Camping

We took the opportunity as summer was closing, to take David on his first camping trip. We skipped the Labor day crowds & met up with my dad & his girlfriend, Lisa, the following weekend, just outside of Sweet Home, OR. It was a nice relaxing 3 day trip, with a few walks in the beautiful outdoors, cozy time around the fire (with s'mores of course! David loved those!), & time around the picnic table, playing games & catching up. It was a lot of fun hanging out with my dad & Lisa. They had a couple fun new toys for David to play with while we were there (& he's still having fun with the bowling set & truck) We took a few group shots, but I think all the good ones ended up on my dad's camera.David was way too curious about his new outdoor surroundings to get a nap in the first day, much to our chagrin. But he slept well that night, cuddled between Jamin & I in our sleeping bags. He enjoyed the tent quite a bit - I see a future fort-builder in him. ;) He also very quickly caught on to the little boy notion of always having a stick in his hands. It was pretty cute. We had a nice spacious camp site near a river & went on a few supervised wanderings with his daddy. I am very much looking forward to next summer when we can take a few more trips with David. Camping & hiking created many favorite childhood memories for me & I am sure Jamin as well. We are looking forward to help David cultivate his own appreciation of the great outdoors. (and a clean shower after 3 days of camping! hehe)

Waiting up for Daddy

Jamin had a late night last night, so David & I caught up on some reading.

Portland to Coast 2009

This past weekend was definitely an experience to remember! For the first time, I participated in the Mother of all Relays (seriously, that's what people call it), the Portland to Coast. It is the walking sister to the Hood to Coast run. We had a 12-woman team, Team Integrity, who covered 127 miles from Downtown Portland to Seaside, Oregon, in relay fashion.

From the Portland to Coast Official Homepage:

"Walking in the world's largest walk relay is truly an amazing and unforgettable experience. Teams traverse a wide array of terrain, from urban cityscape, through quaint farming communities, to the sandy beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Dare to defy your limits!
Cross the finish line, and feel empowered by the realization of how strong you are! Celebrate your finish, and return to your life with fresh perspectives, hope, and motivation for the future."

Our team split into 2 vans of 6 ladies to cover 24 legs of the race, with my friend, Ashley & I in the 2nd van. Of the 6 ladies in our van, only Bridget had done the relay before. We gathered in downtown Portland as a team to cheer on Pam, who started at 5am (so we left around 3am... I got about 2 hours of sleep that night) Our van headed up the road a ways to the checkpoint where the 6th gal in van 1 (Nancy) would pass off to the first gal in our van (April). Ashley & I had the last 2 legs in our van & we were crazy first-timers who decided to walk both of those legs together. Her first leg was 4.18 miles & we thought mine was 4.25, but we found out after we finished that it was 4.92... so that was over 9 miles to start the relay. We did all of our training walking together (with loaded strollers), so it was just natural to push through those miles together on the course. We walked right when it was getting dark & it also started to rain a little bit. By the time we were done, we were informed of our mileage & happy that we survived the first legs. It was supper time & we were very tired. Since it was raining, all 6 of us got cozy in the van to get in some shut-eye. It was just a few hours later that we were up (by 2am!) & ready at the checkpoint for the hand-off from Nancy.
It was fun cheering on our walker on the road as she kept up the pace & completed her leg. Some legs were more challenging than others.. like gravel trails with vans driving past (before the rain came to squelch the dust), , lots of hills, darkness, etc. We had a great team of supportive women!
For her second leg, Ashley was totally beat, but went on to do her tough walk of 7.29 miles. It was nearly all uneven gravel, hilly & vans were not permitted on the leg - so she didn't have the encouraging cheering on when she needed it. She is a tough chick! We were definitely tired before even starting our second legs, but pushed through it & did what we came to do - just finish the relay! I had the very last leg at 5.23 miles & it was so great seeing my team right before the finish line. We all walked across the finish line together & then took some team photos before checking out the vendors on the beach. It felt so good to just be done!! I think the toughest part was the little to no sleep we all got. We slept in our van (6 people & our junk - so no sprawling) while the other 6 ladies from the first van were doing their legs of the relay. Thursday & Friday night's sleep total for me was about 5 hours. I was diligent about stretching & moving around after sitting for a long while in the van & I think that helped a lot with recovery. Today, I'm feeling pretty good!
We (at least, Ashley & I) didn't go into this with a competitive mentality. It was a challenge to ourselves... we made a plan earlier this year to do it & so that motivated us to keep walking.. here we are on the other side & while we got a little sore, the feeling of our accomplishment is fantastic!!

p.s. The pic is right before I started the last leg. It was raining. I met up with Ashley several yards from the exchange point & she was soaked. By the time I started, it changed to a mist... gotta love the Northwest weather. I am so grateful it wasn't hot!

Leah's walking total: 14.33 miles
Ashley's walking total: 16.39 miles

My Little Literary Man

I think we have a reader on our hands. Well, David's not reading yet, but he certainly loves books! He has books in the car, books in his room, books in our room, books downstairs.. you get the idea. We read to him every day & I often find him flipping through his cardboard books & talking to himself. I'm sure it's just mimicking Mom & Dad, but that's how they learn, right? One of David's favorite activities for the longest time is to pull all the books off our bookshelf.. not so much fun. But, you pick your battles, you know? Here's David the other day with contraband (a paper book instead of a chunky cardboard book). I was tired of putting the books back for the seven thousandth time that day, so they lay scattered around the office while I tried to finish an email. (See why it's tough to get the blogging done?) I heard him chattering to himself so I turned around & he was fanning the pages & "reading" to himself. Precious. I could just eat him up, he's so adorable. So we sat & flipped through the book a little before finally putting them all back once again.

the Clark County Fair

I've lived here for over 7 years now & this is the first time I attended the Clark County Fair. I grew up going to the California State Fair.. so I know a county fair sure wouldn't live up to those lofty expectations. We DID have a lot of fun, though. David pet a lot of animals (thus washing his hands a lot - he was such a trooper!) & saw a lot of interesting people. Jeri went with us & we had a lot of fun checking out the animals & exhibits. We sat down just as the last Dock Dog was making his jump into the pool for the show. So we know to look for that schedule next time. It's a dog competition where Dogs jump across a pool to catch a flying frisbee or something & we see who jumps the furthest. We did catch a pig race though & our pig won! (go Red!) The experience was topped with a funnel cake! It was a day full of new creatures & fun memories. I'm looking forward to going back next year!

To All the Women in My Life...

ok, so I'm a complete slacker with the blog lately.. we've gone to the fair, gone boating (tubing, even!), splashed in the backyard kiddie pool & I have several hilarious snapshots of the little guy in his high chair (completely messy, or sleeping, or just being the adorable boy he is).. but I'm going to make you wait just a little longer for those pictures. In the meantime, you can sit back & enjoy with a full heart this very funny email I received. I wish I knew who wrote it. This is dedicated to all the women in my life:

"The Happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the best of everything that comes along their way."

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place.

Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors.
Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.
You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!

The dispenser for the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty.
You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't- so you carefully, but quickly drape
it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!),

You yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance."

In this position your aging, toneless (I should have gone to the gym!!!) thigh muscles begin to shake.
You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance".

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!"

Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That
will have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work.

The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.

"Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor.

You lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT.
It is wet of course.

You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late.

Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper- not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try.
You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get".

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes.

The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for
fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat.
You're e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.

You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, .....so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them.

A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. Where was that
when you NEEDED it??)

You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this".

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom.

Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with public restrooms while on vacation...(rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!)

It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse, and hand you Kleenex under the door!

A Friend Is Like A Good Bra...
Hard to Find...
Supportive....
Comfortable...
Always Lifts You Up...
Never Lets You Down
Never Leaves You Hanging
And Is Always Close To Your Heart!!!

Albertsons Trip this Week

I took advantage of some great deals at Albertsons this week! There were, of course, more doubler coupons & a great deal where you purchase $30 in participating products (before coupons) & they give you $15 in catalina coupons off your next order. Everything above was done in two transactions.

transaction #1:
12 boxes of Qtips

$29.36 out of pocket, with a total savings of $17.38
Then, I got $27 in catalinas!

transaction #2:
4 bottles All laundry detergent
12 jars Ragu pasta sauce
carton of soy milk
1 tub of spread
1 jar of peanut butter (got it for free w/ a coupon!)
3 pkgs brown rice
2 bags salad mix
1 bag spinach
bananas, nectarines, plums & grapes
sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers & onions

$30.87 out of pocket (after using my $27 catalinas from the first order),
with a total savings of $83.46
Then, I got $15 in more catalinas!

The only promo items in the 2nd transaction were the laundry detergent & the pasta sauce, I mostly got stuff on my grocery list.
Now, you're probably asking, "Leah, what in the world are you going to do with 4000 plus Qtips??". Well, I was thinking practical Christmas gifts, or we could make snowflake ornaments... lol.. just kidding! Seriously, we'll use them. It will take a while, but I won't need to buy Qtips for a LONG time! Besides, f you happen to have a Qtip emergency, you know who to call. ;)

Total out of pocket: $60.23
Total saved: $100.84
Plus, I still walked away with $15 in catalinas

A Fun Surprise

David & I were gone most of last week, making a trip to California to surprise my stepmom, Debbie, for her birthday. Debbie's birthday was Wednesday & her husband, Jim, said he had a hard time keeping our visit a secret for all these weeks. David & I flew in on Tuesday & Jim picked us up from the airport. Debbie had no idea! It was such a treat to see the huge smile on her face when Jim came home with us! The last time we saw them was in January, before David was even crawling.. now he's walking & babbling away. There were no plans for the week, except to enjoy each others company & catch up. I helped Debbie with some paperwork & David tested the kid-proofness of Grandma's house (he kept us pretty busy!) Jim grilled dinner for us a few nights & we enjoyed beautiful summer weather! It was the perfect time to go to California, as we totally skipped the 107 degree heat at home! yuck! I even had the opportunity to catch up with a couple of friends! We had a wonderful trip & it ended all too soon! I am looking forward to the next opportunity to visit again!

$10 in Schwan's Food Delivered for FREE

I just ordered 2 steaks to be delivered to my front door. How much did I pay? Absolutely nothing! Go check out this blog post ASAP to see if they'll deliver to you too!

$10 in Schwan's Food Delivered FREE

I've never actually ordered from Schwan's before, but I recognize that yellow truck & have heard their food is pretty good. I'll keep you posted about the free steaks. :)

Using Coupons Pays Off!

A few months ago, I started getting more serious about using coupons in order to save more money. Boy, has it really paid off! Combining coupons with sales (& Albertson's doubler coupons), I've been able to stock up our pantry (including the freezer) for about the same I was already spending on groceries. Our 40+ boxes of cereal that I purchased a few months ago have been dwindling down, so last night, we stopped at Albertson's to take advantage of another deal.

Our total out-of-pocket cost was $31.37.

That's for everything you see in the picture:
17 boxes of cereal
10 boxes of macaroni & cheese
5 pints of ice cream (those ended up being FREE!)
7 pkgs shredded cheese (I freeze them for pizza or taco night)
2 gallons milk
2 2-liters of Coke
2 tubs sour cream

According to the sales receipts, I saved $122.77!! In addition to the immediate coupon savings, we received a printout coupon at the register to save $2 on our next order. Also, with all the cereal we purchased, we will be receiving a $10 rebate in the mail from Kellogg's. woo hoo!