Listen to Great Day in the Morning!

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So here's a quick update... We still have three kids, one dog, and two cars. We are still in the same valley, but in a different location. Soon we will be house-hunting! Life is great. This new business we are in is AMAZING! If you haven't heard about it, you should. Time magazine has a great article about epigenetics that really helps explain why this stuff is so awesome. You can also see some basic information about the products at chemfreeskincream.com.

Now, I am off to the company launch! I will try to get some pictures and more detailed updates soon.

WOW!

So I have several people that say they don't have time to clip coupons and shop the way I do. To that I say, it takes me about 15 minutes a week to clip, print, and sort coupons. Then I just take them with me to the store every time I go (I always regret it when I don't). If I want, I check the website www.grocerysmarts.com, using the password G84CSO. That tells me who has the best deals and it has links to other coupons. So, for about 15-20 minutes a week, I save my family around $400-$600 a month on groceries. I only buy stuff I use. Here is my shopping list for today:

1 can olives, 2 bottles of salad dressing, two bottles of marinade, four boxes of cereal (yummy kind), bottle of vitamins (reg $12, paid $2.47), three 24 oz. dannon yogurts, three dozen egglands best eggs, sunny delight (for fathers day), two gallons of milk, 2 lb peaches, three avocados, red grapes, ten ears of corn, four containers of raspberries, three heads of romaine lettuce, 10lb potatoes, tomatoes on the vine.

My total bill was $98.96. After coupons and discounts I paid: $41.28. That is pretty typical on a shopping trip for my family. We try to keep our bill around $400 a month for food. Because of the coupons and discounts, I have a full food storage room, I feed my family well, and I can afford to buy the name brand and organic items, most of the time cheaper than the generic brand. It just takes a little time each week. I think that saving $48.38 was worth 15-20 minutes of my time.

Oh yeah, we also got a free DVD from Redbox. If you haven't used this code, do so now: DVDONME. You get one free rental.

COUPONS ROCK!!! (cont.)

So yeah, coupons are awesome! I went to the store today to get chicken, eggs, milk, bread, cereal, fruit and vegetables. Pretty simple shopping right? Well, yeah, kinda. When I got there, they had a ton of stuff on sale that I wanted/needed for storage and I had coupons. That's the best! So, because I am so excited about my purchase, here is the quick version.

My total bill came to $187. I handed the cashier my coupons and typed in my savings card number. (that's my favorite part... watching the numbers fall...

MY TOTAL

$46.17

Plus I got 10 cents off each gallon of gas. COUPONS ROCK!!!!

Idaho ROCKS! Literally...

So, as many of you know, we took a trip to Idaho recently. There is a butte there called "menan butte". It's an extinct volcano. We thought it would be a great hike! (And give everyone a chance to try out their Christmas presents!!!!!) On this trip, we had Dan, me, Steve, Jess, Alexis, Dustin, and Emily. Here are some of the highlights of our hike. Which, by the way, was a great hike and the view at the top was amazing. We could even see the Rexburg temple.

At the top, there are many neat rock formations. It's amazing what wind and rain can do.

You could see so much from the top. The view was awesome. This is the side we hiked up (from the other sides, you can see the snake river, the temple, and the sand dunes). We rested here to let everyone eat and enjoy the view. Isn't God wonderful!

A father teaching his daughter where to step and how to put her feet down so she doesn't slip on the sand. Dan is amazing!

Alexis (now 4) did very well on this hike. She was still carried for a bit, especially in the steep parts, but overall, walked most of the hike. When we reached the top, we decided to walk around the rim of the volcano.

Jess, Em, and Steve. These three were together the whole hike. They were all great hikers and did extremely well.

Everyone was so excited to try out their new gear! Alexis was a "big kid" because she got to carry her own stuff this time. She was so proud of herself. And honestly, we were all proud of her!

This may look daunting, but I assure you that Steve, Jess, Em, Dan, and Dustin all made it to the bottom of this "cliff". Even Chesney went down (and back up)! Chesney is the dog. You can see her at the top of the rocks watching the girls. She was a trooper! She had so much fun running everywhere and climbing everything. She will be a fun hiking/camping companion for sure! I know!!!! Who would ever think of a shih-tzu as a hiking companion!?!?!?

Does this photo need explanation? =)

Here is Dustin helping the kids get past a tricky spot so they could go see the cave.

Here is the cave. Pretty cool! We saw a lot of them. So many things to look at.

There is the crew! Alexis and Chesney stayed by me on this one, but the rest went to the top. From my point of view, it was pretty awesome! We spent about 4 hours hiking, resting, looking, playing (lots and lots of playing), and just enjoying being outside to wonder at God's creations.

Recent Twisted Metal Project

Disclaimer.... I am NOT a photographer. There is something I don't get about my camera, and I can't figure out how to change the macro to the off position, so some of the pictures are blurry.

As many of you know, we had a booth at a show called "Novemberfest". It was really fun, and it got our name out there. A lot of people liked our stuff, and we handed out a lot of business cards.

This is a special order that someone called in from seeing our stuff at Novemberfest. It is one of my favorite pieces we have done, so I kinda wanted to show it off...

She also wanted ladybugs for the flower. They are magnetic and can be moved anywhere on the flower and stem. The red one is the largest of the four. We try to repurpose stuff that we find at the junkyard or yard sales. Can you figure out what we used to make the ladybugs....?

It was an exciting project and we are very pleased with how it turned out. She will be picking it up today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she loves it!

New? Old? I don't know...

So here is some old and new news....

Dan is loving his job! His boss is SO cool. His company is doing really well!!!! He loves playing his ukulele when he is not busy working, being a dad, fixing his truck, or playing. He works with the 12 and 13 year old scouts in our ward and he is AMAZING at it!!!!

Chandi (me) is having a great time learning guitar. It has been so fun. I can play quite a few songs now and I am working on actually writing one. I am also learning sign language, and teaching it to the kids when I can. I have also been working on more art from junk. I have this awesome idea for a large piece to go on my living room wall. I just have to collect all the pieces now.

Steven is still in 3rd grade. He is doing really well. Awesome grades! Lots of friends. He also loves scouts and riding his bike, rollerblading, and skateboarding. He is learning to weld.

Jessica is still in 1st grade. She is a girly girl. Reads amazingly well. She loves to do her hair and play with her friends. She spends a lot of time reading to Alexis. What a wonderful daughter!

Alexis is a little tomboy. She is constantly making us laugh (or cry...). The other day she was eating a cookie and I asked her if she liked it. She closed her eyes, nodded her head with a very serene look, said, "It's delightful." She loves riding her scooter and "training" the dog.

Chesney (our dog) is 3. She is so cute and a wonderful little girl. We all love her (yes, even Dan). Totally surprising considering we weren't even supposed to keep her. Looks like she is staying for the long haul.

Dustin (19, our neighbor, and the other welder for our Twisted Metal, Renewed Creations project) was baptized on January 23. It has been amazing to watch his testimony grow. He is planning on serving a mission in a year. He has been met with TONS of opposition, especially from his family, which is really hard. But he hasn't allowed his testimony to be shaken.

So overall, we have been blessed greatly. We have a full food storage room thanks to coupons and smart shopping. Everyone is healthy and for the most part happy. The laundry is done (for today anyway). We've had some rough spots, but the prognosis is GREAT!

Love you all and wish you the best!

P.S. If you are looking for a good book to read, please consider this: Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. A phenomenal read! Also, talk to my mom about the "closer to Christ" program she gave her kids for Christmas. Totally worth the effort.