Another Blog

I started another blog, in addition to our family blog. It is called 21 Days closer to Christ. I added the link to this page. I invite you to join me on a journey to build a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. It will be daily scripture reading, qoutes, and questions to ponder. I'll try to add the new readings in the mornings so you have all day to study. Please post thoughts and comments. I'd love to hear what you are thinking as you go through this 21 day journey.

We survied the Day!

So today was one of those days. I am glad it is finally over. This morning Erik called me at 8am while he was on his way to work. He wrecked his car. He rear ended a Land Rover on the freeway. Luckily he wasn't going fast. There wasn't a scratch on the other car, but his car needs a bandaid. Erik's teeth went through his chin and he banged his knee up a bit. He is a little sore but glad he wasn't hurt worse.

I had to drive down to North Salt Lake to pick him up this morning and when we got home I got on the phone and started taking care of all the insurance stuff. Luckily I made changes to our policy last month and we now have car rental. We pick up his retal in the morning. Now we just have to wait and see if is car is worth fixing or if we have to go car shopping.

If you think that is all the excitment we had today you are wrong. I had a book show tonight down in Springville. I get on the freeway and start heading down. I was around Farmington just passing Lagoon and heard a funny noise coming from my front passenger tire. Then my car steering wheel felt like it was locking up and it was hard to turn. I drove to the next exit which was Centerville. My battery light had come on and I barely made it to the gas station into a parking spot. It was really hard to steer. I called my brother and he said it was my belt that broke and he offered to come up from Tooele to fix it. So I went shopping while I waited for my him to come up. I went to Robert's, Fashion Bug, and Seagull Book. (I am glad I made it to Centerville and I wasn't stuck on the side of the road.)

It took about an hour and a half to get it fixed. (My van belt is really difficult to get to.) I finally made it home about 8:45pm. (I broke down around 5:45pm)

What a day! On top of all that I caught the cold that Dacia and Ashlyn had last week and I am all runny and stuffed up.

Erik and I are laughing about our crazy day. That's all we can do.

I am thankful that his accident wasn't worse than it was.

I am thankful for a family with mechanics in it. (Thank You Johnny)

I am Thankful for an understanding hostess (Erik's cousin)when I had to call and cancel my book show tonight. (Thank You Elisa)

I am Thankful that I decided this morning that I was going to leave the baby home with Erik. (It would have been a long night with her)

I am Thankful for the special at Robert's (buy one Cricut cartridge, get one free) that I would have missed it I hadn't of went there tonight. : )

Most of all I am Thankful that this day is over and it's time to go to bed.

We all have it. Some have more than others, but no matter how much we have we always want more.
What is it? Money!
With our growing family it is becoming more important to be better money spenders. I have learned a few things that help us, but I know I still have room for improvement. Maybe this will help some of you.
Freezer Meals are a life saver. If I don't feel like cooking we usually go out to eat. If I have something ready in the freezer it is a tremendous help. This weekend I made a bunch of chimichangas for the freezer. It was a new recipe from my neighbor. They were way easy to make and they are very yummy. Having my meats precooked it a huge time saver. I cook a bunch of hamburger and divide it out into freezer bags. Tacos now take less than 10 minutes to make. I also cook a bunch of chicken breasts and dice them up for casseroles. I ran out of cooked meat the end of Dec and we did alot more eating out. I just got more cooked up last week. Freezer pancakes and waffles are great for breakfast and cheaper than buying Eggo waffles.
Vinegar and baking soda make an inexpensive Oxi-Clean. It took the mascara(Ashlyn's art work) out of the pale pink bean bag she got for Christmas. I use it in every batch of laundry too. There is a vinegar website that will give you a bunch of ways to use vinegar. It can be used as weed killer too. http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html
Use less laundry soap. I buy liquid Tide, but I use half as much as the recommended amount. The clothes still come out clean and the soap goes twice as far. I just bought a new Tide last week. I think the previous bottle lasted 6-7 months.
Here is one of my favorite tips. Hair conditioner as leg shaving cream. I buy the cheap stuff for my hair so it's not a big deal to use it on my legs too. It is cheaper than shaving cream and doesn't dry you out like soap.
The new RS secretary in our ward is very Thrifty. She has started putting out a money saving newsletter each week. I am looking forward to learning more ways to save money.

Our Girls "Rockin"

Hannah Montana download- $1

mp3 player- $100

watching our little girls rock- Priceless

A pirate says "Arrr"

So Dacia was invited to a birthday party with a pirate theme. So we decided to have her dress up for the party.
Dacia and Ashlyn got pirate dress up clothes for Christmas. I found them on the internet for less than $4 on clearance. The bandana came from a Happy Meal. She was excited to dress up for the party, but she wasn't so excited when she first got the pirate clothes.

This is Dacia on Christmas morning. When she opened it she yelled "this isn't what I wanted".

Family Vacation

So we have been thinking about where we want to go on Family Vacation this year. Last year we went to Disneyland. It was so much fun!

We were kinda thinking of something low key this year, since we did a big one last year and Brylee isn't really old enough to enjoy whatever we do. There are so many places in Utah we have never been (even though we have lived here our whole lives). I actually found some cheap flights to Hawaii and almost had Erik talked into blowing our whole tax return and bonus on a family trip to Hawaii. Erik served his mission in Hawaii and hasn't been back yet. I decided I will start saving my Usborne money and I will take the family to Hawaii next year.

We would love to hear your ideas for a fun family vacation.

Life at Home

Our life is pretty busy. Erik works at the Red Lion hotel in downtown Salt Lake. He has been there for 2 years now and really likes it there. It has been better than some of the other hotels he has worked at. The only down side is the commute. There has been days with bad weather that takes hime 2 hours to get to work. On the best days is only takes 35 minutes to get to Salt Lake. Erik also has a part time job at another hotel in Salt Lake. It is only a couple nights a week.
I am busy being a Mom. It is the funnest job in the world, most days. I am also busy being an Usborne Consultant. I am able to get out a few nights a month to work. It is the best job in the world because I can work when I want to. I took alot of time off when I had the baby and I am just getting started again.
Dacia is growing so fast. She will be 5 in June and will start kindergarten. She has been going to preschool this year and loves it. She is an great artist. Give her a stack of paper and a pen and she would draw all day. Her pictures are amazing for her age. They have so much detail to them.
Ashlyn will be 3 on March 7th. She is so funny. She loves to copy everything her big sister does. Dacia said she has a boyfriend, so Ashlyn has a boyfriend too. Yesterday we took Valentine's around to their friends. We went to Carter's house and when they came to the door Ashlyn handed him his card and said "here my boyfriend". It was so cute. Ashlyn is an artist too, but much different from Dacia. Hers is mostly wall art, with anything from pens to crayons to mascara. Yes masara! I am still amazed that she got it open.
Our little Brylee was born November 30. She is cute, but of course all of our girls are cute. She had her 2 month appt last week and she is in the 69% on her height and weight. Am I really surprised? No our girls have always been high on the charts when they were little. Brylee also got her first set of shots. So Sad! Erik has never been with the girls when they have gotten shots. It's his turn next. It breaks my heart to hear that cry after they are poked with a needle.
Life with 3 girls is fun. The girls can't wait for Brylee to get old enough for dress up. I will just be happy when the weather gets better and we are not stuck in the house anymore.

New Blog

So I started posting last week in a blog I started a couple years ago. I have friends and family that have recently started blogging too, but I needed a new account to view and post on their blogs. So I am starting a new one and going to merge the two blogs. Plus this one is a little nicer and easier to use.