Pinching your pennies

I have tried and failed and tried and failed so many times at using coupons and being a great bargain shopper when it comes to groceries and other household items. But I am feeling newly inspired after visiting with a lady in my ward who is the queen of coupon shopping. I mean this woman is amazing. She can buy $160 worth of groceries for only $18 for her family of 6 with two more coming next month. So I picked her brain and am setting a goal to work harder at being a bargain shopper and coupon clipper!

San Diego Temple

This temple is so beautiful. I can definitely see why President Hinckley said it's the queen of all temples while the Salt Lake temple is the king. Since Jarom's parents arrived in San Diego on Monday afternoon we were able to leave Jacob with them on Tuesday morning to go do a session at the temple. It was well worth getting up early, and I'm so glad that we did.

Wild Animal Park

Just some pictures. Not much to say about this adventure. We took a safari ride to see most of the animals and mostly just melted. It was HOT at this place.

San Diego Zoo

The zoo was fun. Jacob was pretty funny about seeing the animals. At Sea World everything is pretty much behind glass, but at the zoo you get a little closer than that. He loved the monkeys, wanted to give the zebras a hug, cried when he saw the camels, and wanted to ride the bus. He is definitely not forgetting the camels--it's the only thing he would talk about after we left.

Sea World

I loved Sea World. The shows they do with the animals are amazing especially the Shamu show.

Playing on the beach

This was probably the most fun part of our trip because we could just relax and enjoy the sunshine without the crowds and trying to keep Jacob happy in the stroller. He loved to dig in the sand, stand in the waves, and chase the birds. I am wearing a hoodie with my boardshorts in some pictures because it was not exactly hot at the beach all the time. Actually it never did get HOT. The hottest was probably only about 80. Anyways, loved the beach, did not love to swim in the ocean-too cold. Jarom, on the other hand, loved playing in the water. Jacob liked it as long as it didn't go up past his legs.

Home Sweet Home

I think Jacob was the most relieved when we pulled in to our house last night. He ran straight to his room when we walked in the house and was super excited to play with all his toys. Anyways, I am sad to not be on vacation anymore but glad to sleep in my own bed again. I wanted to share a few highlights from our trip which was a lot of fun!!!!!

Beach Bums!

We are having a blast here in San Diego!!!! Jacob loves to play in the water. He was a little bit hesitant our first day here but yesterday he was so excited. He'd stand on the beach and watch the waves come in saying, "it's coming, it's coming!" So cute!!!!! and of course the battery in our video camera is dead and I didn't bring the charger for it :(. Anyways we've been to Sea World, the Zoo, and Wild Animal Park in addition to playing at the beach which is right outside the door of where we are staying. It's beautiful. I will post more pictures later when we get home.

P.S. Happy Father's Day to any dads who read my blog but especially to my dad!

San Diego

Today is the day. We are driving to Vegas tonight and making the rest of the drive to San Diego tomorrow. I have seriously been planning this trip for years. We tried to go before we had Jacob but couldn't get a timeshare week so we ended up in Jackson, WY which was a really great trip. Then we planned to go last summer, but it just never happened. We were planning to go for Thanksgiving last year, and Jarom's car had major problems so there went our vacation money. So when my mother-in-law called a few months ago to see if we wanted to share their condo this summer, I said YES!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to get away. Hopefully I will be able to post a few updates while we are gone so that I don't have a novel to write when we get back.

To Jacob

I wanted to do a post for my sweet little boy even though he won't be able to read it himself for a few years. A few days ago I was outside watching Jacob ride his bike, and it was so much fun to watch him use his imagination and jabber to himself. I thought to myself, this is what it means to live in the moment. I wasn't thinking about my to-do list or getting Jacob in the car to run our errands for the day. I was just focusing on him, and I realized that I need to live in the moment all the time. Laundry, dishes, trips to the grocery store can always wait another day but I can never get back any time with my boys (Jarom too.) I LOVE being Jacob's mom and feel so blessed to be home with him. Even on hard days he always manages to melt my heart by wrapping his little arms around my neck and giving me kisses. So I just wanted to tell him how much I love him and how he touches my life each and everyday.

Modest swimwear, need I say more?

So I have been shopping for a new swimsuit for a couple of weeks now since we are heading off to sunny San Diego next week. Yea! I am so excited. Now that it's down to the wire I decided to really hit the sites this afternoon and find the perfect suit. I just couldn't resist sharing what I found on one site. I am still giggling to myself!!!!