Day at the Zoo

This is a classic photo that I have of my self when I went to the Hoogle Zoo as a kid

On Thursday I got a phone call from my father in law saying, "It's military appreciation Day at the Zoo this Saturday." Which makes it for FREE!! I am a sucker for anything free and even though we already had plans for that day, we squeezed in a visit to the Hoggle Zoo! It was completely worth it too! We went on a train ride, saw the tigers playing, and rode on the Carousel. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I wanted to experience it in first person and not through the lenses of my camera, but here are the ones we did take.

My Hott Husband

So, let's say oh, 8 years ago, Cameron and I were newly weds and were attending a married college ward. Every Fast and Testimony Sunday we would tease each other that he would get up there and say, "I love my wife, she's so Hott!" lol No worries, he never did...but now it is my turn !!

I love my Husband, he is so Hott!!

There are so many reasons why this statement is true. First, let's talk about his Hottness (he is gonna kill me, lol)! Cameron has always been a fitness kind of guy. Always active, never over weight. But even more now since he has been in the Air Force (Go Air Force!)! He was gone for 7 weeks for some AF training and came back with a rock hard 6 pack (those are his abs)!!!! And recently took his PT test and scored a 92! I was so proud of him, knowing that scoring high on these test are important to him. He was even awarded for a great score by getting a day off of work any day his choice! He uses his muscle skills for playing and throwing our kids around. Which I love to watch!

Then his eyes...he has the most beautiful Blue eyes I've ever seen (I think this is what I noticed about him first when we met)! Which he has so kindly shared with 3 of his kids! They are so kind and full of knowledge. I can just stare at them (and often do) and get completely lost!

Lastly on the topic of his "hottness" is that he is TALL!! Ok, he is no giant, but in my world he is a true Hero! Silly as that may sound, but that was on my list of must have qualities for the man I was going to marry.

Now onto the later...why I love him! Let me tell you some of the amazing things he does and it will be quite clear. For our Anniversary he was kind enough to let me go join in a Relief Society Trek activity and watched 3 of our 4 kids for me. While I was gone he spent all morning planting flowers (our wedding colors) in our front yard!! I was quite surprised and happy. Recently I've been trying to loose weight and he has been nothing but supportive! He even watches my crying babe for an hour while I go attempt to dance in the Zumba class. If that isn't love, I don't know what is! I love him for the man he is and for the man he wants to be.

He is truly an amazing man! I am so blessed to be called his wife, the mother of his children and his best friend.

Avy's Done with Preschool

Avy with 2 of 3 of her preschool teachers

Our little girl is all done with Preschool and in the Fall is going to Kindergarten!! We are so excited for her and she is so happy! We were really impressed with her last preschool she attended her in Utah. She has been in 3 different schools and NONE of them but this one was able to get talk and the speech teacher was able to work with her on developing better skills. I can't really blame the school, because we threaten her this time. If she didn't talk at this school she was not going to kindergarten at Brooklyn's school and lo and behold she SPOKE!! She spoke to her friends and teachers! Those who know Avy knows what a HUGE accomplishment this was for her. Way to Go Avy! We love you and are exciting on overcoming more changelles in the future!!


(Her class did a little singing program in which I only got horrible pictures of, but she did great!)

Lily

So after years and years of Brooklyn asking us we finally got a PUPPY!!! Here is the story of our Dog Lily!

So I've been looking shortly after Hudson was born on KSL for a puppy for sale. The deal we made with Brooklyn was she could have a puppy after we had a yard (check), after Hudson was born (check) and after Daddy was back from TDY (kinda check).

I find her by chance on a Ad on KSL and hereis what it said (more or less)

A Border collie 6 month puppy for sale only $50

Comes with kenal, brush, leash, doggie food, and has all shots!

Great with kids!!

After seeing this I call her owners at the time to have a meet and greet. Well, needless to say, we fell in love with her. I told Cameron about her, since he was still away on more training and he said, "No." I waited for one week and then went and got her!!! Surprise!!! I told him atleast so he wouldn't be too mad... But she is so mild and well behaved. She loves to play fetch and loves to play with the kids (pop bubbles, play soccer, and go down the slide). And everyone that has met her knows what a special loving girl she is.

Easter Fun 2011

We had an AMAZING Easter week! All week long we talked about why we celebrate Easter to our kids, but still not trying to ruin their Easter imaginations. We made Easter sugar cookies, have family over, went on many Easter egg hunts, Cameron ran a 5K and of course our Easter Curse came upon us! You may ask, "what is this Easter Curse?" Well, let me explain. Every year without fail something happens on Easter that makes it so we can't all go to church or things don't go as planned. For example I got kidney stones on Easter, Avy's broken her arm, Brooklyn has sprain her wrisit, croup, etc. Our list just goes on and on! This year it was Lincoln and I who it hit! We both got sick! So we didn't go to church but we did dress them up for pictures!!!! I got the outfits a month in advance and was not going to miss out on pictures!!!! And I took a lot! This isn't even half of them! Hope you enjoy and that you were in good health for Easter!!!

Brooklyn

Avonlea

Lincoln

Hudson

Hudson's 1st Easter

Morning egg hunt

Dying eggs

Link with the Easter Bunny

Link getting eggs!

All my kids plus my cousins who were in town that joined us!

Happy Easter to you from the Coon's!

My Gas Tip of the Day

We all have felt the weight of the rising gas prices at the pump in our wallets, right? Well, here is my money saving tips.

1. Go to your local Kroger store (King Soopers, Smith's, etc) and buy a gift card from them for their store. Buy $100 gift card and you will earn either .10 or .15 cents off a gallon.

2.Then use the gift card at the pump! That way all you are buying is gas and not the food.

3. You can use your earned cents off per gallon up to 100 gallons as long as you don't hang up the pump! So get all your cars filled up at the same time! Or have your friends get gas too (just make sure they pay you back)!!

Go to this link to find the closest store to you

www.smithsfoodanddrug.com

www.kingsoopers.com

Special thanks to the Lady at the Bakery you gave me this great tip!

I want to SAVE money

For those of you who know me (or just scroll down) I rarely go off of the topic of just family events. But I recently went to a class on saving money called "Couponing 101" and have been so inspired that A) I am so excited and B) I want to share all of these wonderful saving money tips with everyone!!! Why do you want to save? We all have different reasons why we want to save money on our groceries. Here are mine; 1) Lately there has been debate on if government people will get their pay checks (which worries me to no end) 2) I would love to contribute to our income without leaving the home 3) We need to increase our food storage without spending more then in needed Ask your self this question so it will keep you going strong and motivated !! I have to give all the credit of my knowledge to a wonderful lady who has an amazing blog www.utahdealdiva.com and who was the one that taught the class I went to! I seriously can't praise her and her awesome skills enough! For example she has gotten 4 case lot size of cans for FREE!!! Amazing right! Without further ado here is the run down!

Great Sale + Great Coupon = GREAT DEAL

There are 3 strategies; Buy in bulk, use multiple coupons, and Shop only Sales

By using this method you will save over 50%

1- Buy in Bulk

This one has always been hard for me. I always thought if I bought only what I needed I was saving more. However, I was wrong and this is why. All stores are on a 3 month Sale Cycle. At one point in that 3 month period everything in the store has gone on sale at least once! So what does that mean for you and me? Buy 3 months (of whatever your family's needs are) worth of the sale item! Case lot sales are a great and easy way to buy in Bulk and the stores carry them every Spring (going on right now) and Fall (the Fall case lot sales seem to be better then the springs). I am getting ready to buy 24 packs of ramen noodles (my kids love them for lunches) for $2.40! And I am getting 36 rolls of Toilet paper for under $6! Also this is a great way to add to your food storage without breaking the bank. 2- Use Multiple Coupons Since you are buying in bulk you want to be able to use the coupon for each item you get. But where do you get coupons from?? a. The Sunday paper: Has 3 kinds of coupon sources called the Red plum (or by mail here in my county), Proctor and Gamble (get it once a month) and Smart Source that comes weekly in the Sunday paper. b. Online Coupons: There are 3 main sites (but there are tons out there) www.smartsource.com www.coupons.com (the best online one) www.redplum.com All you have to do is upload the printer application onto your computer and you can print 2 of each coupons that you like. Just "clip" as many as you like and then it will print off 3 per page. Press the back button and print them all over again. 3-Shop ONLY the Sales Since they do the 3 month cycle you will get all the at you need within 3 months that is on sale (at the best possible price). It is ok to break your rule sometimes, but if you really want to save try , try to only shop the sales. Here are some Extra Tips: You don't have to buy the 10 for $10 item to get the $1 price Smith's has digital coupons that you upload to your card and don't have to clip a thing Don't go shopping on Wednesday's they are one of the busiest days. Monday nights are a good time to go. Use www.grocerysmarts.com to see what is on sale at your favorite store!!!!! Don't feel bad for getting items for free for the store by using coupons that stores make .08 cents on every coupon you use plus the price of the item at full price. Any questions?? I hope this is helpful. I know I just loved hearing all the great deals that are just waiting for me out there.