhelm you or make you not check my blog because it has turned into deal site instead of an update on my family site. So, I "think" I will blog once a week about a few of my favorite grocery store deals and one online deal. I'm doing pretty good with two posts in one week, so I think I can get back on the bandwagon and get a family update and a good deal update up on here every week. Wish me luck!

So, the top deals for this week are:

* Smith's is "doubling" all coupons to $1.00. Get out your low value coupons and use them when they are worth $1.00. One of my favorite tricks is to go to a coupon database (my favorite is here), type in the item that I need, and see if there are any coupons for that item (it shows items from newspaper and online).

* Rubio's in American Fork is having an "after construction" party this week. We went yesterday and spun their prize wheel. We ended up with $14 worth of free food and didn't have to pay a cent for dinner. If you are out and about or just don't want to cook a meal, go check it out.

* Online site: Swagbucks. My friend, Jackie, told me about this site and then I saw it on a couple of blogs. I signed up for it a couple of months ago but didn't get into it until four weeks ago. It is a site that you can use as a search engine (like google), but you earn swagbucks (or points) when you use it. I downloaded their toolbar, so I could just quickly type in my search. Since starting four weeks ago, I have earned over 900 swagbucks (points) that I can spend on a variety of rewards. Most people I know spend their points on Amazon gift cards. 450 points get you a $5 Amazon gift card. So, in four weeks I have earned $10 in Amazon gift cards! My goal is to earn $50 in gift cards by the end of November, so I can get something cool for Richard for Christmas (and remember lots of items on Amazon have free shipping over $25, not to mention Amazon sells everything - my friend orders her diapers from there for a great price). We will see what Richard is into at that point but $50 should get him a couple of books or some nerdy tech item. Anyway, just wanted to let you know about this free and easy way you can earn rewards (even money through paypal) just by doing your everyday internet searching. Check out their website HERE or by clicking on the new widget I put on the side of my blog.

Hope you enjoy these deals!

Catching Up - June

Yes, it's about time I update our blog! We will start with June since that was our month-o-fun!

It started out with having my brother, James, and his family around (they were moving from Australia to Maryland). They hopped around Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Washington like crazy, but we loved seeing them as much as we did. Nelson LOVED playing with his cousin, Addi, who is only a few months younger than him and likes cars as much as he does! We went and saw "Toy Story 3" with them (Nelson's first movie theater experience - and Clive's, too)!

We went to Panaca for my parents' "going on a mission" talk in church. While we were down there, we had Kalista, my talented sister-in-law, take some family pictures AND we also blessed Clive!

Two of my favorite pictures:

The superstars of the day:

It was a LONG day and Nelson didn't get a nap!

We brought my niece, Destiny, back with us from Panaca. She stayed with us for almost three weeks and we had lots of fun! We went swimming, to the zoo, to "This is the Place" monument, on the Heber Creeper, and to Park City outlet mall. There were other things as well, but I can't remember them right now - I'm sure we went to Thanksgiving Point at least once! Nelson LOVED going on a real train and still talks about it!

Clive's 1st time at the zoo!

And, here is a sneak peek at how big and cute my little Clive is getting! He is growing up so fast! I can't believe that he is 3-1/2 months already! We love his smiles and when he "talks" to us. He is such a good baby - my angel baby!