St George

Yesterday Andy took work off a little early and we headed to Tai Pan. I haven't been to Tai Pan since I was in College and we needed a few decorations. I didn't get any picture shopping, but we did get some nice additions for the home.

Afterwards we went to the newly opened Pizza Factory. I love Pizza Factory. I know it isn't the best pizza around (which is why I get the salad)... but I love the breadsticks, diet cokes, and crunchy ice. This was Lucas' first PF experience... and I think it is safe to say, he loves it like his mama :)

Sword fighting with the sticks

Then we headed to Mesquite to see Minna and Bompa. Lucas loves playing blocks with Bompa... or should I say, he loves when Bompa makes a tower so Lucas can knock it over.

Here Bompa built a ramp for the hot wheel cars

Here we all are... Lucas had just done something funny so we are all laughing in this picture... although you wouldn't know it by Lucas' somber face.
We had a great Family day before Lucas and I leave for Dallas tomorrow night. Now it is time for Laundry...

Coupon Update #1

I have a long drawn out explanation to my thoughts on Couponing... but seeing how most of you don't care on my theories, I will answer the questions you are dying to know :)

1. Yes I did save money!
2. I will be continuing coupon
3. I saved a total of $100 in the first week.

Now then... for my long explanation and theories on couponing:

I have discovered that couponing can be effective. However, it is not an overnight success where you start saving instantly! In order to successfully coupon you have to buy things you eat when they are on sale, use a coupon to make the sale price even lower, and buy multiple of these items so you have them when in need.

So... here is an example. I usually make some pasta dish once a week. When I make my menu I write down the type of pasta to buy and go and buy it (along with the other items on my list). BUT with couponing that will not save you money. Instead you wait until Pasta (or whatever item you want/need) is on sale. So last week Pasta was $1.00 a box at Vons. I had (3) $1.00/off coupons for pasta. So I "bought" three boxes... but really because it was on sale for $1 and I had a $1 off coupon it was FREE. So now for the next three weeks I don't have to buy pasta! Which is why I ordered three newspapers, because I want/need three coupons to really make this work.

Make sense?

So the trick is to buy multiples of things when on sale with a coupon. So now my Food Storage closet is even more handy because I can store all my weekly "extras".

On to CVS... this is where I saw the biggest change in my budget. I usually budget out a Target allowance and I go there each week to buy the essentials: paper towels, deodorant, razors, feminine products, etc... I typically spend around $50 on these so called Target runs. This week I spend $30 at CVS and got the following....

- Paper Towels

- 2 boxes of feminine products

- 2 packages of razors

-2 cans of shaving cream

- 2 bottles of my face wash

- gum

- pens

If I had bought all these things at Target I would have easily spend $60 plus I now have $15 in CVS bucks... so technically I only spend $15 on these items. 

All in all, it was a success. I know couponing isn't for everyone, but for now we are sticking to it!

10 minutes

Here is 10 minutes in the life of Lucas Coons:

Tantrum...





Distracted....





Chasing Bizzy...


Playing swords....





Hiding from mom...


Back to Bizzy....


Spinning...








And back to tantrum.


Begin again. Yikes... No wonder I'm exhausted by bedtime!

To coupon.. or not to coupon

I used to coupon. I would get the sunday paper, look at where the things I needed were on sale, and go to Albertsons, Smiths, and Vons in one day to get everything. I would save money... but I had to go to three stores. Then my newspaper subscription stopped, I didn't renew and therefore stopped couponing.

Then I discovered Fresh and Easy. I LOVED it. I loved the $10 off coupon, the prices, the produce, everything. They got rid of the $10 off coupon, we moved and it was just a little bit further than usual. So I stopped.

Then we watched Food, Inc. It changed my whole perspective of what to eat, how to eat, where to shop. We decided we needed to be a little bit more concerned about where our food was coming from. I started shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Our grocery bill went through the roof and I slowly went back to Albertsons...

Now I go about 50/50. I get meat and other items from Whole Foods, and basics like cereal from Albertsons.

But today I needed apple juice. I love the Motts got Tots. I love that it has 40% less sugar, and I love that it doesn't give Lucas a diaper rash. What I don't love, the $4 pricetag. I know, $4 is NOT that big of a deal... but in the long scheme of things it adds up. So I went searching for a coupon to maybe offset the cost. Couldn't find a single one.

BUT- I did find a great new couponing blog-- Couponing to Disney  This mom decided to set a budget each week for groceries. She takes out money for the exact amount of her budget. She coupons like crazy and tries to save a dollar or two. Then whatever is left over she puts in a "fund" that they use to go to Disney World each summer. Brilliant! Now then... I don't want to go to disney. But I would like to pay off the car, buy a new stroller, or go back to Chile! So I am adopting her method for 4 weeks.

So.. here is how it works. You look on bank statements from 3 months and average how much you spent on groceries, eating out, etc... then you divide by 4, which is what you would spend in a week. Take 10% off that amount, and voila! Your budget is set. For us, this is $120/week. I was shocked at how high it was. I cannot believe we have been spending that much on food. I guess this includes household items, diapers, etc... but still, I thought it was high. Not to mention, if we go way under because my couponing skills we can lower our weekly budget, and thus have more in our account for other things. So here are the Coons Family Rules for our new plan of action!

1. $120/week on all food. PERIOD.
2. We will only be going out to eat on Saturday nights. No more lunches (this will be hard).
3. I will start couponing again. I have ordered the LVRJ for Sunday delivery, and will start clipping away.
4. Play "CVS" game. I have heard of this before, but am going to really try and do it this time. I will use my CVS bucks for diapers, toilet paper, toothepaste, etc...
5. Still eat healthy. This is probably going to be the hardest one, mainly because we will still buy our meat from Whole Foods so it is organic... and many of the coupons are for things we do not normally eat. But I am hoping to get some applejuice coupons thrown my way!

At the end of 4 weeks we will see how much the "fund" has. I am hoping this proves to be efficient. The only drawback to this plan is Las Vegas stores are not as coupon friendly like they are elsewhere. They don't "double coupon" or accept all coupons, which can be frustrating. So we will try our best.

I know this is probably boring... but I need to be accountable for this! So please ask me how it is going, if you aren't interested so I have to be honest with myself. And let's also hope we don't have to dig into our new food storage because we run out of money by day three :)

Here's to couponing!! (and a cute picture of Lucas that is completely irrelevant)

Coloring at Pottery Barn Kids Story Time!

Pool day!

We try to go to the pool at least once a week to cool off. It is even more fun when friends come too. We have a pool by our house that has a baby pool that is enclosed which makes it so easy because Lucas can get out and run around and I don't have to worry he'll fall in the pool.












A movie is coming :) We are loving summer!!

Fourth of July!

This year was a short, but fun 4th of July. I had Girls Camp from the 28th-2nd so I met Andy and Lucas at Fishlake. I was so excited to see my boys and drove like a maniac to see them. Unfortunately, I was exhausted from Girls Camp so I took a shower and then slept for 6 hours.

We went to church on Sunday, and as always, church was very interesting at Fishlake Branch. No Fishlake Sunday is complete without a family picture:

And lucky for us Uncle Big Time met us up in Fishlake!!

Andy got out the Archery stuff and the boys had an archery contest. Lucas joined in on the fun... I love this picture because it is typical Fishlake outfit... or "Pick a garb"... the shorts are actually 0/3 month pants and his shirt is too small, hence the belly hanging out. Not too mention his Wellington Boots, which are a must for throwing rocks in the lake. But we are at fishlake and you just wear what you can find. LOVE IT!

On Monday we headed down to Richfield for their annual parade. It did not disappoint. This was Lucas' first Richfield Parade and he loved all the candy.

Here were my two favorite floats:

1. Scissors- They actually went up and down and they were advertising the local Richfield Hair Salon. Very inventive!

2. For my parents... the Missionaries advertising mormon.org. I am thinking the Antofagasta Missionaries could do a float down the main road. 

Then it was off to the Richfield Fair!

This morning the boys went fishing before we headed out and they caught 8 fish! 

We missed the Trythall family, but had a great time. A HUGE Thank you to John and Jane for letting us stay and cooking delicious dinner every night!

Garden

Last Sunday we ate the first of our vegetables! We were having Andy's parents over and the salad only had lettuce, so I asked Andy to go pick a few vegetables... Tomatoes, Carrots, Onions, and a Orange Bell Pepper.

They were the best vegetables I have ever tasted. So fresh and delicious. The Final Salad...

It was SO yummy and we are looking forward to many more salads this summer!

Serendipity

This is LONG overdue... but I just got home from Girls Camp, The Amazing Race, and am back to catching up!

For my birthday my cute friends took me to Serendipity. I have ALWAYS wanted to go, but never seemed to get around to it. Let's just say it did NOT disappoint, especially because calories don't count on your birthday :)

Cute girls... Me, Melissa, Sierra and Sara

I LOVED the decor... the chandeliers were darling

We all ordered something different and split, so we could taste everything. The hamburger with sweet potato fries, pesto pizza, and nachos were all delicious. And Serendipity would not be complete without Frozen Hot Chocolate!

We got three to share: White Chocolate, Vanilla, and Double Chocolate... I loved them all!

Thanks girls for such a fun night!