Hot Tuna

Just a little post to let you know how much I'm enjoying saving money by couponing. My latest and greatest deal has been tuna.

Albertsons has the Starkist tuna pouches on sale for $1.25 each.
Here's the deal senerio if you buy 30 pouches:
30 pouches @1.25 =$37.50
-15.00 ($5 discount each time you buy 10- automatically at the register)
-15.00 (10 coupons @ 1.50/3 -given to you by manager or customer service at the store)
-6.00 catalinas (coupons that print out at the register to be used on next purchase)
=$1.50 Total OR .05 per pouch!

Details:
-The pouches are about 1/2 the size (oz) of a can, but at that price it's still a good deal.
-You have to ask for the coupons from a manager or customer service. They may or may not have them. Calling first would be a good idea.
-The coupons that print at the register have to be used on the next purchase. So maybe doing more than one transaction is a good idea. So you can use them while you're still at the store. They do expire.
-Sale goes until July 14th.

Fabulessly Frugal is having a drawing for some of these tuna coupons. By posting this I get an entry.
http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/2009/07/local-tuna-coupon-giveaway.html

Wish me luck!

Cousin Party- Smullin Grand Prix 2009

As we arrived at the "Smullin Grand Prix 2009", we "registered" with Cathy. We provided our team name and car numbers and were shown a map of the "facilities". Once registered, we got to work making our cardboard box cars for the upcoming "drive-in theater" experience.

It was fun to see all of the different team flags and names. There was, "Old School", "The Green Derbies", "Animal Planet", "Black Burning Beetles", "The Polsten Pistons", "Tough Guys" and of course "Orange Crush". Everyone did such a good job!

Jessica and Taylee entertained us with a little impromptu cousin song, as we got ready for dinner. They had come up with it, the day before, with David as their "choir director". It was so cute and fun to see them work together.

Pizza was on the dinner menu.

Then it was time to get ready for the night. Kids got into their pajamas, sleeping bags and pillows were arranged in tents and play money was distributed for concessions for the movie. The cardboard box cars were lined up, treats were "purchased" and when the last of the cousins straggled in, the movie began. The movie of the evening, was created by Grandpa Smullin. It was a video of last year's Cousin Party. It was fun to see how much each kiddo had grown in only 1 year!

After the movie, it was time for bed... notice I didn't say sleep. Boys in one tent, girls in the other and a few adults scattered about the yard too.

Let the Races Begin!

After a mostly sleepless night, (too much fun and chatting to sleep)we started the day with a pancake breakfast. The "Opening Ceremonies" were complete with the singing of the National Anthem and introduction of the racing teams.

We worked on "Cousin Conundrums" (brain teasers/puzzles) while waiting for the races to begin. There was a cousin name word search, a cousin b-day crossword, and a cousin order sort (placing each cousin in the order in which they came into the family.) These were fun and a good way to get to know our cousins even better. Especially our "new" cousins that were just married into the family.

It was time for the official weigh in of the derbies. Each team captain was in charge of making sure their cars did not exceed the 5 ounce official weight. All kinds of weights and adjustments were made to the cars to get them ready to race.

Off to the races! Each car competed in several heats; against different derbies, on different lanes of the track. The kids were generally good natured and good sports about how their cars were doing. This was supposed to be all about fun, right?!

When it started to rain, the party was moved inside for sack lunches. As the rain continued, we moved the party to the nearby church, for more fun and more games.

The first of the games was called, "Roadkill Pick Up". The kids raced to see how fast they could pick up the "dead" (stuffed) animals and put them in their cart and make it back to the finish line. Next were "Go-kart Races". With a partner, you raced against time to weave in and out of the cones and make it to the finish line. "Spare Parts Shopping," was the next game. Each person quikcly found the "spare parts" in a box full of newspaper. -The car key was the hardest to find and proved to be a time killer almost every time. If it got stuck in the wadded up newspaper or in the bottom flap of the box, significant and precious seconds ticked away. This was quite upsetting and frustrating for some racers.

Next, we had a yummy BBQ dinner. We enjoyed hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, fruits, veggies, chips and cake for dessert.

We also played "Baby Who?", where we had to guess who the baby cousin was, in the picture. This proved to be challenging with 29 cousins! (Number 30 and 31 are on their way.)

Lastly, we had "Closing Ceremonies". Each racer was presented with a certificate and each team a candy trophy. The "Champion Racer" of the day, was Adam (4 years old). His car was the fastest and won the most races of all. His mom said that when making the cars at home, he actually had to be talked into "wanting" that car. None of her boys wanted that car. Poor little derby had to prove it's self worthy of wanting.

Thanks to Cathy and Nate for all their planning, hard work and wonderful hosting. The Cousin Party was a success and so much fun.

Gettin' Ready

In getting ready for the cousin party,

I put nicknames on the back of our team shirts and...
our team logo on the front.

Our flag is done. Our derbies are done. And now our team shirts are done.

We're ready for the cousin party to begin!

A Week at Grandma & Grandpa's House

After cutting our Bear Lake camping short, we headed to Ogden. We spent the night warm and dry at Grandma and Grandpa Smullin's house.

The next day, Jason and Rylee left for home. Jason for work and Rylee for girl's camp. As for the rest of us, we stayed in Ogden. We had a week to hang out, play and sew with Grandma.

Day 1: Sewing 101 & Pillowcases

Grandma laid out the basics of sewing on the sewing machine. One of the first things she said was, "Don't get your fingers too close to the needle or you might hurt yourself by sewing your finger!" This made Treyson a little nervous. He was very stiff and reluctant at first. Grandma realized that maybe the scare tactic was little too much for him.

They each had a little basket full of sewing needs: a pair of scissors, pins, hem gauge and seam ripper. She called the seam ripper their "friend". Treyson was eager to use it. He kept asking, "Can I use my buddy yet?" We tried to explain that using his "buddy" wasn't necessarily a good thing. When his seam wasn't quite straight or if he made a mistake he would say, "It got off task..it got off task!...Can I use my buddy now?"

Before they started sewing, Grandma had them practice on a scrap of fabric. She asked, "What do you think might happen if you didn't test the machine on a practice scrap first?" Treyson said, "It might blow up???"

The finished product.

I made one for Abree and Rylee too.

This was grandma, after the first day of sewing. Do you think there will be a second day?

(Just kidding. It actually went really well. The kids totally enjoyed it and grandma said it wasn't too bad either.)

Day 2: Drawstring Bags

One of the first tasks of this day was to wind the bobbin. Taylee and Treyson loved stepping on the "gas pedal" full throttle.

By day 2, Treyson was less stiff and really having a lot of fun. Taylee was also getting the hang of it and was consistently sewing straight lines and was feeling more confident.

Look what we made!

Grandma even machine embroidered their names on the pockets. Abree filled hers immediately. She put her special blanket inside and some papers and notebook in the outside pocket.

Finished product.

Day 3: Standard Examiner tour

We took a break from sewing and went to visit the Standard Examiner newspaper. My sister-in-law works there and arranged a tour of the plant.

We saw where they had some bundles ready to insert for the next day. Being a couponer, I was curious to know if Melissa got the left over ads. No. Bummer!

Here are the rolls of paper they put on the press. Each roll contained about 10 miles worth of paper! They use around 18-20 rolls a day.

Here's the paper shredder room. They shred and recycle the left over papers.

Cousins; Taylee, Bob, Ethel, Abree, Catie, Jessica, Jeremiah, David and Treyson.

Day 4: Pajama Pants

Abree sat on my lap a few times during sewing time. She was too short to reach the pedal, so I let her help me guide the fabric through the machine. She loved sewing!

When she wasn't helping me, she was doing this. She took all the scraps of fabric and cut them up into little tiny pieces. She did this each day for hours and loved it almost as much as sewing. On the last day, I noticed a few scattered hairs close to the scrap pile. This ended her fun and the scissors were put away. (I couldn't tell by looking at her where she had cut...phew.)

Why was this so much fun? I couldn't tell you.

Taylee's cute bug pjs.

Treyson's puppy pjs.

Abree's princess pjs.

Grandma even found t-shirts to match, in her stockpile of treasures.

We had so much fun this week. Thanks for all the good times and good memories Grandma and Grandpa Smullin! Hope we didn't wear you out too much.

Waite Family Reunion 2009

This year's Waite Reunion was held at Bear Lake, UT. It was a little cool, and a lot soggy.


The first day, the kids played on the beach and collected bucketfuls of tiny seashells.
For dinner, we had a baked potato bar (baked at home and then kept toasty warm in the cooler... uh warmer). We enjoyed s'mores by the campfire and hung out and talked until we were too cold or too sleepy.

The next morning, we headed to Minnetonka Cave for the adventure of the day. We hiked 444 stairs and 1800 feet IN and then we had to hike OUT! For me it was more of an accomplishment, than fun. (My out of shape body was huffin' and puffin'.) We had all ages and all abilities in our family group. The tour guide stopped and waited each section, for our little whimpering, cautious, short-legged, back-of-the-pack group.

Abree was the whimperer. Amazingly enough, as we were headed out of the cave she said, "That was so much fun!" I asked, "What was your favorite part?" She said, "The stairs!..... when daddy carried me."

After lunch, the kids headed back to the beach. They had so much fun digging, building and getting sand in every orifice they owned.

Around dinner time, a HUGE storm blew in. We tried blocking the wind by putting up a tarp. It helped for a little while, until the wind whipped so hard, rain was coming in from all directions.

The thunder, lightning, wind and rain started to concern my 4 yr-old niece Audrey. She said, "Daddy, our tent is going to blow away!" "No, it won't blow away" he assured her.

It was cold! I said, "Hey, maybe we should eat dinner in our tents, to get warm and make sure they don't blow away. Ha, ha, ha." (I thought I was making a joke.)

Minutes later, Jason said, "Our tent is blowing away!" I said, "Go get it!" We ran out there to see what we could do to secure it. Not a lot. The wind was blowing too hard and our wimpy little stakes just couldn't hold it down. We sat there for a few minutes, soaking wet and not knowing what to do. I went back to the picnic shelter to check on the kids. They were all in tears; screaming, crying and distraught over the extreme weather and blowing tent. I told them it was ok and that they needed to calm down. Then I went back out to the tent to help Jason. We decided to pull up the remaining stakes and drag it to the next picnic shelter and stick it under a picnic table to ensure it was there when we returned. We would have to deal with it a little later.

We went back to the shelter. Kids were still crying. We sent them to the van and told them we would bring dinner to them. I ran between the shelter and van, until everyone had some dinner to eat. We ate our dinner and fogged up the windows.

We came to the conclusion that it would be difficult to re-set up our tent and spend the night in soggy sleeping bags. We packed everything up and called it quits one day early. Other families followed suit.

The Waite Reunion 2009, will not be forgotten quickly.