EMBA Class of 2011

Congratulations to Ben!  He has been accepted into the BYU Executive MBA program!  He will start school the beginning of August.  We probably won't see him much for the next two years . . . as we will be adding this to his already busy schedule with work, church calling, and family.  I have to admit, I am a little scared . . . with 4 kids . . . but we feel good about this and I am sure in the end it will be worth it!

Y Mountain

We hiked "the Y" yesterday! I don't think I have done that for 10 years . . . maybe more. It was more uphill than I remember . . . but then it is a mountain . . . so I'm not quite sure what I was expecting.  My legs are feeling it today!

We had fun. The girls loved it and and like being able to say that they have been to the top of the "Y".

Today's Best Quote from Halle

"I can't eat the crust on my sandwich . . . it makes a bone in my back hurt. It started hurting when I started eating the crust, so I think I CAN'T eat it!"

Photo Shoot

My Frugal Quest

In the past (up until 2-3 months ago), I  always thought that shopping at Walmart and Sams Club for groceries, toiletries and household items was maximizing my dollar.  Now, thanks to my cousins Shanna and Alisa I have seen the light of coupons matched up with sales . . . which can save soooo much money!  I don't have the skills that they have yet, but I have been able to buy things for much less than I would have a few months ago w/o coupons or sales.  Here's the results of a couple of my more momentous frugal quests.

Last month, I went to Albertson's and bought 

36 boxes of Post cereal (Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats, Trail Mix Crunch, Post Select)

2lbs. of oranges

3 2lb. containers of Yoplait yogurt 

2 20 oz. bottles of Sprite 

3 candy bars

Without sales or coupons, these items would have cost me about $175 dollars.  What did I spend?  $16 dollars!!!!!!

I was so excited about this!  Cereal is one of my favorite foods, and so I loved being able to stock up on this for practically nothing!

Today, I went to Target and bought 

3 boxes of Special K cereal

2 boxes of Special K crackers

2 boxes of Wheat Thins Artisan crackers

4 Kraft Easy Mac singles

1 Dry Idea deodorant

1  14 oz. bag of Santitas tortilla chips

1 loaf of bread 

2 travel size Axe shower gel

1 16oz. sour cream 

1 box of 100 sandwich bags 

1 pack of gum

Without coupons or sales these items would have cost about $36 dollars.  I spent $10 dollars! 

Anyway, I have had to change my way of thinking about coupons and such.  I used to think it was such a waste of time for people to clip coupons.  Who cares about saving 35 cents?  Or even a $1 here or there.  I always wondered what that accomplished . . . it's not like you can buy that much more with that extra $1.35 saved.  But when you combine the coupons with a sale . . . that is where some real savings happen.   It is more work, but for me it has been worth it.   Thanks Shanna and Alisa for inspiring me . . . it is so much fun to save money!

Grandpa Norberg

My grandpa Norberg passed away  last Saturday, April 25th.  He was 84 years old and died of natural causes.  He was buried in Alpine, Utah on Tuesday, April 28th with full military honors including a 21 gun salute.  He was a U.S. Air Force pilot in World War II.

Ben, my Uncle Pat, and cousins Ryan, Shane, Dave and Kevin were the pallbearers.

Here is a picture with my Grandma, my mom Nina, my Aunt Phyllis,  and Grandpa's sisters Dorothy, Betty, Carol and Janice.   

It was so nice to get together with family this last week and remember all the happy times we had with grandma and grandpa.  I have a lot of good memories of him and grandma and their house in California.  The family reunions were always so fun and I really appreciate how they always came to any main event in our lives that they could.  We miss grandpa, but know that he is in a better place.

Thanks for the pictures Dad & Shanna!

3 Weeks Later

Well, it has been 3 weeks since our handsome boy was born.   Today was the first weekday that I have been on my own . . . a mom of 4 (doesn't that seem like so much more than 3?)  The kids are still alive, I am not crying (actually, I haven't cried at all with this little guy--he's so good!) and I feel like making dinner . . . so I guess things are going okay.

Yesterday my Grandma invited the family over for Easter Dinner.  This was my first activity out of the house with ALL the kids.  It went really well and felt normal.  Maybe I can do this!