The Budget

I'm proud to say that after 14 years of marriage John and I started and have been living on an actual budget.  I just felt this needed mentioning because I think it's a pretty big deal!  And we didn't even have to go to a Dave Ramsey seminar or read one of his books to get us there.

I'm sure we are decades behind most other fiscally responsible couples.  We were just slow to the game.  For our first years of marriage, and while living on student loans, our budget was simply...Don't spend any money.  While our spending habits have evolved as we have been out of school for 8 years now, we never really formed a budget.  We tracked our spending and saved money when we could but that was about it.  But we never set a limit for what we were able to spend at the beginning of the month before we actually spent it.  Super smart, I know.

Now here we are only 5 months into our budget and I have to admit I am loving it!  We sat down and tracked our expected monthly and yearly expenditures.  Food, gas, utilities, etc. for the monthly, and birthdays, holidays, kids activities, car registration etc. for the yearly.  What was most shocking to me was realizing what we really needed to save for our yearly expenses.  What our list really did was put everything in perspective.  Doing bills used to be quite stressful.  It is so much easier and more organized now.  Why did we not do this sooner!  So there you have it, I am now a fan of budgets.  And I want the world to know it.  Actually I want my kids to know it.  Hopefully they learn this life lesson much earlier in life than their parents did.

The Rubic's Cube

Owen is most definitely my OCD/hands on kid.  Give him paper, string, or loom bands and he is entertained for hours.  Folding, threading, looming, or whatever else, if his hands are busy then he is typically calm and happy.  Enter the rubics cube.  Owen has been fiddling with this thing for over a  year.  For some reason they got big on the playground last year. (A great thing to get popular on the playground if you ask me!)  Owen has been trying to master it for quite a while.  for a long time he was able to get one side the same color, but not the whole cube.  He has had multiple uncles walk him through the steps and just hasn't been able to completely solve it. 

Recently he found the instructions that came with the cube.  I didn't even realize we had instructions!  Owen began spending time sitting in bed working it out.  And sure enough, he solved it!  And now he is working on memorizing it.  His mind amazes me!  What a little smarty pants :)

McCall Winter Carnival

The last time we went to the McCall winter carnival Emmie was 2 months old and I packed her around in a snuggli inside my coat.  Flash forward 5 years an we decided to head up for the day with some friends.  We got up early Saturday morning and were on the road before 8:30.  The drive there was painful...2 hours full of whining, fighting, and crying.  When will that end?!?  But, luckily when we got there attitudes seemed to change a bit.  We walked around to look at the sculptures (which seemed fewer this year than in the past.  I'm guessing because of the extreme lack of snow this year!)

The we picked a place to watch the parade.  I should make mention that the McCall parade is one of the best parades I have ever been too.  It's Mardi Gras style so they throw beads and candy.  By the end of the parade every kid had a neck full of beads and a hat full of candy (we forgot bags).  And this parade has actual floats and performances.  I love it!

We stood right in front of the pizza place we wanted to eat lunch at.  So that halfway through the parade the men could go order pizza and get a table.  The plan worked beautifully, and when the parade ended we walked with our families and sat right down to lunch while the thousands of other people lining the streets headed to restaurants to wait in line.  I'm not sure what prompted the migration to McCall this winter, but the carnival was way busier than I've ever seen it.  Low gas prices perhaps?

 

 After we were all sufficiently fed and had spent enough time in town we ventured out for some sledding. 

 We had a lot of fun on the hill and successfully wore the kids out before the drive home that evening.  Needless to say the drive home was much quieter than the drive there.  A perfect little Saturday trip.

Ski Night---Take 2

Another post about Ainsley....I promise I do have other children that are well cared for.  Ainsley just happened to have a busy month!  Every year the fourth and fifth graders at our school get to go up to Bogus for ski night.  I went up with Ains again this year.  And I can't wait to go next year with Owen.

For the first couple of hours Ains took a class with her friends.  And while she did that, I went skiing with my friend.

I convinced my friend Mandy to go with me this year.  We are both extreme beginner skiers. So while Ainsley was getting actual instruction and skiing tips, we headed up the mountain and decided that we would rely on the practice makes perfect method.  We actually did really well.  And to be fair skiing conditions were awful.  Not much snow and a lot of ice.  Ains struggled a bit more this year than last year but I think that was due to a combination of her ski's and the ice.  I'd love to take her up again...but the weather isn't cooperating this year.  I actually did a lot better this year than last year.  I went the whole night without falling. 

Until......I missed a turn and led myself and Mandy to steep hill that we were not skilled enough for.  And with the ice factored in we were completely out of our league.  My stomach seriously sank when I came to a clearing and say 3 snowboarders sitting at the top of the hill who had given up on trying to get down.  Mandy and I inched our way down, sliding with our ski's perpendicular to the mountain.  At one point we couldn't tell which way to go.  Lucky for us an experienced skier came our way and volunteered to show us the way down. Unlucky for me, I decided that I would just go ahead and follow the skilled skier and try to keep up with his pace.  With in seconds of trying to follow him I was flying down the mountain out of control!  At this point I decided that I had to get down the mountain so I might as well stay up as long as I could even though I was picking up speed and knew a hard fall was coming.  Before to long I crashed.  Hard.  Really hard.  My goggles flew off, thank heavens I was wearing a helmet.  And my poles were long gone.  After I realized I was ok and nothing was broken I couldn't help but laugh.  And then a nice snow boarder slid on his bum and brought me my poles.  And then I slowly made my way down the mountain after the initial shock and pain wore off.

I stayed with Ains on the bunny hill the rest of the night and we had a grand time.  She had a few falls but took it like a champ and did a great job.  I truly enjoyed riding the lift up and talking with her and watching her make her way down the mountain.  I was more nervous when a boy (Lane) called to her and wanted her to ski with him.  But she chose me! I was one proud mama!

The Party

Ains got to have a friend party this year. We went with the theme "Cupcake Wars" and I must say it was perfect.  I had lots of cake mixes and mystery ingredients that they had to incorporate.  Each team baked and decorated their cupcakes and even presented them to the judges.

 

 

 I was a little nervous when one team chose a strawberry cake mix and wanted to mix in marshmallows (a lot of marshmallows!) and then put marshmallow cream in the middle.  And the other team chose a chocolate cake mix and added in a pudding mix and then more reese's peanut butter cups than one might think humanly possible.  Let's just say that the cupcakes tasted waaay better than I thought they would.  I was pleasantly surprised!

 Each team presented 3 cupcakes to the judges.  They were judged on taste and presentation.

 The judges used their distinguished palette's and knowledge of baking while making their decision.

 In the end both teams were declared winners!  Shocker!!!  And each girl went home with an apron, a prize, and a bunch of cupcakes!

The party seriously went so well!  The girls had so much fun and were all so kind and nice.  I'm grateful that Ainsley has such nice friends.  Truly grateful.

Ainsley is 11

I can't believe Ainsley is 11.  It just doesn't seem possible.  To celebrate the completion of her 10th year of life she woke up and went to school.  And then I took her out of school and we went to lunch.  She chose Costa Vida.  And then she went back to school.  And then she came home from school and helped make her birthday cake.  She did a great job!  We all ate her favorite French Dip sandwiches for dinner and then we did a quick party with cake and ice cream and cousins.  The party was short and sweet due to the impending early school morning facing us the next day.  But I think she had a great time none the less!  Ainsley is such a kind and loving person.  She is beautiful, gorgeous actually, intelligent, and amazing.  She is never one to cause drama among her friends and is always looking out for the underdog.  We are so happy and grateful that we get to be her parents.  It is truly a blessing.

Oh, and most importantly....Ainsley got a birthday card and chocolates from a boy.  From a boy named Lane who has had a crush on her since the 1st grade.  It kind of freaks me out a little when I see him casually waiting for her when I drop the kids off at school in the morning.  I'm not sure how I feel about this so I guess I'll just leave it at that....