FREE fun day.

You know I love a bargain.....right? Well, I do. I LOVE that me n little man got to spend the day doing fun stuff for FREE.

I was a little nervous taking him to the Lowe's building clinic - its supposed to be for 2nd graders - but we had a great time. He was a little wary when he was walking into a room of big kids with hammers.

Jman quickly overcame his fears once he realized HE got a hammer too. Not a lot of his banging was productive, but he started getting really excited once he realized exactly what was coming.

He really loves trains, and points them out whenever he sees one (usually in the store or in a book...not too many trains here in Jacksonville). So when he saw the other kids were putting together a train, he started hollering "CHOO! CHOO!"

The only thing that upset him was when we had to leave. He thought we weren't taking the train with us.... Don't worry little man, we'll be going back next week. (They're having clinics for the next 2 weeks where you can build a passenger car and an Engine...they'll all hook together in the end!)

If you want to sign up with your kiddos, go here:
https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/Home.aspx

Apparently they have things all the time. It was our first trip, So Jayson got a little Lowes apron. They also get a badge for every clinic they do. So cute!

We had such a good time doing the Lowes clinic, that we went ahead and did the one at Home Depot too. It was a picture frame, and we're going to paint it tomorrow (Jayson wasn't in the mood for pictures at Home Depot, but he sure remembered what to do with that hammer!)

Afterward, we picked up free lunch at Zaxby's -our local store had a deal where if you bought a meal on November 12th, you could get the same thing free in December. Definitely had to take advantage of that!

Next, we headed over to the Hallmark store. Now, that place is SO out of my price range that its not funny. BUT, they recently released some coupons (one $5 one and one $10 one) on facebook.

So we went to look around. BOY! Is that place expensive! We got some wrapping paper for free with the $5 coupon. Its the good stuff too.

Jayson picked up the cutest and softest little Snoopy stuffed animal. He was hugging it so close and giving it kisses. He was saying "want please?" How could I resist?

We got it for free ($10 coupon). We had to pay tax on Snoopy and a chocolate for me, but it was a fun little treat for both of us for about $1.

Christmas 2010 Card

Love Peace Cheer Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Belated Birthday to the USMC!

A few weeks ago we were able to go to the Marine Corps Ball for the 2nd Radio Battalion in Greenville. I always love going to the ball....even if Ben won't dance any fast songs with me. He actually went a whole 30 seconds into a swing song before getting embarrassed that we were the only ones out there :)

Here are a few quotes about the Marine Corps that were found on our tables. (Ben's favorite is the last one....in fact they played a clip of Pres Obama saying it during the Commandant's message to the Corps).


"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle."
-Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, US Army

"Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share."
-Ned Dolan

Happy Birthday to Hunter

Hunter is my friend, Shila's, son. We have recently gotten to know each other again (we went to high school together....9! years ago) Her little man is super cute and has the blondest hair I have ever seen on a baby. For some reason, Jayson is afraid of him. I have no idea why, but I think its a little funny considering he's a year older, much more agile, and taller.

This past weekend, we were invited to Hunter's 1st Birthday party. The theme was (obviously) Rubber ducks....complete with a blowup duckie punch bowl :) Shila made some awesome treats (how cute are those frogs and ducks cupcakes!) and we got together to make the duck/bubble cookies. It was alot of fun, and I heart the fact that she loves to bake even more than I do! Just had to share :)

Lynseys Shower (ACK! This was back in September)

Back when I posted about Jayson's birthday, I was also busy planning a baby shower for my friend Lynsey- who is having her first little girl really soon. She is such a special friend. We haven't lived in Gainesville since 2007, but she remains one of my best friends. When we first got married (and before), Ben and I made some lifelong friends. They're people that we try to visit every time we go to Florida. They're some pretty special couples, we all get along and we were even able to get together (all of us minus Ben) this past summer. Even though life has taken us in different directions, I love them dearly. Even if I don't speak to them every day........every week.....or even every month..... I know that if I ever need a friend, they'll be there, and I hope they know the same goes for them too! MAN! I sure miss you guys! LOL.

ANYWAYS........
The reason for this post was that I wanted to share some of the pictures from the party. Here they are...

I Heart Photoshop

I've been doing my best to become a better photographer....studying up on aperture, exposure, lighting, and trying to figure out the camera I got for Mothers Day 2009. I always do a little editing in photoshop since they're usually not exactly right when I get them straight outta the camera. But today I found a gold mine. Its called the Pioneer Woman's action set. Ree is an awesome photographer, and she has made it SO EASY to do quick edits that make my ok photos fan-freakin'-tastic! Okay....maybe they're not quite pro yet, but all I have to do is click ONCE and her actions do the work for me!! I'll let the pics speak for themselves. These edits literally took 10 seconds to do with the actions. I just had to choose which one I liked best!






























If you have photoshop, you can download her 2 sets of actions HERE (she even gives instructions within the actions on how to adjust the actions so that they are just right for your photo).

*To see a higher resolution of these images, just click on them*

Halloween 2010

Despite my last minute panic - We just moved, and I hadn't found a costume for Jayson as of Thursday (Yikes!) - We had alot of fun this Halloween. I found the pattern for the Mario hat here.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, and I used a few pieces of felt to make a Mario mushroom treat bag. I used some leftover fabric (Wonder-Under!!) and plain white undershirts to make Ben and I into "Boo"s.

When we got on base, Jayson saw a park and almost mutinied when we didn't go to it. He quickly got over it when he found that when you went up to people sitting in chairs or knocked on doors you got CANDY! It didn't take long before he was saying "Treat! Treat!" to each person at the right time. When he woke up the next morning, they were the first words out of his mouth.

All in all, we had an excellent time, and Jayson didn't want to go home by the end of the evening :)