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.

4 Years

I can't believe it has been 4 years since I married my best friend. It has been the best years of my life. I am posting this a little late. Our anniversary was on the 11th. I love you Zach and I can't wait to celebrate a lot more anniversarys with you.

25 Random Things (Dawni)

So, here is my list


1. Just to start out, I dislike things like this. I don't like talking about myself. I just don't think I'm that interesting. Job interviews are the worst because you just sit there and talk yourself up. That is really hard for me to do.
2. I love running. (this coming from someone that used every excuse in the book to not run in school, and I was on the track team) I find it so relaxing, for as weird as that sounds. When I'm stressed, I can just go out and run all my thoughts and frustrations away. However, I can only do that if I run outside. It is just so different on my treadmill.
3. (sorry, you get the whole story on this one) When I was on the track team in high school, I went to the state meet when I was a Junior and took 4th place in the Shot Put. That was MY event and I was sure the next year I was going to take state. I worked so hard at it all year long along with the Discus. My Senior year at the state meet I took 4th place again and was so upset. I called my coach, who was in Arizona, and he said to forget it and concentrate on the Discus event that I had the next day. I was just there to be there for that event and didn't really care. My very first throw was my best of the day and was enough for 1st place. I was so shocked. (this is Zach's favorite fact about me. He brags to other people all the time)
4. I don't like to go to the bathroom in public places. I e\either have to be alone or it has to be noisy or it is just embarrassing. If it was quiet, and the other person is out washing their hands (for a small bathroom), I wait until they have left to go out of the stall. I just can't face them.
5. I love waking up in the morning, and going to sleep next to Zach every day. I can't believe I've been married for 4 years to my best friend.
6. I was big my whole life, especially during high school, and just blamed it on genetics and big bones. Since I've been married I have lost 56 pounds. See it can be done :)
7. I am just getting to really like reading. I never really liked it in school. The only problem is that it takes me so long to read anything that I don't read a lot. It took me exactly one year to the date to read The DiVinci Code (the only reason I know is I used the receipt as a bookmark)
8. I love having a big family. When I was little I wanted 4 sets of twins so I would have 8 kids. I don't want this anymore, but I still want a little bigger family of our own than Zach does.
9. Zach's mom's side of the family reminds me so much of my mom's side of the family. It is kinda scary
10. I love being the youngest in my family. It came with all the perks of being spoiled :)
11. I'm a very adventurous eater. I will try anything once and if I don't like ti the first time, I will try it again, but not at the same place. (I have my dad to thank for this one)
12. I am paranoid about what people think about me. I like to be liked.
13. I like to watch reality tv of almost any kind.
14. I love that I have 17 nieces and nephews. (ranging from 10 to newborn) If I lived closer to them, I would spoil them rotten all the time. I was Katelyn's first name she said (she's the oldest). I was so happy and was Aunt Nonie for a long time. It makes me sad that some don't even really know me now.
15. I love to travel and hope to be able to do it more in the future.
16. I am a very competitive person. Board games are bad but it is mostly in sports and other competitions. Just stay out of my way because I will work really hard to be #1.
17. My dream vacation is to go to Japan. That is where Zach went on his mission. He calls it home so I would like to share that with him.
18. I love to cross stitch and crochet. If you want anything done just let me know and give me some time :)
19. I am totally obsessed with Hello Kitty. I have figures on my desk at work and I am going to make my girls room all Hello Kitty.
20. I have terrible road rage. No one will really know the extent because I hold back if someone else is in the car with me.
21. I am totally not against plastic surgery. If I could afford it, I would have it even before I have kids. It doesn't last forever anyway so when I am don't with kids I will have it again :)
22. I broke a growth plate in my right foot in the 5th grade playing red rover at recess. I limped around on my foot the rest of the day and when I got home my mom took me to get an x-ray. I only ended up in an air cast.
23. I am a total worrier. This is an inherited trait from my mom. Zach hates it.
24. I have honestly thought about going vegetarian but decided I like meat to much to give it up.
25. Zach was my first kiss. He is also the only person I ever dated.