NOT a Happy Camper!

Okay, why do any of us shop at Walmart? Is it because we LOVE standing in the one hour long line every time we go because they only ever have ONE cashier working while the other 853 check-outs are all closed? Or, is it the lovely produce that draws us to the store always covered in fruit flies? I know, it must be the quality of their items because it is my favorite thing to buy a SPILL PROOF sippy cup for my child only to have the juice leak straight out the bottom. No, that's not it... it's the AWESOME customer service they provide that made me once literally raise hell over 40 cents! (But don't get me started on that!!!)

Let's face it... we all keep going back to Walmart because it is hecka cheap! I can feed my family of five on a relatively reasonable budget there. And you know what my favorite buys are...what the best deals out of the ENTIRE store are? The kid friendly snacks... like the Great Value cheese crackers, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, etc. I know you all know what I am talking about! They have been selling them between $1 - $1.25 a box for years now. You can't beat it. Or at least you couldn't...

So a few weeks ago when I went to grab my GV graham crackers... I had to do a double take when I saw they were being advertised as 2 for $5! For a brief moment I thought maybe I was going crazy and I always paid that much. That is until I saw the Honey Maid brand sitting right next to them and were actually 2 cents CHEAPER. So I back tracked my way down the aisle to check the cheese crackers I had just grabbed. Sure enough... $2.50! WHAT THE ?!??! I checked all our "regulars" and every one of them had been upped by 100-150%!! I was outraged! I could not believe it. I put them all back out of protest... surely I was not going to spend that much at Walmart! If i wanted to spend that much on crackers or cookies I would go to the nice grocery stores... where they actually cater to the customers! :) So I went back again today (clearly in denial) thinking I would find it was all a big mistake some how. WRONG! So next time when you go to grab this box off the shelf... think again!

Clearly if I find this issue worthy of a blog post... I am finding it most troubling! I am torn over taking my business elsewhere. Old habits die hard. :)

Museum of Natural Science

We have some great friends who scored a whole bunch of free tickets to the Museum of Natural Science and the Butterfly Center. They were kind enough to invite us along on their trip. The kids had so much fun running around with their friends that I don't even think they realized they were having an educational experience! :) I think Connor's favorite part was when a worker handed him a rock and asked, "What do you think that is?" Where Connor then looked at the guy like he was a total idiot. But once he found out it was not a rock, but in fact petrified dinosaur poop... he thought that was the COOLEST thing ever! :) Inside the museum they had a butterfly center that was amazing. Lots of beautiful, tropical plants and gorgeous butterflies just flying around you everywhere. The kids had a hay day trying to catch them. It was a great day... thanks guys!

Eli next to some gross, WAY oversized spider!

Trent, Jeremy, Brittanie, Spencer, Connor and Eli.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy DaLLiN!

Today my baby turned ONE! I can not believe it has been a year already since this precious bundle entered our lives! He is such a fun little man. I love you Ju-Ju!

We celebrated Dallin's birthday by going out to Chilli's as a family.

Afterward we came home for cake.

Once Dallin tasted the frosting-- he couldn't seem to shove it in his mouth fast enough! He did not seem to care much for the cake itself.

And now he's had enough! :)

What? You don't see any pictures of Dallin opening any presents? Oh, that's because we totally forgot to give them to him!! Poor kid... he must be the third child. I hope he still likes them tomorrow! :)

At 12 months Dallin is still not walking. Not really much of a shocker since he just started CRAWLING two weeks ago. (Of course he chose to hit that milestone while I was away on my girls trip!) He weighs in at 19 lbs 7oz (8%), and is measuring 30.25 in (75%). He has 6 teeth.... and the goofiest lookin' smile you have ever seen (note last picture on slide show)... so stinkin' cute! He has recently discovered the joy and power of screeching. He screeches for just about everything... demanding more food, demanding more attention, demanding out of his high chair, demanding me out of the shower... and it drives me nuts! But to be honest, up until this point I have not really had any complaints about Dallin. He has been such a good baby, a happy baby, and a content baby. He truly enriches our lives! Dallin points everywhere with his chubby little finger and it is the cutest thing ever. He reaches out for you constantly as if to say, "Hold me!" But who could possibly resist him? No one I know of so far! Even our "manly-Texas-men" neighbors can't resist him and are always asking to hold him. :) Just today he reached out to a little, old lady who was in the hair salon. She was POSITIVE that he wanted her to hold him, and tried her best to convince me to let her do so WHILE he was getting his haircut. But no matter where Dallin is ,or who he is with; he seems to bring a touch of joy to everyone he meets! We love our little puppy to pieces and our lives would certainly not be complete with out him.

GIRLS TRIP!

Two of my best friends in the world are two that I have had since high school! We all live in different states and sometimes that can make life hard. We call and email on a regular basis, but it isn't always enough. So, the three of us try to get together for a "girls trip" at least every other year. In the past, the girls have seemed to come to me since I always live in a new and different place. With the last three visits being to see me... and the one before that to see Liz... we chose to visit Chiara!

I am positive this was the best choice we could have possibly made! You see, when they come visit me it is all good because I don't have to buy a ticket... BUT... I still have my kids, and they don't! So I end up feeling tied down to binkies, car seats, and nap times. Not to mention I usually feel the sleep deprivation in a major way when we stay up until 4am chatting only to find my kids bright-eyed and staring at me only moments later.

SO THIS WAS IT! This was the FIRST week out of the last 7+ years of my life since kids... where I did not have any children! And what did I choose to do with my two best friends and a week of freedom you might ask? The answer is simple! Stay up til 4am chatting every night, sleep in until noon, eat a ton of junk food, get massages, laugh til we cry, cry until we laugh, and shop like crazy! One may say that is totally lame... but I could not think of ANY other way I would have rather spent it! (Okay... maybe cliff jumping in Hawaii... or on a safari in Africa... or swimming with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef.... or even climbing Mt. Everest) Next time ladies... next time, for sure! But loungin' with my girls comes in a STRONG 5th place! ;)

The besties!

Um... so some totally random store had two GIANT horses in front of it... and that is great and all... but did they really have to make them so anatomically correct like that?

Canoeing... but we really wanted to go kayaking... dumb guy!

Chiara's beautiful neighborhood lake!

Eating at the Spaghetti Factory... a favorite for me and Liz! (I'm not sure why I am pulling a weird smile here with no teeth!)

Darling Lee-Lee was one of the girls! (Chiara shipped her three boys off to her mom for the week and so she only had Marley.)

Just your random, giant grasshopper.

I love this picture... it fits both their personalities so much! ;)

Ha! I think Chiara is trying to slyly tuck in my G's in this picture... see... THAT is what best friends are for! :)

Elizabeth and Chiara

You should be proud ladies... we partied like we were sixteen... and our old, tired bodies are now THIRTY! I already can't wait for next time!!

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE DANG TV?

You don't have to REALLY read the fine print Eli, I promise!

Day 7

The final and last day before everyone left for their homes still managed to be packed! Ephraim and Kimm awoke early to do a session at the Houston Temple. Seth and I stayed back to watch the kids (and because our temple recommends had just expired--Doh!) as the kids played countless hours of video games! After which, Kimm and I went shopping and both spent entirely too much money! I was only supposed to be taking Kimm shopping since she doesn't have many choices other than Wal-mart in Ridgecrest. But who are we kidding?... Like Seth believed that plan for even one minute! That evening Seth's parents treated all 14 of us out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant! It was a wonderful week and we made memories that will last a life time!

Day 6

Day 6 was another fun filled day with a trip to the NASA Space Center in Houston. They had many fun hands on "adventures" for the kids and adults alike, but I personally thought the coolest part was the tour to see the historic mission control center (see below) that was used for the Apollo missions. According to our tour guide, the computers used in mission control (in the 60's)... did not even have anywhere near enough memory to upload one photo. Yet they were able to land a man on the moon with them! Truly amazing to accomplish such a huge feat with so little technology! It brought me back to the fourth grade and my days of longing to be an astronaut when I grew up. Maybe in the next life...

This is an actual photo taken of the MCC during the Apollo 13 mission. Astronaut seen on screen is Fred W. Haise Junior.

Connor after he accomplished a pretty thrilling Indiana Jones adventure exhibit. Although, I never really understood how they figured an Indiana Jones theme fit in with the NASA space center??

Ben, Josh, Connor and Caleb in front of the actual Apollo 17 Command Module. Three full grown astronauts fit in there. Amazing!

The actual Mercury Atlas 9 "Faith 7" capsule that completed 22 earth orbits. Only room for one astronaut in this one. Can you say, "claustrophobic"! :)

Eli giving "Wydia" some good loves as they waited in line together to do a moon bounce opsticle course. He misses his "friend" very much and a month later is still asking for her.