What to do when a helicopter lands in your backyard

Take lots of pictures!



Today there was a raging fire just over the hills from my parents' house (also our house right now:). They live right on the Wenatchee River so we got to witness an awesome show--helicopters dipping water right out of the river in front of the house! Here are a couple pics plus one overhead. It was the coolest thing when the heli took off...right over our house!

A few pictures and why I can barely type this:)

Here are a few pictures of one of the many lake parties we attended while visiting our home church in the Puget Sound at the parsonage.

Both our girls love the water!

For the past month I've been eating high protein, low sugar and walking fairly consistently. Frustrated with a lack of progress (a little, but not much for the amount of work I thought!) I shared my concern with Daniel. He encouraged me to start adding more cardio workouts.

Initially I resisted because in the past my schedule has prevented a consistent time for working out w/o kiddos. Right now though we have a very flexible work schedule which is nice. So...I finally gave in and started back up with running for 30 minutes a day and this morning both Daniel and I did the P90X that I borrowed from my brother. Intense! I am starting to see results again and hopeful that I will be healthier and finally lose the last of the baby weight! That is also why blogging isn't happening quite as much...something always has to go when I add something! But I will work on getting the many pictures on my camera here soon:)

Menu Plan for the week of July 26th, 2010

Back to regularly scheduled meal planning...for a week:) Next Wed. we'll be back in a plan and back to JAARS in NC. Can I be honest with you all and say that living the life of having no "home" is starting to wear on us? Yesterday Daniel and I both looked at eachother and were ready to be done with all this transient life. I guess this is probably a stage most missionaries go through, right?! Well, either way I am sure we'll get over it soon and be better for it:)

Here's what we'll be eating this week

Breakfasts: scrambled eggs, oatmeal, pancakes (soy flour for me)

Lunches/snacks: leftovers, cereal, crackers & cheese, fruit
Dinners:

Monday: Stroganoff Hamburger Helper, raw fresh cucumbers and bell peppers with dip

Tuesday: Lenil Taco filling with chips and fresh fruit

Wednesday: Crockpot Macaroni and cheese

Thursday: Teriyaki Moose Meat in the crockpot over brown rice with some CSA veg(order comes on Wednesdays)

Friday: Homemade Easy Pizza with mystery veggies from CSA

Saturday: Crockpot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and veggies from CSA on side

Sunday: Leftovers and meal with grandma

What's on your menu this week?

Heading to the OR coast!

We finished the most important house rental projects and are packing up to go camping for 3 days on the OR coast! Yay! You probably won't see a lot of blogging between now and the weekend, so I will catch you up with pictures asap, probably this weekend!

I miss you big toddler girl!

The good Lord knew we needed some time to remember how much we love our big toddler girl, M. We were struggling with potty training, discipline and tantrums. But she has so much to offer...helpfulness, sweetness, a great imagination and more that we weren't appreciating because of the other stuff. So the camping trip with grandma and grandpa couldn't have come at a better time! We miss her a lot already.





God also knew that I was needed to help with house projects and could only manage one toddler while helping. So Liv has played in the dirt, wood chips and occasionally in the playpen or sat in the ergo while I work. Trenches, woodchipping, and next up for me is staining the little deck/stairs. Even though its been good to have this time we keep thinking about what M would say or do or think about everything we're doing! We miss her!

Smokin' Kraft Deal @ QFC

Not only is the mega even going on at QFC where you automatically receive $5 off when you buy 10 participating products, but there is also overlap with Kraft products starting today where you get $5 back (as a catalina) when you buy 5!

Total for this order was $9.76, but I received a catlina back for $5! Missing from this picture is one gatorade and 2 Edwards singles the hubby absconded:) I meant to break it into 2 orders and to buy the ground chicken and dark chocolate with the catalina, but the cashier confused me and kept telling me the Kraft $5 was instant savings and it already came off. So I did one order and after looking at my receipt I came back it and there was a $5 cat sitting on his register! It pays to know what the deal is, I found out:). So I guess I better go back and buy more dark chocolate before we leave town! ;)

The other deal for those of you with Organic Valley coupons...organic valley cream cheese was marked down to $1.09! A great deal for organic cream cheese anyway, but I had a $2/2 coupon(2 actually) so I got 4 for $0.09 each! And these are great for whole wheat toast or on celery for my high-protein, no sugar diet.

Thanks Coupon Connection NW!

Summer Water/Playground Fun

All work and no play, no way!

Lessons from a wood chipper

Our time in our married hometown is winding down quickly. We are (hopefully!) heading to the Oregon Coast with my folks for a camping trip as I mentioned before. Daniel is on the mend from a case of shingles too. He's also been working long hours on the house projects (our rental... that has renters in it:) or at least as long as he can without stretching our (good so far) renters' patience to the max!

I've been thinking and praying of ways I can be a better helper to my husband in this area because if there is a house project skill, I don't have it:). Especially since its looking like we'll miss at least part of the camping trip because the projects aren't going quite as quickly as planned.

Last night I dreamt that I offered to help Daniel chip the ginormous pile of branches. In the morning it felt so real but I thought it would be silly and I couldn't be of help. I casually asked Daniel if that would be helpful and he said YES! He rented a truck and a chipper for a half day and I found a babysitter for an hour and a half and helped chip through a pile of branches and debris for almost an hour..what a workout! And it was kinda fun, actually.

I am so thankful to have a chance to help in a way that was outside my comfort zone, but ended up being a good time with the hubby. Although you definitely don't want to think about that movie Fargo when using it...;)

4th of July Picnic by the lake

This was at our church's annual 4th of July Lake party at the parsonage. Always good food, always good company!

Not sure what Daniel or Marianna are doing in this pic with their faces...but Daniel had shingles so he has an excuse;)
Thanks Ronelle for the family pic!

Swinging conjoined toddlers

How about that for a weird blog post title? Anyway, that is what they looked like but they had a blast sharing the baby swing at Evergreen Park. It was a beautiful night...and we escaped the blazing heat.

Albies Doubler Fun & a few other deals

We finally firmed up plans and got the okay to go on a week long camping trip next week on the Oregon Coast! We have to okay stuff like that with our "boss" at Wycliffe because our full time jobs are kind of non-traditional--partnership development (raising our team of supporters). So...yay! Plus, that means I get to use our camping trip as an excuse to keep grocery bargain hunting;).

Albies doubler run: $2.77 after $5 catalina factored in!

Favorite deals:Kellogg's deal: Buy 8 participating products, each one is $1.50. All 5 Cinnabon Cereals were free after doublers and the Kashi Crackers were only $0.50 and nutrigrain bars were $0.75. Mission whole wheat tortillas $0.49 after peelie, Sun detergent $0.99, Activia free, Herbal Essence trial size shampoos and conditioners were about a $1 money maker after catalina, and the Tyson strips of chicken were $.90 a package.

QFC and Safeway:

Not exceptional deals but favorites were: Free dentyne gum, $2 for 2 lbs of organic Spinach (that's a lot of spinach...that stuff is very light!), $2.50 each for lb of string cheese (great high protein low cal snack), skim milk $1.50 for gallon, good tomatoes for $0.99/lb, mom to mom diaper ointment for $1.99 after coupon found in pharmacy (which we needed badly for Liv!),albacore tuna for $.88, shrimp 1/2 lb for $1.50 (lots of protein for the dieting mama!). Also free bananas with Nilla Wafers purchase (on super coupon for $1.99 at Safeway). We also got some really yummy lipton sparkling teas for $1.67 for a 6 pack...which is a great price for these. A treat for me since I can't have sugar! :)

Menu Plan for the week of 7/12/10

This is our last week using a hot plate, crockpot, microwave and electric skillet to cook . But next week we'll be transitioning to campground cooking! We'll be on the Oregon Coast with my folks, but not roughing it. My parents will be in a trailer and we'll be in a tent next to them, fun times.

Here's what we'll be eating this week
Breakfasts: scrambled eggs with spinach (my breakfasts primarily...trying a little low-carb, southbeachest meal plan for awhile), cold cereal, oatmeal

Lunches/snacks: leftovers, mac n cheese(for the girls) cereal, crackers, nutrigrain bars

Dinners:

Monday: Whole Wheat Pasta with red meat sauce, steamed broccoli

Tuesday: Lenil Tacos (no tortillas for me) with spinach salad on the side (notice the 2lbs of organic spinach I got marked down to $2 this weekend!:)

Wednesday: Spinach Salad w/ grilled chicken and Kettle chips on the side

Thursday: Whole Wheat pasta with grilled shrimp and spinach

Friday: Hot Dogs (veggie dogs for me...marked down to $1.99!) with carrots and leftover chips

Saturday: Bunless Hamburgers and clean out the pantry (last day here)

Sunday: leftovers on the road (we'll be sharing our plans with a church in Puyallup today and then driving to the coast!)

What's on your menu this week?

My brother's wedding

I was practically an only child. I was that crazy of a kid. My mom says when I turned four I seemed to turn into a human being practically overnight like magic. Before that I was kind of tough to take out in public:). I guess I deserve some of my childrens' antics. So I was lucky I wasn't an only child...and my only sib, my brother Jon is 8 years younger. And he just got married! Congrats Jon and Nicole! They've known eachother since they were in grade school, isn't that sweet? Here a few pics, I am still waiting on my parents to send me more (hint hint!).





It was beautiful!

Puget Sound fun pictures

We have a cozy little place on the top floor of some friends' house here in our former hometown. The only hometown we've known as a married couple! We are enjoying our time here although Daniel came down with shingles earlier this week. He must not have the worst case though...judging by other's experiences with it on facebook. Yuck! He's a trooper about it, still working over at the house to get the most pressing projects done before we leave in a week or so.

We've gotten to spend time with friends from church and have had fun!

Quick Albertsons run $6.16

Here's our menu plan for this week, although I might change it based on the fact that I need to use up what we have by the end of next week!

I realized that my $5 dairy promo cat was going to expire yesterday so I made a quick run for some produce and got really cheap yoplait yogurt! It was marked down to $0.10/each and I had two coupons one $0.50/8 and one for $0.40/6. So I bought 14 yoplaits (kiwi strawberry) for $0.50 total! We love yogurt so that was a great deal for us:) Also some markdown kielbasa for $0.99 and coffee creamer...total $6.16 (after catalina).

Menu Plan for the week of July 5th, 2010

I'm still using a hot plate, crockpot, microwave and electric skillet to cook . Besides the absense of baked goodies and a few other oven-baked staples, we're not missing much.

Here's what we'll be eating this week
Breakfasts: eggs in a window, oatmeal, cold cereal, turkey bacon, eggs, fruit

Lunches/snacks: leftovers, green smoothies, fruit, cereal, crackers, bananas with PB

Dinners:

Monday: We have no leftovers for lunch so we'll have hotdogs, corn on the cob, nectarines, raw veggies and chips
Dinner will be Fried Brown rice with the leftover corn on the cob chopped into it, along with the hot dogs chopped finely. I will add other veggies and stir fry it in the skillet. A family favorite any way we make it!

Tuesday: Pasta with red meat sauce, steamed spinach

Wednesday: Hamburger Helper (didn't make this last week) cooked carrots

Thursday: Lentil Brown Rice Casserole in the crockpot

Friday: Tacos

Saturday: Mac N Cheese with Tuna, mixed veggies

Sunday: Soup in the crockpot for after church, quesadillas with leftover tortillas

What's on your menu this week?

Where's Livvie?

We are staying in the upstairs mini-apartment of some gracious friends of ours here in Bremerton. There are lots of cool nooks and crannies in the space the girls are exploring. We found the girls carving out a "house" in this space yesterday. Apologies in advance to our friends George and Rhoda for the fact that things will be in very different places than when you left them! ;)

Right after the smiles Livvie got "eaten" by the pile of linens and wasn't so happy anymore.

Weekly Shopping and Grocery outlet bargains

Get ready...this is a two-week shopping trip binge (to last until we go camping then go home in two weeks!) Do not try this at home...I went to pretty much every store in the area these past two days! Seriously. Thankfully, one trip was in walking distance. The other stores were broken up into two trips and both made a "loop" so I didn't use extra gas to go to more than one store. Target is the store furthest to us and I've been meaning to go there for cheap LUVs diapers, Nexcare band-aids, and free Chrystal light, so we hit all the other stores on the way. With two toddlers. Fun, yeah? But really it wasn't bad. The two year old didn't have accidents and I kept them from killing eachother in the little car cart. That's all I can ask for:)

Fred Meyer: under $9, the reciept is hiding right now...

Turkey Bacon $1.39 after coupon, whole milk $1.25 1/2 gal., nectarines $0.88/lb, organic whole wheat bread $1.29, whole wheat tortillas $1.25 after peelie coupon, hot dog and hamb buns $0.50 each, one onion ($.43 yikes!).

Target, $4.69 (used $5 gift card from last trip)

Luvs for $4.99, Whole wheat pasta for $0.50/box, free Pure Fitness Chrystal Light, $0.47 Nexcare bandages, and $0.97 for baby wash (I forgot to pack some!).

QFC, Walgreens, Rite Aid
QFC: Corn, bananas, 5 pack Kraft Mac N chees and Capri Sun $5.02
Rite Aid: M n M's $0.09 for 2 (bought 14 total...not pictured is a huge box of LUVs that will be $6 after all coupons and rebates! I decided the cloth diapers are not coming on our week long camping trip!!;)
Walgreens: Green tea drink $0.99 after RR and FREE Reynolds foil after coupon:)

Grocery Outlet: $8.60

Great deals to mention: Light Ocean Spray fruit and veggie juice for $0.99, 1 lb brown rice for $0.69 (never seen that price before!), and not pictured, J Crew city capris for $8! There were a ton of these, lots of different sizes...all for $8! Not sure why Grocery Outlet has J Crew, but it was a great find for me!;) Also picked up lentils, beans, split peas, bouillon and some canned veggies. Hopefully these will be the base for a few high fiber, high protein meatless meals that are also very cheap in the next few weeks!

Also spend $1.76 on 2 bananas, wishbone dressing and 2 KC Masterpiece BBQ sauces at Safeway.

Totals (including LUVS huge box not pictured but not including JCrew pants about $48 which isn't bad for two weeks. I'll be adding some milk, a little produce and possible some chicken to those totals at some point next week.

What did you buy this week?

Yahoo...78%!

Livvie says "hi-five, ya'll!"

Most of you know that Daniel and I don't have traditional "jobs" right now (although that husband of mine works as hard or harder than most people I know!) but are full time missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators. What that means for us right now is that our assignment is partnership development and we are building a team of people who are behind us financially and prayerfully. They are essentially part of our "sending" team bring the Bible to people who don't have it Africa.

Since some of you don't get our updates (but if you'd like to please email me your info at beansnrice at live dot com) I thought I would share that we are currently at 78% of our total needed monthly support quota! At around 80% we will be starting the process of securing our visas and such to head overseas to do our language study. Thank you to our wonderful support team! Even when we don't know who or how, the Lord provides!

Marysville Trip

The girls and I took a mini trip to see family and attend a bridal shower in Marysville the first part of this week. The aunt and uncle we stayed with live on a beautiful piece of property with little goats, two dogs and lots of berries!

Here are some pictures with more to come when I get them:

Fun on the trampoline!


Bountiful berry patch (the girls LOVE fruit!)