Finally It Is Done!!

Since moving here I have felt like I never have anything organized. So I decided I wanted a board to organize everything on. So it took a week or so for me to find the right board I started with a dry erase board but my friend suggested a metal board and I loved the idea. So I went in search and found one at Roberts Crafts and was able to use a 50% off coupon so I was very excited. Next came the challenge of finding the right material and ribbon for the board and the search for that started. After another week of searching I finally decided on a table runner again at Roberts and I was able again to use a 50% coupon. So loving how this was coming together my friend Kay helped me put it all together and to get it painted. It took awhile but it is done and I love it!!!!

Here is the whole board and I am so happy with how it turned out.

Here is the first section where the calendar goes, and I am happy to be getting organized again.

Here is the center section where I will put snapshots we get. The bottom where the names are I will write jobs or things each child needs to do. I can use a dry erase marker on the metal.

The last section is for papers and such that I can stick on with a magnet that I need to keep so I don't forget things.

I am so excited to use it and finally get life under control again. We are doing well here and loving it, James finishes his 1st semester of school next week and then has a month and a half break before summer semester starts. The kids are loving school and doing very well, and Madalynn as always keeps us laughing and on our toes.

Great Deal & Very Lucky!

This week we were very lucky when my friend Kay called and asked if I wanted to come over and look thru a container of clothes a neighbor had given her. I wasn't sure how much was in the container but I like hanging out with Kay so I figured at least we would have a fun visit. When I got there I was surprised to find out it was a rather large container, we were so excited for all that we found! I came home with a huge pile for Olivia to try on and afterwards I had a pile of too big clothes and the ones that fit. The next day to my surprise Kay called again and said her neighbor had come over again and given her 2 more smaller containers. So I went back over and again came home with a big pile and all but a couple of these fit! So when Olivia has grown out of these I will give them back to Kay so her 2 younger daughters can wear them. So here is what we got!

Here are all the dresses and some shirts and a pair of leggings, the next picture is all the skirts and the matching outfits. We are very excited about the skirts & dresses, about a month ago Olivia came to us and asked if we could buy her some skirts and dresses. We asked her why and she said she wanted to start dressing older and the dresses she has now were little girlish. So we went out and bought her 1 skirt and a dress, but now with all of these we are really set!

The next picture is of all the shirts, sweaters, shorts, & pants she got, we will not have to buy her clothes for a long time! We are so thankful for the wonderful friend willing to share with us and the cost this will save us.

Now for my great deal! I was in DSW looking for closed toed shoes because all I have are sandals and in all those shoes I couldn't find anything I wanted. I was looking for a particular shoe I wanted and was told they didn't have them anymore but look in clearance there might be a pair there. There were no shoes I liked in clearance but I came across these flip flops, I have a hard time spending alot of money on flip flops but these were marked for deep clearance. The brown ones were $22.95 and the purple sticker meant 70% off and the black ones were $21.94 and the yellow sticker meant 80% off. I was unsure if these prices were that percentage off already or more would come off, at the register they told me more would come off. So after all was said and done I paid $11.00 for 2 pairs of flip flops which are Rocket Dog & Tommy Hilfiger. I am so excited for my great deal and my good luck!

Our Tree

This year because we are moving the day after Christmas we decided not to hassle with a big tree. So we found this 2 ft. tree and bought it so we could still have a tree to put our presents under and a easy clean up for the next day. It didn't take us long to decorate but the kids loved doing it. They are so excited for Christmas and then the move it will be a full weekend. We hope everyone has a great Christmas!

The tree seems really small once the kids are sitting in front of it, it just disappears behind them!

Our Halloween!

I know I am late on this but better late than never at all! We had a very fun Halloween weekend we first started off with a party at James' work, the kids were so excited to get to go into Dad's work. He works for Intel and it is a factory so kids are not allowed inside so the kids never got to see where Dad went to work everyday. It was a fun evening of games and a spook alley that the kids loved. This night Olivia went as Super Girl, Will was Batman, and Madalynn was Super Girl also.

On Halloween night we went Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood and it was so crowded the houses are so close together so it is a place where people like to drive in to Trick-or-Treat at. We had a ton of fun and saw numerous friends from school as we walked around. For this night Olivia decided to be a witch she loved being able to switch since we already had both of Olivia's costumes she decided to switch it up.

It was very fun to see the kids come home and spread their candy out to see what they got and it brought back so many memories of my Halloween nights as a child spreading out my candy and trying to trade with my siblings for something I liked that they had. this was a fun thing that we did every Halloween and I love the memories of those nights

After everything was all done we let the kids choose some pieces for them to eat and then collected all the candy to put away for the days to come. This is what we ended up with....

WAY TOO MUCH! I guess when there are 3 kids getting candy it does add up, the good thing is when we put it up it is kind of out of sight out of mind. If they ask we let them choose some but we tend to not eat a lot of candy around our house, we still have over 2 and a half of those bags left so we are set for a long time. :o) We hope everyone had a great Halloween!

She's Legal........

To Babysit! In the state of Oregon 10 years old is the legal age to babysit. I can't believe she is growing up so fast, she is so fun, and caring of her little brother and sister. She really enjoys school, she struggles with certain subjects but very rarely do you see her not excited about going to school and what is going on in class. This year she has started going to a dance class a lady in our ward teaches and she comes home after every class so excited about what she learned that day. She is very excited for the Christmas recital for dance so we can see what she is learning.

Olivia is excited to get the responsibility of babysitting but a little nervous about it too, we are going to start out slow and help her get confident in what she is doing. My friend here told me she lets her kids babysit at home until they turn 12 and then they can babysit for others, I like this idea so we have decided to do this. We are so proud of her and I love the mother/daughter activities we are enjoying together.

Happy Birthday Olivia!
We Love You

My Baby Is 3!

I can't believe my little Madalynn is 3 today, it seems like just yesterday we were in Colorado and she was a baby. These last few months she has really blossomed and has quite the personality! She is so fun and a little trying at times but the fun and happy out weigh that.

This was Madalynn this morning right before church she was so excited to go to nursery on her birthday. Our camera is not the greatest at times and this picture is so cute I wish it had come out better. Anyway, Happy Birthday Madalynn! We love you!

Back To School!

This past week, our kids started school again! Olivia is now in the 4th grade and she loves her teacher and the friends she has in class. Here she is before leaving for school.

Will is now in the 1st grade and is so excited to be going to full day school. He is very happy to be riding the bus both to and from school with Olivia. Here he is before going to school.


Madalynn in the past few months has really gotten her personality and she would not be left out for pictures, and once the kids were dropped off she was not happy they were gone. She kept asking us if we were going to get Olivia and Will. She was very cute about it.

The morning was chilly so the kids had to put coats on before going, I was surprised I don't think I have had a cold 1st day of school before.

Coming home on the bus the 1st day some how Will got on the wrong bus, and he was fine he didn't care but Olivia got emotional because we told her to keep her eyes open for Will and she felt it was her fault. We quickly reassured her it wasn't her fault and there was just a mix up. She is fine now and Will gets on the right bus now.

I know it has been awhile since I last blogged, our computer broke so I didn't have Internet for a couple months so i will blog about our summer in the next weeks!