Time Flies

When you are having fun it seems like the summer is just a blink. I heard this week we only have a month till school starts that made me so sad. The kids and I are having a fun summer. Last week we spent a week up at the cabin in the nice cool weather. Trying to find another week to do it now. It was so nice my kids were great up there with just the siblings to play with. Here is our summer in pictures:

Here is my Grandma with Gracie and AJ having a picnic.

My Grandma made all of her great grand kids these mohawk hats. Lucy wore hers the whole time.

Of course we had to do the redneck pinata again. It is a cabin favorite!!

Hunter just loves it!!

Tyler loves playing this taken apart piano.

The kids don't need snow to go sledding.

 My Dad, my hubby, and two of my brothers.

Tyler did a puppet show for me with his dirty socks!!

This last picture is from girls camp. They had two sides and you competed to see who could get the farthest before it violently pulled you backwards. Jenn and I went against each other and had a blast. I am no longer in YW. I am going to miss things like going to camp. Now I am in Wolf den with Hunter. I am super excited about the new calling.

Summers Almost Here

I can't wait for Summer!!! It is crazy and loud here all the time, but there are those great moments you get with your kids. I am leaving this summer up in the air so we can do whatever whenever!! Last summer we did swim team and didn't want the commitment this year. I will probably regret that decision when they are running circles around me.

 I love this picture. I went in to check on my girls one night and this is what I found. Gracie has done this same thing since the picture too. She loves her sister and wants to be near her even in sleep.

Spring Sing

The boys had their Spring Sing Concert. Tyler's grade got to dress up as pirates for their special song "My Principals a Pirate." This is right up his ally he was so excited to get to wear a costume. Hunter was such a good sport he had his chin still sore from busting it open a couple days earlier.

Weekend Getaway

My sweet Mother watched our four babies so we could get away for a weekend. It was nice to have some time away from it all. We went up north to Prescott. It was beautiful up there and still had a little snow on the ground. The creeks were all running. We got to do some off roading and camped one night in the back of burban which is right up my Hubby's alley. Then we went into to town on Saturday and stayed at a hotel for the last night. We got to go out to dinner and a movie. It was the best of both worlds.

We came back to my Mom's house and the girls started to play with my sisters old makeup. They were having a blast putting on lipstick. My Mom decided to help them put it on. Gracie took one look in the mirror and had to get it off her face.

Lucy enjoyed being a clown for a while.

Thanks Mom!!!

My Little Vampire

Hunter lost all his front teeth and has yet to grow the new ones in. I have been calling him my little vampire!

Daddy Bucks

I found a way to balance the video games in our house and get it cleaner at the same time. I made these cards for the kids to earn. They receive one per page of homework and one per job around the house. It has really make a difference in our home. Hunter is the best a it. He has had his room spotless since this and really only earning up to an hour of video games a day. Usually they only get a half an hour a day by the time they get homework done. I think they turned out cute. They kids call them Daddy Bucks!!

Frugality

This is what I was making homemade tortillas. I am trying to save money and not go to the store. I feel like the more I go to the store the more I spend. I am curious as to how all of my friends save money. Here are some ways that I feel I save.

Other ways I feel I save money on is by making bread at home. I still by store bought bread because we eat a lot of bread. I can't keep up especially with the boys taking a lunch to school everyday.

Just recently I have been making homemade laundry soap. I haven't really noticed a difference in the cleanliness of our clothes. I never bought expensive stuff anyways. It is really easy to make and it doesn't have a smell to it just more of clean smell(if that makes sense). So if the load of clothes is really bad I will through in a little store bought soap in to help with that. Thanks to Roccy for the class she taught us a while back, I hang out my laundry on a line (not all the time), but more in the summer. It takes less time to dry out on the line in summer then in the dryer. Love our AZ summers.

I have also been making my own cleaners. I really like the vinegar and water one. I leaves a shine on the counters.

I have been doing bountiful baskets for fruits and veggies. I feel like that helps us eat healthier and saves money too. 

We almost always eat a home. I don't remember the last time we ate out as a family. It is way too expensive to feed us all at a restaurant or even fast food. Instead of getting a pizza I usually just make it. It is really not that hard and you can make it the way you like it.

I am always on the lookout for new ways to save. What are you doing that works? I am curious.