Light at the end of the tunnel

Today marks the two-week final stretch! We have 5 chapters left and 14 days in which to submit them! It's really crazy but I keep reminding myself that by the time I turn 32 (on the 22nd) I will be done with this craziness and life can return to normal (ha!). Oh, if you get a chance, pick up the Sept issue of Family Circle. We are cited in the "45 Ways to Save Money" feature! WooHoo...my name in print in a national publication. Pretty cool :)

I am going to take a break next weekend to catch a movie, Julie & Julia! I love to cook and I love inspirational stories about everyday life...and I need a little getaway. Hopefully my friend Sara will join me (I'm envious of her baking!).

Danny's been pulling double duty on the weekends being both Mom and Dad while I'm sequestered in the bedroom writing.

Actually today we've accomplished a lot and I've managed to nearly complete a chapter! We got coffee from Dunkin', picked up our produce from Bountiful Baskets (and had so much we're sharing some with Sara's family), did laundry (hung three loads out to dry), made laundry detergent (Danny did most of this), fed everyone rearranged and cleaned Evan's room and got Caitlin down for a nap. Later they'll head out for some errands and I'll start getting dinner on the table.

We have some pictures and updates to post from the past couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

Our Challenge for the Summer!

Since the kids are older now and we have so many great places to go in such close proximity, we've set some vacation goals for ourselves!

So far, we're planning to go to San Diego for a weekend and make several smaller day trips. Danny and I are also planning to take a weekend trip just the two of us for my birthday. The last time we went anywhere alone was January of '05 (and I would argue that Evan was technically with us then, too!).

The San Diego trip will be for Evan's birthday (a trip to Lego Land and the Aquarium) and for our weekend trip we will either be heading to Sedona or taking a kayak trip on Canyon Lake.

Even though the places are close, the cost is high! Lego Land tickets are more than DisneyLand, and for our weekend alone we have the added expense of having someone take care of the kiddos!

So - our challenge? To pay for the trips (or at least most of them) wtih funds from a garage sale we are planning in July. We've been clearing out the clutter like crazy and it feels so good to get rid of all the stuff we aren't using any more. We have many boxes we've never even opened after our move.

We'll let you know how it goes!

Busy, busy day!

Friday was a busy day! The kids both woke up at 5AM!! We had gymnastics in the morning where they ran themselves ragged. We got back home just in time to meet Julie and she took them to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, where they played again for quite a while.

When they got home it was just about time to leave for the water park!

Poor kids...it may be a long weekend.