What I've decided is that most of the coupons are for things we don't buy. Mostly prepackaged convenience foods that either I refuse to eat or Taryn can't eat anyway, so why stock up? I'm not going to run out and buy pudding packs or frozen burritos, sorry. So we miss out on a lot of "great deals" each week because of that. Well, this week, the coupons were for us! As were the sales. That, and I had 2 rainchecks for cereal from past sales.
So, I took the girls and for 3 hours, we went to 4 stores (thankfully, 3 are within 2 miles of each other). It's still a lot of work to get them in and out of the car and keep them happy in 4 different stores. Keara decided to be a perfect ANGEL today and was literally fantastic the entire time. Taryn, however, wanted a nap before we left and wanted a nap the whole time we were gone. She did pretty well in every store besides one, but we made short work of that store and got out.
Here's what I got:
*19 boxes of cereal
*1 loaf of bread
*1 1/2 gallons milk
* 15 Powerade
*1 bottle handsoap
*1 GrillMates dry marinade/rub
*2 BBQ liquid marinades
*24 Yoplait yogurt
*3 lbs. bananas
*1 lbs fresh green beans
* 2 lbs strawberries
*8 lbs pork loin (cut into 1 roast and a LOT of chops! I have to use butchers more...)
*1 whole chicken
* 2 bags Quaker Rice Cakes (a special treat for Taryn that she CAN have!)
*5 shampoo/conditioner
It should have cost $180.14.
I spent $68.90.
I used $22.40 in coupons.
I saved $111.24. (which doesn't include 14 boxes of cereal...I saved an additional $50 on those)
Total savings: 62%
Not bad.
Cherish-Light Pink front with Brown sides and White letters
Spring: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with White letters
Winter: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with Silver letters
I "bought" this pool off craigslist. Actually, when I saw the listing and who and where is was posted from, I thought there was a slight chance it was my friend's posting, so I emailed her. Sure enough, it was. We took a little trip to visit them and came home with a pool. The girls loved it! (Un)fortunately, that was the first and last warm day we've had in a month. We've had such beautiful weather in the 60s and 70s, I don't think we're mentally ready for the near 100s next week.
We tried to go to Luke Air Force Air Show this year, but failed miserably. Long story, not so interesting here. Anyway, I made homemade pitas for our lunch. Yummy! But I need a better, more reliable recipe. Anyone have one?
What's a party without limbo? We had fun music and the kids enjoyed running under the bar. I think the adults had more fun, though. The music stayed on long after the game was over to the point the kids just played and ran in the yard for 20 minutes until dinner was ready. We had little homemade pizzas.
After dinner, we broke out the pinata. At least the kids tried to break it. It took Braden beating the poor thing to death before it broke open. It had a lot less candy in it than I thought I had put in...Oh well.
It was almost comical to watch these tiny 3 year olds try to swing a bat and hit with enough force to break the pinata.
While we were there for a sad purpose, it was great to be together with all of Braden's siblings, his aunt and some cousins, and his uncle. We went out to dinner the first night there and Keara got a free birthday ice cream! Yeah! True to form, she only at the whipped cream...(which Braden had requested they put extra of on).
Because Braden's sister flew out from Missouri and brought her daughter, we were able to meet our neice/cousin for the first time! Brieyn is just 11 days older than Taryn. They were cute together!
And what is a cousin meeting without a bath picture?
I love putting my babies in hand towels for bath towels. I think they're so cute!
Grandma Moore spoiled Keara for her birthday with a new doll. Keara quickly wrapped her up in the wrapping paper and was SO excited about her! Meet Suzie, the yellow hair doll.
But then, much to Keara's delight, Grandma gave her ANOTHER doll! Meet Dharma. She came with a bunch of accessories that Keara couldn't wait to get home to put together.
The morning after we got home, Keara bounded into my room and begged to put all the pieces together. Here she is with her new toys and LOVING it! She plays with them everyday.
Braden and I got her this tricycle after a long search and gave it to her after we got home from Vegas. She found it to be much more difficult to ride than I think she anticipated and it took a lot longer to get anywhere. I love this video because it shows how much she struggled that first day!
The next day, we went out again and she was determined to get it right. It took us a half hour to go one block to the park and she had to stop and resituate herself a lot. But she never complained and just kept trying. By the time we left the park, she was a pro! I was so proud of her. Since then, we've ridden her bike on a walk everyday. 
We were able to go to the zoo on a beautiful day with one of Keara's best friends, Kloey. They hadn't seen each other in months before her birthday party and their reunion was SO sweet. So we quickly set up another play date and the girls had a blast!
The cousins all loved being together and even slept! Amazing. 
The Saturday before Easter, the Easter Bunny came to grandma's house, thanks to grandma. We don't do Easter baskets, but Braden's mom didn't want the girls to be left out, so she went to great efforts to put together milk, egg, peanut, dye free baskets for our girls. Keara and the boys loved helping Taryn open her basket since she was the last to wake up.
Taryn enjoyed the dried fruit grandma had.
Showing off her new shades.
Keara's new purse and things.
Easter dresses! I thought the girls looked so pretty.
The day after we got home from Prescott, we went to my uncle's Easter party. I LOVE their party! They have so many grandkids that this event has evolved to a huge spectacle. I can't tell you how many hundreds of eggs they hide and/or put all over the lawn. All the kids made their own basket out of old milk jugs. It was cute!
Keara started slow but quickly realized this was a race! 
So she picked up the pace and soon filled her basket.
After most of the eggs were found, we put out 5 special eggs for Taryn and let her pick them up and put them in the basket. She was thrilled to have a couple treats too! 
I love that she is so content to have whatever we give her, rather than needing what everyone else has.