Taking time

Everyone has a story. And when I get a chance, I love to hear their stories.

We went to the beach on Tuesday after Football camp. The kids loved going to the beach. First beach day this summer. Woohoo!

Austin wanted to be buried in the sand. I happily covered him in sand. I felt like a big happy kid :). And he loved it. Especially when I tickled his cute little toes!

Breaking free.

Troy boy's turn.

Didn't last long. He wanted out.

When the kids were done swimming, we walked over to the playground. It was really a fun time. This summer I want to spend more time visiting new n' cool playgrounds.

Austin mingles very well with other kids. He was playing on the big jungle gym that spins around. After, he decided to swing on the swings. Next time I looked at him, there was an older boy pushing him. I thought that was sweet. I smiled at him and thanked him for being so nice to Austin. He was such a polite boy. I wished his Mom was there so I could tell her she's doing a great job raising such a nice and polite boy.

Then, Troy wanted a push so this boy pushed him while chatting with me. He said he came with his little brother who I think was 5 or 6. He then told me his name was Josh and he was going into 7th grade. He said his one sister is 18 years old and has a boyfriend but doesn't care about anyone at home. That made me feel sad for him. I told him that one day she will care about him. That age is tough. But, seriously, this boy was so kind and has a bright future ahead of him. I just know it. I pray for that boy. His smile was bright and full of braces. And I appreciate the kindness he showed to my kiddos.

We went to Target last week. While we were checking out there was a cute elderly couple behind us. She was smiling at me and asked how old my kids were. I told her and she said they were cuties. She said they have brown eyes and she is partial to brown eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful blue color. She asked her husband how many grandkids they had :) and he said 17. Wow! We said good bye and I stopped by the restrooms. We ended up walking outside at almost the same time. They were walking in front of us and close to eachother and then he held her hand. I melted! How adorable. We walked by them and I told them they were so cute and that I hoped my husband and I would be like that one day. They beamed with joy and told me that I would with those cute kids of mine. :) She told me they've been married for 57 years and he said 59 years. 57 or 59 years is a long wonderful time. That is amazing and such an inspiration!

Here they are holding hands.

Maybe this will inspire you to get to know someone new. 

Jamie :)

Life lately

Schools out for the summer!

And boy is Austin happy! This was him on his very last day of Kindergarten. 

He really has enjoyed Kindergarten and learned so much. That makes me happy. He told me on the way to school "I think my teachers will have tears in their eyes." What a sweetie.

This boy is done with school, too. He started PreK in March when he turned 3. He loved every second of it. He actually cried when we went to his school to bring Thank you cards to his teachers because he wanted to stay. :) 

Bathroom Selfie time. 

Austin has had football camp this week. And he's really had a blast. It is an excellent program. It's also been fun chit chatting with other Mommy friends, too. 

We are going to make the most of every.single.day. Whether it be to take a walk, go to a park, have a freezie, go on a bike ride, go to the beach or zoo....it's going to be fabulous!!

Hope yours' is, too.

Jamie :)

Austin's Angry bird birthday party

I was praying that Austin would have beautiful weather for his birthday party. I prayed with Austin, too. But I made sure to also make a point that in sun OR rain we would still have a fun time! 

It was a beautiful day! The kids had a blast running around outside in the sun!! And I was glad that the kids could be outside, too ;).

I looked to Pinterest on an "Angry Bird Birthday party" for some inspiration.
 And it didn't dissapoint. Austin even helped.

After clicking on a neat photo from Pinterest I was brought to this blog. She put on an awesome Angry Bird party for her son! Check it out here. It was so helpful!

{Photo time}

This Pinata I purchased at Party City. It was fun!!

I forgot to take a "before" photo of the food. But we had Pizza, juice boxes, waters, strawberries, carrots, and a meat & cheese tray with buns.

My hubby made this slingshot in about 30 minutes. He's pretty amazing like that. He looked at a picture of one and put this together. He did buy a water balloon launcher and used some of the pieces from that. 

Austin really got the tennis balls far. Once it got warmer outside, the water balloons came out...put in the slingshop. I got wet. :)

Austin was the target. Haha! 

Troy's turn.

And Austin was getting warm so he took his shirt off. #ichoosemybattleswisely 

This game was fun! Pin the beak on the angry bird. 

Austin didn't like spinning in a circle or having his eyes covered. But he still did great!

Little pep talk before striking the pinata. :)

Filling up water balloons. 

A turtle came to say "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy. Those kids had so much fun with the turtle they named "Austin."

Here are the wonderful kiddos who came...School friends, neighbor friends and sweet cousins. We were so thankful that they came. 

Posing in their masks.

Good buddies!

Cake time!

We always get our cakes from our local Coborn's. I'm impressed every time. They do an amazing job. And the customer service at Coborns is fantastic!!

Austin had a blast at his party. And so did we.

God bless you,

Jamie :)

Summer random things

We've  had our patio set for 5 or 6 years now and never got an umbrella for it.

 When we've had birthday parties outside and people over, we've borrowed my sweet in-law's umbrella. 

Why? Because we just have done without it I guess and possibly not wanted to spend extra money on that. But I was SO excited when I saw in the target ad this Room Essentials Patio umbrella on sale for $45 instead of $65. It's not for sale at that price anymore, but it is on sale for $52. Still a good deal. 

I just love the turquoise stripes. By far turquoise is one of my favorite colors. Love. It works perfect!

I shared this photo on Instagram. 

I want to try to be more "natural" and safe with my skin and my kid's skin. So I went to The Honest Company and ordered some sunscreen (that we all can use), bubble bath, Shampoo and conditioner and hand sanitizer.

 I got a great deal with a coupon. I am really loving everything. Like a lot. The sunscreen goes on so smooth, it's not thick and doesn't leave a white look either. The S & C smells divine and left my hair super soft. The kid's love the bubbles! And the hand sanitizer is so handy to bring with me everywhere. We always need that. And I love that these products are natural and have organic ingredients. You could bundle and save by getting a monthly delivery. I did not choose that option but will definitely be thinking about it. 

This bag. Is too cute! It's a "Hobo Handbag." Can I just say that I think "Hobo" is such a weird way to describe a bag. Are you with me on that? I looked up the definition by the way. Check it out here. I still think it's odd. 

 The bright colors are screaming summmmer. It works great as a purse/diaper bag. And it was only $19.99. Hello GREAT deal! It's practical, pretty and perfect. And I love it so much. 

Much brighter in person.

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This quacamole is delish! And so easy because they're in single serve packages. Up my alley! Easy! I got a box from Costco and since I'm the only one in the house that likes it I've loved every single last one of those 134 packages ;). I dip my carrots in it and it's so yummy.  

 And my kid's FAVORITE juice boxes are these. And Austin is picky so that says something. And I love it that they're organic and not full of sugar like most juice boxes. They are a bit more pricey but that's ok with me. 

{Peace}

Jamie :)

Coupons and a Funny story

I really have the very best intentions to use my coupons.

But, I forget about them or can't find the right one when I'm rushing at the store. 

So my new resolution is to start using coupons more. I've already started saving. Yipee!

I started by buying our MN Star Tribune a couple Sundays ago. There are a TON of coupons in there. This time around, I don't waste time by clipping out the "Buy 3 cans get 0.50 off" coupons because I usually don't need to buy 3 cans of something. By eliminating the clipping of the coupons that I know I will not even use, I save time and can remember more easily which coupons I have. 

It's a little bit of a thrill when I see how much I saved myself by using a few coupons. 

I really love Retail Me Not

So many great coupons/coupon codes there, check it out.

Okay onto the silly stupid funny story... 

I went to our local grocery store/gas station last week with the kiddos. After paying for my groceries (with some excellent coupons by the way) I realized I had a 0.05 off coupon per gallon of gas. I get them all the time but you need to go inside to use the coupon. I usually have the kids with me and really haven't wanted to bring the kids in just to save some change on gas. But THIS time I wanted to use that coupon (remember my new couponing resolution) and I was determined. So I asked the sweet lady since I was already in the store if I could use the coupon and prepay for gas. She said that was fine. We looked for an empty gas spot and decided on #3 as long as no one would take it by the time I could get my groceries in the car and drive to the spot. Sure enough, some one got there before me. Parking lot was BIZEY. So I tried to motion to the lady that I 'd take #8, then that spot was taken. So I just drove around and finally found one open. I tried to wave at the lady behind the glass to ask if that one was fine while I struggled to finally park there. I was almost making a scene because the man next to me pumping his gas was laughing at me. The lady looked so confused and worried. I thought she'd just smile and nod as an "OK, use that place" but nope something was wrong. Another girl came outside and said screamed 

"Your gas cap is on the OTHER side of your car!" 

WOW! Just wow!

To my defense, I'm use to the side my past car's gas cap was on.

I did all that maneuvering to get into that spot for nothing! And when my gas cap was actually on the other side of the car. Then that man told me (while grinning) "They have this all on video." LOL not. 

I finally found a spot and saved a whole 0.45. I'm not so sure I'll do that again...

Now I laugh about it :)

This is what I should've done...

Have a great day!

Jamie :)