Roll with the Punches, I guess

So work for Chad has slowed since the weather isn't as hot. Last week, he only worked 3-4 days and not even full days and the boss still paid him a full paycheck. This week he only worked 3 days plus tomorrow morning and the boss cut his check in half (about) without even talking to him about it or telling him that he'd only be getting paid for the days he worked! I warned Chad that he wouldn't be able to pay him a full check when he wasn't working a full week but he was convinced otherwise. So this afternoon I got a phone call that started like this..."Well, I guess I need to start looking for another job..." If I had a dollar for every time I have had a phone call that started with that line, I'd be rich! (Okay, not rich, but I'd have quite a bit.)

I know a Photog Genius!!

I'm so proud of my friend, Kaylea! Everyone who knows her, knows that she's a great photographer. But she recently entered a photo contest for Jones Soda and she WON!!! She received a box of 12 bottles of root beer with her photo on it!


On the back it says "Put some shrimp on the barbie 'cus you're a photog genius! Congratulations, Kaylea!"


You go girl!!!


SIDENOTE: Here's motivation for Clint and Natalie to enter and win a photo contest too! You guys are awesome photographers!

I was tagged!

I was tagged!

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet? We met on a blind date to a D-backs game.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 5 months

3. How long have you been married? 8 Years

4. What does he do that surprises you? He (usually) makes sure the house is picked up, kitchen cleaned, and kids showered before I come home from work at night.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His blue eyes

6. What is your favorite quality of his? He usually lets me have my way--not selfish.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Honey, sweetie

8. What is his favorite color? Green

9. What is his favorite food? Cheeseburger and fries

10. What is his favorite Sport? Hockey

11. When and where was your first kiss? My grandparents backyard on our first date! (I know, I know...we're bad. That's the only time I kissed on a first date!)

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Go to sporting events, dinner, shop, watch our favorite shows (it's free!).

13. Do you have any children? Yes--Jordan, Jocelyn, Katelyn, Callie

14. Does he have a hidden talent? Ummm...I don't know

15. How old is he? 32

16. Who said I love you first? He did

17. What's his favorite music? Rock and roll

18. What do you admire most about him? He loves to play outside with the kids. He also cleans up the house while I'm at work.

19. Do you think he will read this? Yes eventually

I tag Erica, Erika, Kaylea, Susan, and Corinne

Super Saver!

Today at Fry's I got some awesome deals! Everything was either on sale or on clearance plus coupons! Here's what I got:

Kroger Jumbo Biscuits: FREE! (sale for $1 plus $1 off coupon)
Glade candle: FREE! (clearance for $.89 plus $1 off coupon)
Glade Wisp Flameless Candle: FREE! (clearance for $4.19 plus $5 off coupon)
Betty Crocker Cupcake mix: $.79
Colgate toothpaste: $.50 (sale for $1.50 plus $1 off coupon)
Betty Crocker Potatoes Pouch: $.20 (sale for $1 plus $.80 off coupon)
2 boxes Betty Crocker Potatoes Twin Pack: $1.00 (sale for $1 each plus $1 off 2)
4 Pillsbury Brownie Mixes: $2.00 (sale for $1 each plus 2 coupons for $1 off 2)
4pk Activia Yogurt: $1.00 (sale for $2.00 plus coupon for $1 off)

So the total for all of this was only $5.49!!!


I also got some other clearance items that were for a pretty good price.

4pk Magic Eraser: $2.25 (usually a 2 pack is about $2.50) I love these things--they get rid of almost anything!
St. Ives Face Wash: $1.50
Milkbone SteakChew (for Rocky): $.89
Children's Claritin (Jordan): $1.62
Suave Shampoo for Chad and 1 for kids: $1.67




There was a girl bringing out more stuff but I had to hurry home to get Katelyn off the bus or I would have waited to see what else she had that I could get for free! I love when I find stuff on clearance and I have a coupon for it and I end up not even paying for it. Especially when I wouldn't otherwise have bought the item. Like the Glade flameless candle, I've been wanting but it's like $9 and I just can't bring myself to buy it. This is the only reason I cut out some coupons--in hopes that I can find it on clearance and get it free or less than a buck. And right now that candle is smelling WONDERFUL!

Our washer was only putting out hot water so a guy in our ward came to look at it on Monday. He found the problem and switched it so only the cold water worked until he got the part. Well, today he came to put the part in and when he pulled out the washer, I was SO embarassed!! It was SO dirty!! He assured me that he's seen worse but I was still embarassed. So after he changed out the part, I decided it was time to clean out behind, under, and on top of the washer and dryer. I'll spare you the gross details of what all I found, but it was sick. So I spent a couple hours vacuuming and scrubbing the floor and cleaning on top of the dryer. I don't know why, but the dryer is like the drop spot for things that don't have a home or just stuff that gets picked up. So as of right now, there's not a thing on it! It feels so good to finally do something that I've been putting off for, well years! Now when I stand in the kitchen and look over at the laundry "room" and don't see dog food and lint and everything else that was on the floor, I feel SOOOOO great!!!

A/C Problems--no not the van!

So this morning after the kids left for school I noticed that I was sweating in the house and the a/c was running. So I got a chair and felt the air coming out and it didn't feel freezing like it usually does. Chad was leaving for work soon but he felt it and said that it wasn't working right. So he hurried up to the roof and said that the condenser fan wasn't on. I was like, "Great!! How much is a new one of those gonna cost??" He said he didn't have time to work on it right now so just leave it alone. It wasn't that hot this morning so I thought we'd be okay. Well once it was like noon, it was getting hot in the house and the girls needed a nap (their room is already the hottest room in the house). So they just slept with fans on them. Then much to my surprise, Chad came home from work at 1:30pm! He went up on the roof again and figured out the problem in less than 10 minutes!!! So he went to get the part (less than $20 bucks!).
While he was gone getting the part, Jordan and Jocee came home and I told them that the a/c was broken. Jordan immediately said "Daddy can come home and fix it!!!!" He was so sure of it (not to mention, proud!)!! A few minutes later Chad walked in and the kids told him about the problem. He told them that he already got the part to fix it and was going to put it in right then. 10 minutes later, COLD AIR!!!!! We were all SOOOO proud and thankful for Daddy!!!!

Here's the list of Contractors we have to choose 4 from. If you know anything about any of them, PLEASE let me know! I need to get all the information I can get about them so we make a good decision. Thanks!

1. A.B. Davis Builders, Alma & Wes Davis
2. ABM Development Services, Joseph Moon
3. Barkley Construction, Scott Barkley
4. Coppersun Construction LLC, Robert Springfield
5. East Valley Services, Inc., Derron
6. G&G Specialty Contractors Inc., Christine Wang
7. Garnand Construction, Scott Garnand
8. JW Builders, Josh Weeks
9. Knucks Corporation, Perry Walker Jr.
10. Reid Development LLC, Ken Reid
11. Roylance Custom Homes LLC, Justin Roylance
12. Ryse Construction, Rob Ryse
13. Selfridge Construction Inc., Devin Selfridge
14. Sequoia Development Inc., Sean Shoucair
15. TAG Construction, Inc., Thomas Gunderson

I Knew She Was A Smart Little Cookie

After talking with the teacher at the beginning of the school year about how she thought Jocee seemed lost in class, I was beginning to think she'd have to be taken out. When we'd work on her homework, she didn't seem to get the formation of the letters and wasn't motivated to try to do it right. I thought my easy days were over.
But for the past 2 weeks or so, she's made a complete 180!! She now knows at least 10 phonograms by sight and can write them, and can write her name! Her handwriting is improving dramatically and last week she had to recite a poem in front of the whole class! She brought back an award for doing such a great job on it! She also brought home 2 phonogram tests and she got 100% on both of them!!! I'm so proud of her!! I made up some flash card with all the phonograms and also math facts and I've been going over them with her and Jordan. I guess it's helping!!

Home Improvement Update

I went to the Homeowner Orientation last Thursday. It went well. They explained the program and how the financial part of it works and what improvements they make. So basically the max amount of money you are allowed is $50,000. Then the total amount is divided in half. One half is due upon the sale of the home--no interest or payments! It just sits there until the house is sold. The other half decreases 10% every year for 10 years. So we get all these improvements done and it doesn't cost us a dime until we sell our house. And even then, the value of our house is increased by all of these improvements by at least the amount we spend! So it's a win/win situation for us! When it's all done, it will be like having a new house!! I'm SOOO excited!!!
Tomorrow morning I will turn in the information they need. Then they will give me a list of General Contractors to choose 4 from. I'm going to be researching them carefully before making my choice. I will also be asking friends and family if they know anyone on the list.
Because our house is more than 45 years old, we have to get approval from the state historical something or other and also we have to have a lead-based paint test done too. They said those things usually take about 4-6 weeks. Then we will have the 4 chosen contractors come through the house to write up a bid. A couple weeks after that, we will get the 4 bids and choose the best one. THEN they will start the work. They suggested that we clear out our house and just have the bare necessities until the work is all completed. It will just make it easier for the subcontractors to work when there's not a lot of stuff everywhere. So we are going to start downsizing, which will make us feel free from "stuff!" I'll update you as things progress and hopefully time will go by fast! I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas--it seems like forever away!! :)

Why didn't we do this eeyons ago??!!

On Friday, I was putting groceries in the van at Fry's and these ladies came over and said, "You know your car is smoking, right?" I was like, "What??!" So I put up the hood and I knew right away it was freon squirting out of a line. Sure enough, the whole drive home, the air was HOT!! So I got home and was furious! I called Chad and let him know and we talked about what to do. We have already taken our van in to the dealership at least 8 times in the last 3 months and they've never been able to fix it properly. Why buy an extended warranty if they can't even fix it right and you end up having to take your vehicle to a mechanic and paying him too? So I called my dad and told him what happened and he agreed to go with me and Chad's Mom to the dealership and just talk to the service manager and tell him our story. Jen (MIL) thought it would be a good idea to type up a timeline of when we took it in and how long they had it for and any information we could remember or had written down. So she was awesome and whipped up the timeline and also included how I had been treated rudely, how we never got phone calls from them (we were always calling to see what was going on), how they haven't ever fixed it right in the first place, never given a rental car but the very first time we took it in, etc.
So we went in and talked to the manager and he was immediately like "Well, let's get you a rental vehicle and get yours fixed!!" I asked that a mechanic who had never worked on my van be the one to work on it because obviously the guys who have been "working" on it, don't know how to fix it. He said that he used to work at Pinnacle Nissan in Scottsdale and asked if it would be okay with me to send it up there. "Of course!! That would be great!" He told us that whatever charges incur would be taken care of by the dealership and that we wouldn't have to pay a dime--for the rental car either. It was so amazing! My dad was like, "Why didn't we talk to you eeyons (sp?) ago??!!" We coudn't have asked for it to go any smoother than it did. So this is the rental that we got.....
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan!!
It is sooooo nice!!! We want to keep it!! It has automatic sliding doors and fold-n-go seats. The inside is so cool too! Of course the kids love it too. It drives perfectly! And best of all---it has freezing cold A/C!!!! Yeaaa!! So they can keep our van as long as they want now! Now we're just hoping that our van will be returned to us with air that works perfectly!

Fun Saturday

A relative of the mom that my sister, Lexee, nannies for was moving out of his huge house and asked my Dad, brother, Lexee and Brad to hold a yard sale at his house to get rid of his stuff. We didn't have anything planned for the day so we went over around 11am. A lot of stuff was already sold but we managed to get some great deals!! Chad got a pair of snow boarding boots for $1!! He was sooooo excited. He said "I've never had my own pair, I always had to rent!" I don't know when he'll use them but it made him happy. For those of you who know Chad, he is obsessed with Christmas decorating. He puts up as many lights as he can (in and out of the house) and even kills the power sometimes! So at the sale, we got 3 boxes of Chrismas lights and also some cute Halloween decorations for almost nothing! The guy just basically wanted to get rid of the stuff and since it was so late in the morning, he was practically giving it away! And Callie got some toys too! She got this little chair that plays music and lights up. My friend's little boy has this exact toy at her house and every time we are over there Callie doesn't do anything but play with this little chair! I looked for it at re-sell stores but couldn't find it and at Wal-Mart it's like $30!! So I was SOOO excited to get it for free!! She is loving it just as much at our house as at my friends'! She also got this little table that also lights up, plays music, sings abc's and other stuff. We actually had this toy for Jordan when he was a baby and he loved it. Callie is liking it a lot too (the chair is her favorite though). What a great yard sale!!!






Then, after we left the sale, we went home to put the kids down for a nap. Then my dad and brother showed up and asked if we wanted to go to In-N-Out (Lexee's treat!). So instead of all of us going, Callie and I went and got a yummy chocolate shake! Callie had fun showing off in front of everyone. When a stranger would talk to her, she'd smile and run back to my lap and cover her face with her hands. It was SO cute!! My dad laughed and asked "Since when does she get embarassed??!" It was fun to just sit and laugh with my dad, brother, sister and her new husband. We haven't hung out and laughed for a while so it was nice.
Then after that we all went to Chad's parent's house to swim. And it just so happened that both of his sisters were there with their kids swimming too! So the kids got to play with their cousins. Brad and Teddy had fun throwing Jordan and Kyle in the pool too. And I got to enjoy talking with my sisters-in-law about our week and the great deals we found. We also were treated to pizza and lemonade for dinner! Thanks Mom!!
So even though we woke up with nothing to do for the day (except mow and housework), we had a fun and great Saturday!!