McCall

We went up to McCall for the day to celebrate my sister Heidi's birthday. Hannah had her first ride on a waverunner on the lake and had a great time. The weather was perfect and we had a great spot on the grass along the beach to play and relax on.

Strawberry Tarts

Here's an easy recipe for some summer tarts. Just take a sugar cookie dough (from a mix if you want), add a little lemon extract, and press it into mini-muffin tins. Bake until golden. Mix equal parts cream cheese and cool-whip and fill the cooled shells. Top with diced strawberries and garnish with a sprig of lemon-thyme. It's like the recipe for fruit pizza, just in a different format.

recent happenings

at the park

Hannah wanted her turn with the camera

uses for a wakeboard when you don't live by the beach anymore

The Fifth Little Einstein

Hannah turned three last week and we celebrated with a "Little Einstein" themed party. (It's one of her favorite shows!) We had red balloons, Little Einstein paper goods, shot off rockets on the driveway, had Little Einstein cupcakes and astronaut ice cream, and lots of presents.

Hannah - age 0

Hannah- age 1

Hannah- age 2

Hannah- age 3

Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend we spent a lot of time outdoors doing things to enjoy the great weather. On Saturday we loaded up the bikes and rode the Boise River Greenbelt. The cottonwood trees were "shedding" their puffs so it seemed like we were biking through a snowstorm instead of the bright sunshine. We've been biking a lot thanks to the new seat the Hannah sits in that goes right between the handlebars and my seat. It's called a kangaroo seat and she loves it because she gets to ride in the front and we can talk to each other the whole time. After biking we spent some time at the park and them went home to get out of the sun for a while. On Monday we hiked up at Hull's Gulch for a few hours. I had Hannah in the backpack so it was even better exercise for me! Towards the end she kept saying how tired she was, which made me laugh, because I was the one who should be tired!

playing in the "waterpillar"

taking a drink on the bridge along the Hull's Gulch hiking trail

our garden + a 2-year-old who wants to dress herself

Yes, I am a crazy couponer

If you know me at all, you know that anytime I can get a good deal I am really excited. Well, this week has been full of excitement. After investing $4.50 in 3 copies of the local sunday newspaper, printing coupons off of the internet, using tons of the Albertson's double-coupon coupons (with multiple transactions), and with trips to Winco, Target, and Rite-aid here is all of my loot:

Total amount spent: $33.72

Total value of groceries: $224.83

Total saved: $191.11

(and about half of the amount I actually spent went towards 15 Healthy Choice entrees)

It's awesome to get free stuff!

Farmer's Market

This weekend we headed downtown to go to the farmer's market. It's a great market with lots of samples to try, arts and crafts to see, fresh baked bread, and produce to buy. Near the end there is a large fountain for kids to play in and there was a "high country band" playing some mountain-type music. It typically gets pretty crowded so we got there right when it opened. About halfway through we picked up some of these delicious doughnuts. They are so light and fluffy and have a yummy vanilla flavor. As you can see, Hannah likes them too!

Before doughnuts

After doughnuts

After enjoying the beautiful weather as we walked along the market, we headed over to the MK Nature Center where you can see lots of fish, birds, and plants. They have a little indoor museum where there are projects for kids to do and they can get up close with the animals: