Bag of (Free) Candy

Bag of (Free) Candy, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Stacie's mastery of "couponing" has gotten to the point that I don't even realize the kind of deals she is getting. It seems all sorts of foods we didn't see much BC (Before Couponing) are always popping up because she got them for free or for next to nothing. Take this bag of candy bars, etc. This bag (along with a dozen or so already eaten the last 2-3 weeks) cost her a grand total of $0.00.

She is feeding our family at the rate of ten cents on the dollar at this point, and it has made a huge difference for the family budget. She is amazing.

Disclaimer: No, dear friends, she is not just feeding us junk food.We eat healthy and nutritious meals, for the most part, but enjoy pizza, hot dogs, burgers, etc. too, throughout the month.

Gabe Headed to Boy Scout Camp

Gabe Headed to Boy Scout Camp, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Gabe is all packed up and ready to go to his second Boy Scout summer camp. Six nights of fun and adventure at Camp Raven Knob with his friends from Troop 942. As you can see, he has his foot locker, sleeping bag, and plenty of water and Gatorade for what appears to be a hot week coming up for the boys. We'll be missing Gabe, but hoping he has a great time and earns another 2-3 badges toward his Eagle Scout rank. We'll go up Wednesday afternoon to see how he's doing, so we'll see him in a few days.

Boy Scout Troop 942, Sanford, NC

Boy Scout Troop 942, Sanford, NC, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Loaded up and ready for a week of summer camp!

STUCK

Pretty funny video of two photographers/videographers who got stuck in the DFW airport and decided to do something fun with their time. I'm hoping that as my three boys get a bit older they'll want to do some fun things like this with me.

Read an interview about it all here.

Caden & Blackberries

Caden & Blackberries, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Along the wood line by our home we have a good number of Blackberry bushes. The boys find them to be a nice treat. Caden gathered about twice this many this afternoon.

Gabe's Hair Cut from Dad

Gabe's Hair Cut from Dad, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Before (right) and after (left). The Wahl clippers are officially paid for with Gabe finally relenting and letting me cut his hair. I was even able to layer it up a bit. He is pretty stoked. We cut it while his mom was out, and she came home and was pleasantly surprised.

Saving Money

BP060811, a set on Flickr. Click each pic to enlarge!

Stacie had what we believe is a record in coupon savings the other night when she paid $13 for a whopping $118 in groceries. Her skills in the mastery of "couponing" are growing like a young Padawan evolving into a Jedi Knight.

Speaking of people who wield light sabers - our recent purchase of a Wahl hair clipper is saving us some bucks, too. As you can see by the photos I cut Caden's hair with the #2 guard, leaving his Mohawk untouched, much like a Jedi carving in to a platoon of Storm Troopers. His Mohawk is growing to be pretty long!

I also cut Ethan's hair for the first time using the #8 guard on top and #6 guard on the sides and back. I also trimmed it up with scissors and a comb. "Dad ain't bad!" is the word so far.

Gabe, whose hair is about as thick as a bamboo jungle in East Asia, won't let me touch him. And Stacie's beautiful hair requires the mastery of someone far more proficient than what my humble clipper skills can offer.

So, with these initial cuts we've already paid for half of what it cost for the clippers. 2-3 more cuts and I'll be able to save we saved a few more bucks.

In other news - Gabe and Ethan are taking their End of Grade testing in the homeschool today and tomorrow. They are looking forward to a bit of a break. But we'll be cranking up the homeschool a little earlier this summer while moving toward a more year-round calendar. Caden will officially be in Kindergarten this summer. He has been doing well in his preschool level work, and enjoyed the most recent Homeschool Co-Op group while learning about Dr. Seuss and his array of books. We hope to do some fun, easy-at-home type of science experiments this summer. We're also looking forward to some vacations coming up in September and October.

Random Pic for 6/7/11 Ethan & Caden

Random Pic for 6/7/11 Ethan & Caden, a photo by Joe Jon! on Flickr.

Waiting outside of JC Penney while mommy shops.

I added a bunch of pics on Flickr including random shots of Gabe's first basketball tournament a few weeks ago (see how tall he is compared to other teams!), Caden break dancing in the street, our 11-year old chocolate Lab and our 15-year old yellow Lab, a huge hawk behind our house, Ethan's horse riding lesson, among others. Click the Flickr badge to the left (below the Twitter badge) and enjoy!