Easter Bunny

I lost this picture in the chaos of life but thought it was cute to share with you now.

Over Easter weekend, Minka sat on the Easter Bunny's lap, got her picture taken and wore her paper ears for about 10 seconds before ripping them off.

A year ago

Wildly Couponing

So I have tried making necklaces.  I tried reading.  I tried exploring the outdoors.  Those hobbies weren't that fun for me.  Ever since the show extreme couponing came around I have started to build a stash of coupons and used tools I never thought of before.  I am now saving about 50% on all grocery store outings. 

What would you do if your money went twice as far? 

I like saving money on toilet paper and deodorant so I have some extra money for another cute pair of shoes :) Just sayin'.

I am still figuring out which store has the best initial price and which store has the best deals.  I have narrowed down to Safeway (which will double a coupon up to the value of 1.00) and walmart which usually has cheaper retail prices on toiletries and a wider variety of sizes including travel sizes which are oftentimes FREE.

Here is a quick recap from this evenings shopping trip.

I went into Safeway with my coupons in hand.  Most items were on sale and I also used coupons.
2 jars of spaghetti sauce - retail 3.39 each, paid 1.20 each
2 boxes of safeway brand of pasta - retail 1.29 each, paid .99 each
2 hormel compleat meals - retail 2.99, pd 1.50
3 hormel compleat meals - retail 2.49, pd 1.00
3 tortilla stuffers - retail 3.69, pd 2.00
1 gallon milk - retail 3.19, pd 1.98
2 packs of yogurt - retail 2.39, pd .99
2 bags Tyson chicken - retail 9.99, pd 4.50

Total retail value = 61.83
Amount paid = 29.34
Total % saved = 52%!

Some items were not available so I made a quick trip to wal-mart.  I am lucky to have so many places so close.

Old Spice Deodorant - retail 1.88, pd .88
Old Spice Deodorant - retail 1.88, pd .88
Old Spice Body Wash - retail 3.47, pd 0.00
Old Spice Body Wash - retail 3.47, pd 0.00
Aussie hairspray - retail 2.84, pd 1.84
Aussie hairspray - retail 2.84, pd 1.84
yogurt - retail 2.28, pd 1.78

Total retail value = 18.66
Amount Paid = 7.22
Total % saved = 61%

I saved $43.93 which is a 54.5% savings!

I am not an extreme couponer since I didn't save 99% but I would say I am a wild couponer!

Birthday Boy

Today is Jareth's 24th Birthday!  I hope you have a wickedly exciting birthday!

Father's Day

Yes, that is right.  If you have not already caught onto the dates on the pictures compared to the dates of my posts you may have overlooked the fact that I blog about 20 posts in one day and then again a couple weeks later.  I know Father's Day was awhile ago but it doesnt mean my life is less crazy than it used to be. 

I was able to spend Father's Day with Jareth in Alabama but Minka unfortunately was in Wyoming keeping the in-laws busy.

Sippin' on some Dad's Root Beer

Grandma Lisa sent us these pics of Minka.  Showing off how she feeds her baby with a fake bottle.

Trying to sneak a snack for herself.



Goofy Grinning Girly

This makes me smile.  I hope you do too.



Kids Korner

I have recently realized I can not stand being couped up in the apartment especially when Minka LOVES to be outside and in Colorado everyone is outside encouraging us even more.  When it was a rainy saturday I found a little kids area in the mall for Minka to play.  It was simple but it was a blast.

We started out on a simple toy Minkas height by ourselves.

Then she was excited to see the new corner with spinny toys and a mirror and a few of the smaller kids came over to see her.

Then it was time to hit the big kid toys in the middle.

She climbed into this by herself (with just a teeny bit of help from Mom)!

She had so much fun doing what the big kids got to do!

 Umm...excuse me...where is my spot up there?

Refueling

Practicing standing on the cushy floor



It's Here, It's There, It's EVERYWHERE!

One bite.  She had about one bite of spaghetti and the rest went as seen above.  Is this why moms started enforcing the rule, DO NOT PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!?

9 months...a whole new world

I feel like Minka has been able to enjoy so many new things with her ever increasing balance, strength and emerging personality.  She has tried and enjoyed nearly every food we are able to give her before a year.  She loves going for stroller rides and sitting in a highchair at restaurants.  We have tried to let her explore as much as she is able.

In Alabama she enjoyed eating a LOT of a baked potato with cheese and then played in the kids area in the middle of the mall. 

She liked watching the other kids jump around and clapped and screamed for them.  She also found a game on the wall to spin pieces!

She was not as happy to leave however.



Videos

Do you want to see more videos?  Click on the Videos link below to review old videos or see others that haven't made the blog.  There are two pages from before Minka was born up to last week!

Videos!

Going to http://www.youtube.com/ and searching for 'emilyandjareth' will always bring you to our account so you can see the most updated videos!

A Gigantic Bathtub

We take advantage of the beautiful weather Alabama has these days.  On our last adventure to visit Mr. M we enjoyed playing with Minka in the swimming pool.  She couldn't get enough!

The Adventures of Minka

I love that Minka is getting older and stronger and is able to try more things!  She went on her first carousel ride in Dothan, AL and she loved seeing us wave and cheer for her as she went round and round!

She is starting to understand what is right and wrong and here she "sneakily" found an unused outlet cover and was ecstatic on her discovery!

Minka is eating a lot of table food these days.  Here she tries rice with chopsticks!

We have found a wonderful daycare here in Aurora! I had a referral for a provider and I was very impressed! She has been doing daycare/education for 15+ years and her whole house and backyard is dedicated to the kids.  There are more toys than I could imagine. The provider wore a shirt Minka liked when we visited to get Minka accquainted and she wore a similar shirt on Minkas first day.  She made sure to give Minka her favorite foods on the first day (green beans!) and she has focused a lot of attention on Minka during her first week to make sure she is comfortable and secure and the two other girls accept her to their group while still loving the provider!!  She is great and I couldn't be happier to have Minka play with two (soon to be three) other happy little girls!

Here MInka is meeting Addison and is already dancing 15 minutes into the first day.  She jumped out of my arms to sit with the provider!

What a nerd! :)

Pretty in Purple

Playing before daycare one morning.

Wyoming Fun

I was able to visit Minka in Wyoming when she stayed with Grandma and Grandpa M.  We had fun in the beautiful mountains!

So Proud

Look who is so proud of her destruction.

Sometimes A Girl Just Has To Dance

Giggles

Wife Wings

It has become tradition for the flight school graduates to honor their wives with the presentation of wings of their own.  This is to thank the wives for their support through the duration of flight school.  Jareth made mine extra special by adding Miss Minka's birthstone since she was born right in the middle of his training!

Simulators

During our week in Alabama Minka and I were able to go into the flight simulators with Jareth.  This was an unforgetttable experience.  These simulators are top of the line.  They are used so flight students can practice manuevers that may be too dangerous before they are ready to try them in the real helicopter (I killed us many times), they are used in the beginning of courses to get students hands on experience before taking up a helicopter, and they are used for situations that may not be possible to try in the real helicopter (tail rotor gets blown off for example). 

Ready to go with a cute matching ACU headband!

Daddy can multitask!

M&M listening to the co-pilot commands

 Attempting to fly a helicopter.  Ha!  At least we are still on the ground for this pic!

 There are roughly 4,987,357,249 controls in the cockpit.



Silly Girl

The Many Faces of M&M

The best part of this video is in the first 10 seconds.  The rest is pointless.  Enjoy!