Zach's new job

Zach started a new job about two months ago at Zions Bank. He is working in the National Real Estate Division of Zions Bank in the Collections Department. I think it is funny that we both work in collections now and that we work at opposing institutions :) Oh, by the way, I have a new position in the credit union as well :) We both love our new jobs, and love getting a steady paycheck :) That was the hardest part of Zach's old job.

Farmington Festival Days 7/11/09

Finally putting on the pictures of my half Marathon :) I still can't believe I did such a thing.

This is before the race.
From right to left: Me, Zach's cousin Sara, her husband Brian and Brian's sister. (Sara got a cold right before the race so was unable to run and Brian and his sister ran the 10k)

Off we go ^_^ Standing strong.

Mile 3 1/2 and the first water station!! I was dying!

Mile 5 1/2 Still a goin'

Mile 7 1/2

Mile 9 1/2 Having a really hard time.

still mile 9 1/2
Looking at this picture, I can see why my back hurt so bad afterwords :)
This was right before my wall. After this I had to go up the hill behind Russon Brothers Mortuary. It was a way steep and long hill. I couldn't jog very much after that.

Mile 11 1/2 It took me so long to get here that they cleaned up the water station. I love my husband for having a glass of water for me here :) Good thing it was right next to our house :)

Still mile 11 1/2 This picture kinda looks like I am being followed by the Secret Service :)

After the race. I don't have any pictures of the finish line, because Zach went and got me breakfast before they cleaned it all up. It took me over 3 hours to finish and I didn't jog the whole thing. I still finished the race. I have to thank Zach for being the camera man, getting me water in between the water stations, and getting me a bananna to eat because I got really hungry in the middle of the race.

4th of July Snowman

That's right. I said snowman. Every Fourth of July we build a snowman. I is a crazy tradition, but it is really fun.

It all starts one wheel barrow at a time :)

We truck the snow down from the canyon. We had 3 truck fulls this year. There was plenty of snow :)

Shoveling it all up. No rolling here :)

This years finished product and the crew. Now all we have to do is wait for next year for another one :) Or maybe just winter time. How many people can say they built a snowman in shorts and bare feet :)

Yellowstone...kind of

YAY for Yellowstone!! I love this trip every year. Our first stop is always Idaho Falls where we eat an amazing breakfast at Smitty's then off to feed the ducks.

My niece Lindsay posing for the camera :)

Feeding the ducks.
Then it was off to the temple visitor center for a needed quiet time break for all the kids. After that...off to Big Springs

This is in the parking lot of Big Springs. Madison took this picture. Pretty good for a 6yr old :)
Right after this picture Zach dropped the camera and it broke. We didn't have a camera for the rest of the trip. Kinda sad I think, but whatever things happen. Still love ya sweetie :)

Coupon Madness

We haven't posted anything in a while, but I thought this was pretty cool and something that could help other families on a tight budget like us.

So Dawni and I started doing the coupon thing recently because I saw what it was doing for one of my cousin's families. We subscribed to the Standard Examiner to get three papers each Sunday and started at it. It costs us $16 a month, but we get that back in one trip to the store. You don't go to the store and buy stuff that you will use tonight under most circumstances, it's stocking up and creating food storage, as you have to roll with what coupons are out right now and what's on sale, but after a while you get a pretty vast repertoire of items in your cupboard. Most people cut their food bills by over 50%, it just takes time to build up the storage. Here is my haul from today, going to Albertsons and Bowmans:

6 All Small & Mighty 3x
4 McCormick Grill Mates Marinades
4 Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing
3 Ken's Steakhouse Salad Spritzers
3 Wishbone Salad Dressing
4 Wishbone Salad Spritzers
2 Wishbone Bountifuls Salad Dressing
8 Ragu Pasta Sauce
8 Tony's Pizzas

(Yeah, Salad Dressing was the thing this week. Anyone got lettuce?)

Total retail cost: $162.10
Total Coupons Tendered & Other Discounts: $136.61
Total Cost (out of pocket): $25.49

Total Savings: 84.27%

So yeah, we won't be needing salad dressing for a while! (The reason we got so much of it is because we got it all for free, minus the 3 cents tax on each one.) We've also stocked up on free BBQ sauce, frozen pizzas, flatbread melts, and aspirin in the last few weeks. What will next week bring? :)

If anyone is interested in how to do this, let us know! We use the website Grocerysmarts.com, the password is g84rcm to access the Utah listings. We can tell you how to use the website if you'd like.

New Decorations

I saw something like this at Tai-Pan today and thought I would see if I could make it myself for cheaper. Then I added my own flair. What do you think?

Fun treat

I made these for work on Wednesday.

They are chocolate dipped marshmallows. I think they turned out really good.

If any of you remember... Wednesday was April Fools Day :) Some of these are also chocolate dipped cotton balls :) (sorry, no pictures of the cotton balls). It was a great trick.