Happy Birthday, Carter!

This weekend, we headed north to celebrate my high school friend's son's birthday! We had perfect weather for the party, and I was really glad Jason was able to join us this year.

 Check out Carter's cake! Pretty cool, huh?

 The family - Jonathan, Jackie, Carter & Luc\

 All the kids at the party!

 Waiting patiently for his cake. :-) (Such a big boy sitting at the picnic table.)

 There was a small play area right next to the pavilion that the kids loved! Drake loved going down the slides, climbing and this "piano".

 Present time.

I just loved this picture! 

Lucy is 15 months old, Clara is 14 months old, and Drake is 18 months old

Hope you had a wonderful birthday party weekend, Carter!

The Great Grocery Challenge

 

 

Walgreens: OOP $1.55, Saved $16.44!!

I was shocked when these Lean Pockets rang up at $.75 each! I didn't even have to use my manufacturers coupon. This is the price after using just the coupon in the monthly coupon book. What a deal!

CVS: OOP $1.23, Saved $24.08!

Target: OOP $11.79, Saved $10.80!

Perfect timing on the Swiffer refills, and you can't beat free dishwasher detergent!

Meijer: OOP $16.43, Saved $21.96!

Weekly Totals: OOP $31.00, Saved $73.28! (70% savings!)

Update

I am feeling the need for an update here on the blog, but it seems like every time I sit down to type something up, my mind goes blank. So, I'll do my best (in number form). :-)

1. I have this nasty cold that everyone seems to be getting at the end of summer. It all started with a sore throat on Friday night and then turned into the sinus mess. I'm really hoping it will be gone tomorrow, but for now I'm loving Ny.quil and Day.quil.

2. My cousin, Andy, suffered a stroke earlier this week at the young age of 23. He's stationed in Korea with the US Air Force and is there with no family around. His dad is supposed to fly over this weekend, but he could really use your prayers.

3. For the past year or so, Jason has wanted a sprinkler system instead of running the hoses out every time the grass needed watering. I agreed about a month ago, and they are coming next week to put it in. Yea for green grass!

4. Work is getting extremely busy. It's good because I need to be there even though I want to be home more. More on this topic to come in a future post...

5. This little guy you see here is getting SO big! I cannot even believe he is already 18 months old. I love him so much.

6. I'm so ready for #2! Again...more on this to come in a future blog post.

Happy Thursday!

(Pictures taken by Studio Barbie)

The Great Grocery Challenge

 

Walgreens: OOP $12.26, Saved $44.56!

Meijer: OOP $32.73, Saved $24.05!
Not a bad trip since I picked up a few things that weren't on sale (sugar, cinnamon, batteries).

CVS: OOP $0.39, Saved $5.03!
I was really hoping to get the great deal on the Huggies Slip-On diapers this week, but out of my four stores...none of them had them by Tuesday! This is when I wished shopping worked for me on Sundays. Instead, I just went in for their free items (which you can see really aren't free when you have to pay sales tax...still a good deal).

Sam's Club: OOP $2.99, Saved $0!
I needed to stop somewhere for milk and I thought they would be the same price or cheaper on milk than running into Meijer. Boy was I wrong! Meijer had milk on sale for $2.50 this week. oops!


Weekly Totals: OOP $48.37, Saved $73.64 (60% savings)

Half Marathon Finisher!

I am SO proud of my hubby! Jason ran the Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon with his friend, Matt, in Chicago yesterday. They had some pretty hot and humid days to train in, but the weather on race day was perfect! It was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and there was even a slight sprinkle during the race.

 Ready to head out -- 5:30am!

 Poor kiddo...had to wake him up early after a late night including dinner at Dick's Last Resort (what a fun place!).

 Waiting for the race to start...

 There they are! Jason is on the left and his friend, Matt, is on the right (both white shirts).

 Just started - 6:36am!

 2 miles down!

 6.5 miles! (He's high-fiving some of our cheering section.)

 Almost there!! (Just before the finish line)

 Matt & Jason

 Our cheering section

Us! :-)

Four years ago, Jason trained with the Leukemia & Lymphoma to run the half and finished in 02:13:38. He ran a couple 5K races since and then nothing until he started training for this year's half in April.

This year his time was 02:07:43!

Excellent job, Jason and Matt!!

The Great Grocery Challenge

 

Meijer: OOP $36.53, Saved $35.45! 

I know this looks like just okay savings, but I have two great things to note from my trips to Meijer this week. The first is that I love when the catalina machine prints out a $5 off $50 or more in Meijer gift cards. I always purchase a $50 gift card for $45....$5 savings off the top and I know I'm going to be shopping there. The 2nd item is that my 2nd trip to Meijer was done with NO coupons. So, just know that you can save money without even using coupons. (During this trip, I spent $23.12 and saved $23.77.)

Walgreens: OOP $6.44, Saved $26.55!

Target: OOP $7.01, Saved $14.52! 

Weekly Total: OOP $49.98, Saved $76.52!

Wordless Wednesday: 18 Month Pictures

Thanks to Barbie for taking Drake's 18 month pictures on Saturday. He did pretty well and the weather was perfect. Here's a link to a bigger picture!

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was my family's birthday celebration for the summer at our house!

 My brother and sister-in-law

 My niece, Nicole

 My sister and her son, Reid

 My nephew, Mitchell

All four grandkids - Nicole, Mitchell, Drake, and Reid

The Great Grocery Challenge

 

 Walgreens: OOP $7.20, Saved $21.20!

CVS: OOP $4.52, Saved $26.14!

Meijer: OOP $13.23, Saved 9.79!

Weekly Total: OOP $24.95, Saved $57.13! (70% savings!)