Sleep Over

Abree got this notion the other day...

"I want to have a sleep over at Audrey's house...and Rylee can come with me...and I'll bring my blankie...and..." she went on and on. I explained to her that the most polite thing was to have someone ask us to come over to their house. She was just sure Audrey wouldn't mind. We continued to talk and eventually she came to the conclusion that she would like to invite Audrey to come to HER house for a sleep over. I called Karen and the plan was set in motion.

Abree started planning all sorts of things for them to do...

First up, Spaghetti-Os for dinner.

Next, it was Play-dough time.
Dress up and a tea party was next on the agenda.

They had Princess Teddy Grahams, crackers with Easy Cheez and Lemonade.

Audrey enjoyed the tea party, but may have enjoyed Treyson's Lightning McQueen car and Mack even more. (Audrey LOVES vehicles!)
Treyson was invited to the tea party and came dressed up as a football player.

Before bed, the kids went swimming at our neighborhood pool.

A fun-filled day.

I think Abree may have a future in party planning.

The next week, Abree was invited to Audrey's house for a sleep over. Abree went for dinner and played, but wasn't feeling herself (a little stuffy nose) so asked to come home around bed time. Waking up the next day, she was bummed that she hadn't stayed. She asked for a "play date" at Audrey's. I had to explain that she would have had plenty of time to play, IF she would have stayed. Oh well. A good learning experience for her.

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.