Z-man's artwork from school

Everyday we pick up the boys from preschool, they always have a stack of artwork to hand to us. I have a growing pile of papers on our office desk. I'm not sure what to do with all of them, so yesterday I figured that I could take digital photos of them. It's not a new idea, but I finally got around to taking a few that their teacher sent home with them.

Here are some sneak peeks into Z-man's Preschool:

Last Week Re-Cap

Summer is just flying by! I can't believe that it's August 1st already!

I just wanted to re-cap last week, since I never got around to posting anything.

We seriously did something every HOT day of the week, because my husband decided to take a week off to spend some time at home after a week at Leadership Lab.

Here we are with family watching a softball game at Dodds Park in Champaign. My sister-in-laws fiance was playing a game and it was fun to see him play and cheer him on.

Last week my husband desperately needed a haircut, and with this hot and humid weather, I don't blame him for wanting it chopped!

We are in need of a good pair of hair clippers. The last one I purchased off of Amazon was a waste of money! Anyone recommend a good hair cutting kit?

On Saturday we took our boys to go fishing for the very first time in their lives! It was a very exciting moment because I guess I always figured that little boys need to learn how to fish.

There was a free program with the local Forest Preserve, where they had older gentlemen showing kids how to fish. It was fun, because they had prizes for the most fish caught, the biggest fish, and the best sport. Z-man caught 2 bluegill that were about 4 inches long, and Pudge caught one.

It really was a nice summer day, but the boys didn't have a long attention span, so we packed a picnic and brought that along with.

And yesterday, we had the pleasure of going to a pool party with the youth from church. This is always a blast, because our boys are able to bring their floaties and really get some exercise. These floaties aren't allowed at the public pool, so they were very excited to bring them to the party.

And the water was so warm, it was like a relaxing bath before bedtime!

Here's Z-man showing the rest of the youth how to play a zombie game he had made up. It was really cute seeing him want to lead the game even when all the other kids are in Jr. High and High School aged.

Overall we had a pretty fun week, and ended up saying good-bye to my sister who has been living with us since Easter. WOW, that went fast!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

$1 Kid Movies this Summer

$1 kid movies at Savoy 16 theater in Savoy, IL! Check it out here.

Galena

If you've never made it up to Galena, IL, I highly recommend it. This has been (I think) my fourth visit up here, and it's still very enjoyable. We came up here this Memorial weekend for a family wedding, and stayed in a hotel with a water park indoors. The Country Inn and Suites is a very nice hotel, especially if you have kids. Our boys loved every minute of it!

The trip took us about 4 1/2 hours, but it went by very smoothly with our two boys. We were prepared and brough a couple electronics, and lots of books! We also stopped for lunch with the rest of our family.

There were lots of things to do in Galena, we went out to eat on Saturday night to Vinny Vanucchi's and had some great Italian food. Here's a couple photos before we ate. It was also nice hearing an accordion playing as we window-shopped.

Since we were in Galena for a family wedding, there was a complimentary bus/trolley ride to the farm where they were being wed. The boys loved riding the Charter bus and the trolley!

They even had apple cider for the kids in champagne glasses.

Also, the bride was brought down the farm in a horse drawn carriage. How romantic! We got a photo of it in the background of my sister-in-law and her fiance!

In between swimming at the hotel, and hanging out with family, we tried to get a nap in here or there.

Of course, we always try to stay at hotels with a continental breakfast, and I'm so proud of our family for staying green while everyone is using styrofoam. We use our picnic set we got from our wedding and use that when we go down for breakfast, and just wash them when we get back to our room. We sometimes get funny stares, but other than that I think we're making a difference.

And don't forget the plethora of snacks that we always bring with on trips outside the home! This time we hid them in the hotel dresser drawer.

And before we check out this morning, we had to make one last pit-stop at the pool before we left.

How did you spend your Memorial day weekend?

Go Green: Picnic Style

I got an email today on how to have a picnic and produce zero-waste at the same time! Brilliant! I wanted to share that email article with you today, so that you can prepare as you set out on your Memorial Day festivities.

Go Green: Picnic Style

Thanks, Ebay Green Team!

Celebrating 8 Years of Marriage!

My husband and I just celebrated our 8th year of marriage this week, and we were very excited to find the opportunity to get away together. My gracious mother took on the role of grandma and babysitter for us, while we drove up to Starved Rock and camped out (without the kids!!!) Sometimes it's very necessary as a married couple to spend some time away from your children to really appreciate them.

I have to admit, that I didn't think of going camping for our anniversary, all on my own. I actually "googled" cheap ideas to celebrate marriage, and camping came up as one of the ideas! Brilliant, I thought to myself! My husband and I both love to camp, and what better way to relax and enjoy each others company than to do something we both enjoy.

I asked around to see what other people could suggest we do while we celebrated while going camping, and someone from church suggested that I bring some fancy glasses and a bottle of wine. Thinking ahead, I knew that we probably wouldn't be allowed to bring in alcohol to the camp, so instead we brought some good ol' Ginger Ale.

Here are some fun photos that we took on our anniversary camping trip:

If you're wondering what we cooked on this special occasion? Well, some simple items, really.

And to bring that hunger about, we went on a nice hike before lunch:

So, that's it for now, just wanted to share some photos from our anniversary!

Wednesday: $0.31 Ice Cream!

If you're in the mood for some cheap ice cream, on Wednesday night from 5-10pm, Baskin Robbins is having $0.31 scoop night! It's been tradition for our family to go (this will be our 3rd year), because they also have a fire truck parked in the parking lot so that the kids can check it out! You can get up to 3 scoops, one time only. So I recommend getting those 3 scoops!

For more information and details, click here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Here are some fun photos from the past 2 years of my family attending this event:

(2010)

(2009)

(2009)

(2009)

Meet My Sister Amber!

Meet my sister, Amber! She has come to live with me and my family this summer. She got a job in Savoy and will be living with us till August. I like to say that I never knew how I lived without her here. It really has been a blessing in disguise, because it's just nice to have another adult around to help.

Here she is with our mom and dad:

I told her that I would pick out all the photos that I had of her eating, because that is mainly what this blog is about...

We are going to increase our weekly grocery budget by $10, because there is another mouth to feed in the house now.

She is so good with our two little boys, too! It's nice to have a live-in babysitter as well!

So, welcome to our home, Amber!

Free Summer Bowling for Kids!

This program is back again this summer, where your kids can bowl free all summer long!

Kids Bowl Free allows your family to bowl 2 Games FREE everyday all summer. Plus, there is a family pass option where parents, grandparents, older children that don't qualify for the Kids Bowl Free passes and babysitters can join in the fun and get the same great 2 FREE Game offer every day.

Visit http://www.KidsBowlFree.com for all the details.

To find a local bowling alley near you that's participating click here. If you're in Champaign or Urbana, Old Orchard Lanes in Savoy, IL is participating!

Plus, when you register please enter my email address (samanthadorothyfisher@yahoo.com) so our family is entered to win some great prizes including Gas Cards, Amazon.com Gift Cards, Weekend Hotel Trips, Restaurant Gift Cards and many more!

Please recommend copy and paste my email address in the "Referred By" field on the registration page and we'll both be entered to win.

As soon as you register you'll receive an email to confirm your email address. You can then let other families know about Kids Bowl Free too...and have a chance to win these great prizes and enjoy all of the FREE Bowling!

Enjoy!