Four For Friday-Freebie Edition

1. I could do an entire blog post of all the free stuff Rachael has given me, and maybe I will next week, but today I will focus on all the free clothes for Sadie she brought back from her trip to California. Look at that big bin full of clothes. Sadie is also modeling one of the outfits that was included. So a big thank you to Rachael and her sister Tara for all of the clothes.


2. I have also received quite a bit of free entertainment from certain family members. Jackson and Sadie have entertained me while sleeping:


3. And Eric has entertained me by taking these self-portraits and leaving them for me to find:

I'm guessing he was having a snowball fight with himself? Am I right Eric?

4. Today I received free lunch. I love Chipotle and go numerous times a week. So often that all of the employees know me. So today while I was checking out I discovered that I had no cash and my debit card was not in my wallet. What? I panicked inside, but they were all nice enough to comp my lunch.

Do you love free stuff too?
How do you feel about hand me down clothes?
Do you LOVE Chipotle, and do you think I should leave them a big tip next time?
Also, do the tip jars everywhere make you crazy?

The Day The Music Died

Today is a day I dread all year long. I can barely pull myself out of the depressive state I am in. I am joking, but tonight Eric informed me that today is the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.

He said that on the radio the D.J.'s were talking about how everyone remembers exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. I could tell by the look on Eric's face that he thought that was ridiculous, but he could probably tell by the look on mine that I did not. I happen to remember it in vivid detail.

I was at a gig (which is what we called concerts where I grew up in Cache Valley). My boyfriend Trent was playing with his Ska band Model Citizen (which I totally thought was the coolest band around). I heard the news right before they went on, and did not believe it at first. I even remember what I was wearing, which I will now detail for you. I was wearing my best friend Kate's clothes, which included a Cat In The Hat t-shirt, underneath an overall dress she had made. I think I happened to look very cool that night, sufficiently cool to hear this shocking news.

Do you remember this day?

SPT-Gift A Family Member

This month's SPT's focus on gift giving. From Lelly's blog:

and before you lovingly remind me of the economic recession, let me add that no money is to be spent on these gifts! let's focus on the gift of service, the gift of a smile, the gift of a repurposed or gently used item, the gift of a kind word. you know, those gifts that would be hard to wrap in a box with a pretty bow.

for tuesday, april 7: gift a family member
for tuesday, april 14: gift a friend
for tuesday, april 21: gift a neighbor, teacher, co-worker
for tuesday, april 28: gift a total stranger

GIFT A FAMILY MEMBER

What can I say? A gift I enjoy giving and receiving.

After we took this picture my husband and I were laughing hysterically, at which time my 4 year old called from his room, "Can you guys pleeease be quiet!"

Red Rockin'

Last week Eric's parents (Mike & LeAnne) were here visiting for their spring break. Unfortunately it wasn't my kids spring break, so they still had to go to school. However, we saw them often after school, and I did pull them out one day. After living in Las Vegas for 8 years we finally decided to go up Red Rock Canyon to drive and hike around the Red Rock Loop. I can't believe we have never done this before. It was great. And this is coming from me who is not outdoorsy and considers herself not to be a hiker. You could spend days and days there just hiking on the trails. First we stopped by the visitors center, which I have to say was quite entertaining. Eric's parents bought the kids new hats, which you can see they enjoyed wearing.

It was pretty windy by the time we got up there, but as soon as we started hiking up the trail we were protected by the mountains and the weather was perfect.

Jackson was the self-appointed leader of the group and was often seen running up the trail.

Sadie was very content to be held by her Dad the entire time.

Right before we took this picture, Jackson climbed up on this rock, looked over it, and said quite earnestly, "I just love this view."

We took a chance and hiked to a waterfall that is usually only there from January to March. Luckily for us it was still going. It is a typical Vegas tiny waterfall, but cool nonetheless.

As we were leaving we saw something that made all of our day. A huge herd of big-horn sheep came down. It was quite a rare sighting, so we felt very fortunate. Megan was thrilled since the big-horn sheep is her school mascot. The next day she took some pictures of them to school to show everyone.

When Mike and LeAnne were here we also spent hours and hours at the pool. What is better than having Grandparents who will swim with you for 7 hours straight? I guess since they live in Washington and don't see the sun as much as we do, they like to take advantage of it.

I find babies in swimming suits quite irresistible.

Bonnie Springs

We took a recent family outing to Bonnie Springs to visit the petting zoo and see all of the animals. We skipped the Wild West Town this time, because it was $20 to get in (and there was only 1 show left) and we were all super hungry and wanted to go eat after seeing the animals (at least I was). We hadn't been in a few years, so long in fact, that Megan and Jackson did not even remember us ever going.

Megan told me that she is so happy she has a little sister.

Megan and Jackson with one of the peacocks. Right after this as we were walking in, one of the peacocks took off in flight and landed on the gate fence. It scared me almost to death.

I often see Eric carrying at least 2 kids like this. They all prefer him to carry them. I tell myself that it is because he is taller and can give them a better view, not because they like him better.

Sadie is my real animal lover kid. If she felt 100% better I am sure she would have been walking around with all of them. But instead she settled for some petting and waving to each of them that were in their cages.

This horse was huge. Like really, really big.

Me and the kids on the train. Eric and Sadie were on too, but Sadie threw a royal fit so Eric had to get off with her. Apparently train riding is not her thing.

As I mentioned I was starving, so we stopped at Fudruckers and ate. Could Sadie be any messier?

We were gone for about 4 hours and Jackson had 6 bathroom breaks (One on the side of the road, just off the free-way). His bladder is killing me. However, one good thing did come of it. As we were leaving the restaurant I had all 3 kids in the bathroom with me. An older lady was in there also and said to me, "Those 3 kids can't be all yours, you don't look any older than a teenager." Let me tell you, when I was much younger these comments used to annoy me, but now that I am in my 30's I'll take them whenever I can get them.

I don't know if any of you listen to JACK FM, but if your formative years were during the 80's and 90's then you should. So the best part of my day came on the way home where I heard Patience (Guns N Roses), Shake Your Booty, and Jack and Diane. How happy am I that I have a husband that puts up with my crazy car singing and does some of his own.

2 American Kids Doin' Best They Can