Cool way to eat out for cheap!

I don't usually like to advertise on my blog, but I found out about this great way to get $25 gift certificates for $2 each!  Restaurant.com has occasional offers for these cheapo gift cards.  The catch is that your total dinner must be $35 or more.  You buy it online and then print out the certificate.  I just got one for the only restaurant in Santa Fe that is participating.  SLC has a lot more participating restaurants, I noticed, but I don't think we'll have time while we are there.  The current discount offer lasts until 11/20.  Use the coupon code SURPRISE for your 80% off.  Have fun eating!

(BTW Bettie, I got you one, too!  I hope they have something you can eat...)

Kids say the darndest things

I had nothing better to do after dinner, so I actually cleaned up. I usually save it for morning. I also cleared the eternal junk pile off the end of the counter. Ben walked in the kitchen before bed and said, "What happened to all the stuff on the counter?" Hmph. It's like Courtney asking what happened to Ben's room because his was messy and hers was clean...not like she had anything to do with it.

Courtney twice tonight used the word "wonky" in two different, but very appropriate, contexts. She was sitting on the couch eating fruit snacks and wanted to dump them out so she could sort them and wanted a book to put them on because if she put them on the blanket they would get wonky. I know she got it from hearing me use the word, but I don't know where I picked it up. I must use the word often for her to use it like it's a normal word. I had to ask her to repeat herself because it was so funny to hear.

New home update

So we turned in our objections to the home inspection. They are working on resolving everything we objected to. We're still on track (but you wouldn't know by looking at my house that we are moving...)

Another gorgeous sunrise in Santa Fe

This one was so amazing. It just kept changing but was still beautiful. This first photo was actually the second one. I loved the colors on the clouds. I hope you can click on the photos to get a close up. Just beautiful!

Happy Birthday Kyle!

The 18th was Kyle's birthday and we had a lot of fun. The balloons came from Sam's Club (the free ones for the kids) and Courtney made a crown for daddy and wrapped up a stuffed alligator in the samoan lava lava skirt. Kyle got an ipod dock clock radio and a new wii game: outdoor challenge. It's very cool with a mat you can run on and do lots of other games.

Unfortunately, on Monday this week the red went out on our tv so now it is practically black and white tv. Mostly black. We have been wanting to upgrade our tv, but not in the middle of buying a house! If anyone has a tv they want to get rid of, we'd love to take it off your hands. A hand me down would work just fine until we can afford to get the kind of tv we want but can't afford right now.

Kyle's decorations

These cute little guys were a big hit. Kyle didn't design the skeletons, but he did cut them out. The kids each painted one. From left to right: Johnny's is Funny Bones; Courtney's is Jack Skeleton; Ben's is Spookley. At least that's what I call them. The bones rattle and shake and are a lot of fun in the wind. But I just had to take them down today...we had a brief blizzard with super strong winds. I was afraid the skeletons would blow away!

Our costumes this year

Happy Halloween! Once again, we had a party at church with carnival games and Trunk or Treating outside. Here is what we looked like this year:

Benjamin received this costume from Bettie. She wanted to make it for his 8th birthday when he got baptized, but she ran out of time. Two days before Halloween, she finished. It was funny because Ben never really pegged down what he wanted to be, so it worked out well to be surprised with a costume. We used acrylic paint for his lightning bolt scar.


Courtney changed her mind about 20 minutes before we left for the Halloween party. She decided to be a fortune teller and came down with the dresses on. I helped her find the headbands and necklaces and belts. She had fun and looked cute, so, whatever.


Johnny chose again this year to be Superman. This year he wore a cape I made a couple years ago, so it was a little different. That and he was busting out of the costume which was tight last year. Two of his friends matched him so it was easy to lose him in the crowd.


Kyle and I went for weather costumes. He was a tornado (complete with fences, windows, cows, horses, and more).


I was cloudy with a chance of rain (and everytime someone asked they got squirted!)


This was Courtney's original costume. She came up with the idea and designed the whole thing herself. She had a book that told how to make the hat. I made the hat and she painted and decorated it herself. Courtney wore this for the cub scout party and at school, but changed her mind when it came to trick or treating. Said she was embarrassed to wear the wig.

And at the end of the night, we got two huge bowls full of candy. At least one bowlful is all chocolate!