Two years ago I purchased a water jug from Target for $10. Pretty steep I thought at the time, but I made the purchase as a storage container for our spare change. Well, over the past two years we have not only dumped our spare change but we began recycling bottles and cans. When we recycle, we take the cash and squeeze it through the little slot of the water jug.We never had one specific plan in mind for the money, but called the jug our "fun money" or "vacation money."Saturday morning we planned on going to the county fair and Luke suggested we break the jug open and use that money to have a GREAT day at the fair.
Good idea I agreed.
So, we unsealed the lid to the water jug and began dumping all the cash out on to our bed.
We counted the cash first: $197.
Good start.
Now we just needed to take the coins to the bank and dump them into the coin counter contraption. Luke and I made bets on how much we thought it would come to.
Tubbs and Luke took the change inside the bank while the rest of us waited in the car.
This boy loves MONEY $$$$$
Total amount in coins: $158.11
woo-hoo-hoooooo!
I am a total believer in recycling now!! :)
Today was the primary program in Sacrament at church..
The annual program with all the kids in the ward is my favorite Sunday of the year. I LOVE watching all the kids try to speak their parts by memory or press their lips so close to the microphone that you can hardly make out what they're saying. And no matter what, when I hear these little angels sing, I get at least a few tears. Bubba isn't my singer AT ALL, and he either did a great job lip-syncing or he was actually singing today. I wish I could've taken a picture/video inside the chapel as evidence! Tubbs of course was singing like Justin Bieber up there--which was no surprise. I am very proud of the boys for participating AND singing!
XOXO
Tubbs is NOT a fan of the tie.
After church.....without the tie.
Trying to get all three to hold still, look at the camera. and SMILE....impossible.
Smile!! I am so blessed to have such a handsome (and wonderful) husband!
Luke's mom and dad came down to see the program and spend the afternoon with us. Luke made us lunch as celebrated Grandma Hogue's birthday with ice cream and cherry poke cake.
Such a wonderful Sunday. We were happy to share this day with each other and Luke's parents.
On August 28th our ward at church had a temple trip to the Los Angeles Temple. What was extra special about this ward trip was it included families. The youth did baptisms, the primary kids had an activity, and they provided childcare for infants/toddlers.
Perfect.
I decided to leave Petunia home with Luke and I took the boys for some special time together. Luke was also looking forward to having some alone time with "Jig Wig."
The boys and were going to drive down ourselves but last minute decided to ride with a friend of mine --who was also leaving her hubs and kids behind.
Even though we had to leave the house by 6:30am, the car ride down was very entertaining! :)
We dropped the boys off at the temple apartments for their activity at 8:30am.
Our temple session started at 9:30am after the 9am chapel session.
We made sure to take lots of pictures to send to Luke and Petunia through the day.
Just arriving to the primary activity. It was a little chilly this early in the morning!
Bubba has his name tag on and he is ready to go!
After our temple session and on our way to get the boys.
The boys had a GREAT time.
Next stop: Sprinkles Cupcakes. The temple is on Santa Monica Blvd. and only a 5-10 minute drive from this bakery....so we had to go!
These nice ladies were sitting out front with their delicacies and were nice enough to take our picture together.
Tubbs got a milk chocolate cupcake and Bubba wanted a vanilla with milk chocolate frosting. We mixed his up with the peanut butter cupcake that looked similar, but he didn't mind. It was so good....of course.
I took it "easy" this trip and only brought home a half dozen cupcakes....as opposed to my normal 1 1/2 dozen!! :) (You have no ideas how hard it was!)
YUMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!
Next Stop: Cafe Rio.
Another friend from church gave us this tip and we knew they were heading over.... so we thought we would give it a try. (We ate at a Cafe Rio once when we were in Salt Lake City last year and it was pretty good, but I couldn't remember much about it.)
This time around...its was un-beeeee-liev-able. I was talking to Luke about it for DAYS!
This is what I had:
I was trying to get a good picture of it, and I know it looks like a bunch of lettuce, but there was plenty of shrimp....and the homemade flour tortilla was warm.....and the best I've ever had.
The boys decided they would rather have Mickey D's on the way back home so they sipped on beverages and listened to Joy make jokes. They were very entertained and were telling "Joy Jokes" and comments days later as well. Thanks Joy! Haha.
I think Tubbs was entertained the most. He loved asking Joy questions and laughing at her questions.
Sending kisses home to Luke and Petunia.
If you are ever in southern California you have to go to find a Cafe Rio.
Trust me. (It was only a 10 minute drive from the temple).
Finally--after the boys took a little cat nap in the back sewe stop in Gormanat so the boys can eat! They now have a "Mini McFlurry" so they ate that first! (Of course)
A perfect day!
Thank you Joy for spending the day with us and chauffeuring us around all day. I had a great time visiting with you and I know the boys did too!!
We missed Daddy and Petunia though and we were so happy to see them at the end of the day.
Exactly two months ago I blogged about my new found love of running and set the goal to run in a half marathon by summer of 2011. Of course, things never go as "planned." In August, after immense pain and swelling in both ankles, I finally broke down and went back to the podiatrist. The last time I went was August 2008 and I didn't like what I heard (surgery) so I didn't do anything. I stopped exercising, got pregnant and pretended my ankles were fine. This time around the news wasn't any different and surgery was recommended to break my foot in two places. Luckily, Dr. Etcheverry is so fantastic and wanted to enable me to keep me doing what I love (even though we both know surgery is the inevitable option). I now sport fancy-smancy orthotics in my running shoes for my really high arches. Those, along with steroid shots in the ankle, have helped immensely!! I am feeling pretty good.
My orthotic insert:)
So...today I ran my first 5K race and it went so much better than I could have hoped for. Also, being that it falls on September 11th, I will never forget the date. Its a special date for all of us in this country!
How it started:
Three weeks ago a co-worker tried recruiting me to participate in the Volkslauf mud-run in October. When I informed her I was not insane and do not run and climb obstacles in the mud, she e-mailed me about the "5K/10K Safari Fun Run." I was really excited because the short notice meant I didn't have much time to worry about it or reconsider. I filled out the registration form and mailed it in the next day. Super excited! (Call me silly....getting excited about exercise) :)
Luke has been super supportive of my running and that helps keep me committed when I start to hit a lull or doubt myself.
I have been tracking my runs in nikerunning.com and since July 14th I have ran 86 miles. I can hardly believe it! But I have a lot more to do....a half marathon is 13 miles. AHHHH!
Luke dropped me off at the race check-in 30 minutes before the face and he took the kids to get donuts. When he pulled back up I had a few minutes before the race started. He snapped a few pictures and I tried to give silly poses to keep my mind off the race.
I did manage to get out of the "out-house" about 60 seconds before the race started---thank goodness. Apparently I wasn't the only person who thought it would be a good idea to hit "the can" before running, because the line was LONG. When I stepped out, for a second I thought I missed the beginning of the race. That would of sucked. :)
And we're off......
I finished the 3.1 mile race in 27:22 with an 8:49 pace. It felt good to see the family there smiling and cheering me on. I am very blessed to have my supportive husband and family encouraging me to do my best.
Blowing kisses at Luke and the kids as I cross the finish line. xoxo
Tubbs was first in line to give me a squeeze after I finished. Thanks Tubbs.
Petunia was next in line for a squeeze......
Bubba was too busy playing with his friends, but thats OK.
Tubbs participated in the 1/4 mile kids' dash....and he loved it. I don't really think it was quite a 1/4 mile, but the kids had fun! It was fun to watch the expressions on their faces. Tubbs was motivated to do the race when I told him all of the participants got a ribbon. Bubba couldn't be bothered with it! :)
There were a total of 92 runners in my 5K race and 54 runners in the 10K race. Surprisingly, I got third in the my age division (30-39) for women--- so I got a ribbon too. Tubbs was really excited because we both had ribbons. It was a great way for the morning to end and to make "our" first race even more memorable.
I was also very happy to be able to run with a few friends. They really helped calm my nerves before the race.....so thank you!! I am looking forward to our next race.
This post is a lil' old (8/9), but better late than never....
When Luke went back to work in August I had the luxury of taking a few days off to spend with the kids. I wanted to do something fun and had a few ideas. But with Luke's help I came up with a special day that I hope will become a summer tradition with the kids and I.
When the boys woke up that Monday morning I asked them each to give me one crazy or funny word.
Tubbs picked "Zip" and Bubba picked "Zabba."
I announced "Today is our first official ZIP ZABBA Day!"
The both looked at me really strange....like they probably do all the time behind my back.
ZIP ZABBA Day contained six envelopes for the day. Each of us took turns opening an envelope--- and the next envelope couldn't be opened until each "event" was completed. (Luke gave me the idea to have the boys name the day AND envelope idea.... He's so crafty!)
Envelope #1 - "Breakfast at Panera"
We ate on the back patio and it was delicious.
I love this look---since its so typical for Tubbs. (Its officially captured--and I hope he has a child who gives him this look!) :)
Envelope #2 - "Go to the library OR go to Barnes and Nobles."
Of course the boys picked the bookstore.
They each picked out a book...... and managed to finagle their way over to Starbucks for a cookie.
Petunia even found a little friend from a book I used to read to the boys.
Envelope #3 - "Pack a lunch for a picnic"
(This one was not executed since neither of the boys were hungry for lunch.)
Envelope #4 - "Swim at Grams' Pool"
Luke's grandma lives in a gated community and it has a HUGE pool and country club. The kids loved that we were the only ones there...and they could go back and forth from the hot tub to the pool.
Thanks Grams for spending time with us and letting the kids enjoy the pool!
Envelope #5 - "Ice Cream of your Choice"
I suggested Dewars, but that idea was shot down. They decided they want Baskin Robbins. Petunia was ecstatic because she got her own cone. (Its ZIP ZABBA day---eat whatever you want Petunia!) :)
Envelope #6 - "Pick out a Movie of Your Choice from Blockbuster"
The boys tried to pick out a video game, but the rules of ZIP ZABBA indicate that you have to do what is stated on the paper! So, they each picked out a movie.
Bubba picked a Harry Potter flick and Tubbs picked out a Super Mario Brothers cartoon.
Their sister tried to help reorganize the shelves, but we did what we could to contain her.
Well--our first ZIP ZABBA day was exhausting....but a lot of fun.
I am looking forward to next year!
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
