Easter Fun

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  The older I get, the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross seems to soak in even more at Easter time.  Isn't it just crazy to think that He loved us enough to die for our sins?

We spent Easter weekend going to a few Easter egg hunts and family dinners.  Landry loved hunting for the Easter eggs, but he was more concerned with what was inside them.  He shook every egg that he picked up before placing it in his basket.  Brynley is my little dramatic girl.  She made the most priceless faces (which I never did capture on camera) while she was gathering eggs.  They both enjoyed coloring Easter eggs earlier in the week. 

Brynley's 1st Easter last year...isn't it crazy how fast they grow up?

Landry last year at Easter

That was our Easter in a nut shell.  I also want to leave you with a successful couponing adventure I had at Walmart this past weekend as well.  Walmart has changed their coupon policy, which allows for you to "make money" on items when the coupon value exceeds the price of an item.  So in this particular shopping trip, the money I "made" on certain items with coupons were credited towards my other purchases.  Does this make sense?  I bought the following items for $40.48 before coupons...

4 - 32 oz Powerade

6 - NYC nail polish

1 - McCormick taco seasoning

1 - Nivea body wash

8 - Reach floss

3 - Frigo string cheese

3 - travel sized Degree deodorant

1 - Operation

1 - Connect 4

1 - travel sized contact solution

Only $4.98 after coupons!!!  Purchases like this one are what make couponing such a fun hobby for me.  Happy Monday everyone!!!

Life Lately

I'm not even going to make excuses for my lack of blogging over the past month, but I will fill you in on the latest happenings around our house.  At the end of March, my mom and Landry and I went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice.  Let me just say that Disney knows how to put on a production.  My parents had bought front row seats right on the ice, so we had an amazing view.  It is always so fun to see your children experience something for the first time.  Landry's eyes got huge when Mickey Mouse waved at him.  He loved all the Toy Story characters.  It was definitely one of those priceless experiences and I can't wait to take Brynley to Disney's Princesses on Ice some day. 

At 14 months, Brynley has officially became a walker!  I can't believe that my baby is big enough to be walking already...even though Landry walked at 10 months.  She is still pretty cautious and a bit wobbly, but she is definitely to the point that she would much rather be down walking than carried.  Don't be alarmed by the lack of bow in this picture...she has piggy tails with bows in the back that you can't see!  (Thanks Angie for the adorable outfit).

This past weekend, our church had a family camp at a nearby retreat center.  We stayed in a hotel-like setting and spent the weekend bonding with other families from our church.  The kids had fun with a treasure hunt, bounce houses, horse-back riding, and laser tag...ok so maybe us adults enjoyed this a bit more.  I managed to get the glorified "Clumsy Award" for the belly flop I so eloquently did during one intense round of laser tag.  They also had a zip line for the kids.  Landry decided that he wanted to brave the zip line.  He made it all the way up the big ladder and just couldn't quite understand having to raise both feet in the air to get off the platform.  Nonetheless, he received the "Brave Little Toaster Award" for being the youngest to attempt the zip line.  He looked cute in the little harness and helmet.  (Sorry for the dark picture).

I will leave you with a few random pictures of the kids from the past month.  We have enjoyed the beautiful weather lately.  Landry has became quite the story teller and Brynley is starting to pick up on several words and animal sounds.  Going forward, I plan to update my blog at least monthly with different things going on in our lives.  If writer's block doesn't set in, I will try to update a little more often.  I hope you guys are having a great Monday!

M.I.A.

Missing in action are the only words that can describe my lack of blogging over the past month.  Since my last post on February 2nd, I have been so busy.  One week during this 3 1/2 week lull, we were out of the country on a Caribbean cruise!  We couldn't have picked a better time to get away in between all the snow and freezing cold weather.  We visited Key West and Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas.  The kids had fun and I love creating family memories like this one.

Landry thought he was the star of the show.

Outside the casino

Landry was dressed up as a king after going to Camp Carnival.

Brynley hanging out in Key West.

Sun Bathing

Just like his Papa

Brynley loved the sand.

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It's a rough life.

 Landry came back with a love for big boats and lime sherbet.  Brynley came back with a beauty pageant wave after waving at everyone on the ship.  I came back with a broken camera!!!  To make a long story short, I had to save Brynley from a huge wave that overtook her and my camera got splashed in the process.  Does anyone know of a good way to fix a camera with water damage or a cheap place that can fix it?  I'm thinking I may just have to buy another one...oh well, I wouldn't trade the memories!

Somersaults and Snow Days

As everyone probably knows, we have been hit with a massive amount of snow.  I'm so glad that the kids and I were able to enjoy a day out of the house on Monday.  We went with a friend to a MOPS get together at a nearby gymnastics place.  Landry was in heaven with all of the trampolines and the foam pit.  Brynley loved the little slide.  It brought back memories of the good ole days when I used to take gymnastics.  I really wanted to do a flip off the trampoline into the foam pit, but feared I might break something...that's when you know you are getting old!!!  Landry, on the other hand, had no fear.  He was jumping off the tallest point into the pit.

The kids and I have enjoyed the view of the snow from inside the past couple of days. As much as I hate cold weather and snow, there is nothing quite as pretty as an untouched blanket of snow.  I even ventured out today while the kids were napping and cleared off the driveway...that deserves an award right?

I'm thinking the jump into the pit would have left me less sore!  I hope everyone is staying warm.  Happy Wednesday!!!

7 Christmases and a Happy New Year

Wow...these past two weeks have been a complete blur.  Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn (Four Christmases) have nothing on us.  We managed to go to 7 Christmas gatherings over a 3 day period.  It is so nice to live close to all of our family and celebrate the Christmas season together, but it sure is tiring.  It took me 2 days to put everything away that we brought home!  I could blame that on all the toys the kids got, but it was in large part due to all the great deals that I found on gift sets (ie Gillete, Axe, Venus, Old Spice, Olay).  I failed to get a picture of all my loot, but let's just say that Brandon is set on razors, deodorant, and body wash for a loooooooong time and I managed to get almost all of it for $.22 a set or FREE! 

Landry really got into the Santa Clause thing this year after checking out a few books at the library with Santa Clause in them.  He loved visiting Santa at Bass Pro and the mall.  He told Santa he wanted a tractor with a big bucket and Santa told him he wanted cookies and milk.  Neither one disappointed!  Landry was set on placing the cookies on the fireplace, since that is where Santa comes from.  He really got into opening and handing out gifts.  Brynley was most interested in playing with the bows and getting into whatever Landry was playing with.  She is starting to pay Landry back!  We moved her to her "big girl" car seat and she has her very own DVD player to watch in the van now...she thinks she is big stuff! 

Setting out the cookies and milk ON the fireplace.

More John Deere toys!

Landry carefully stacking his presents at my parent's house.

He added several new musical instruments (keyboard, guitar, recorder, microphone, music box...in addition to the wonderful drums).  He will only play the harmonica with these sunglasses on!

Brynley was in charge of taste testing Santa's cookies.

She was a slow unwrapper.

Riding her new horse

The only family picture we managed to get at Brandon's parents house.

Loving on her baby.

Even amidst all the hustle and bustle, I am always reminded of the blessing of family and the true meaning of giving.  I am so thankful for the gift of Jesus and I pray that the new year will be full of blessings.  Happy New Year!!!

Kiddy Updates

Once again, I have been absent in the blogging world for the past week.  I promise to get back into more of a routine after the first of the year and share more money saving tips with you.  Until then, I have a few random pictures of the kids to share with you.  I am loving my new camera, by the way.  It takes great pictures and has little to no delay between picture taking.  I am almost happy that my old one decided to quit on me!

My little Brynley is 11 months old today!  I have said this a million times, but I really don't know where the past 11 months has gone.  She is such a tender hearted little girl.  She is always smiling and laughing at her brother.  She is starting to pull up and walk around things.  I know that it will be a whole new world for us when she starts getting into things...especially for Landry!

Landry is talking my ear off and is so inquisitive about everything.  He is constantly asking me "what you doing mommy?" and "who was that?" as soon as I get off the phone.  It is so much fun to see him learn something new every day.  The second picture of him is his "mean guy" face.  I don't know where he comes up with these things!  He loves to read and play drums and ball. 

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, so I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  I hope you all are able to enjoy time spent with family and take the time to reflect on the amazing miracle of our Savior's birth!  Merry Christmas!!!