7 days...to 10 years!

For the eighth day until our 10-year, I pulled this pan out of the cupboard:



While it may look like a normal pan to you, it's special to us not only because we use it more often than any other pan, but because Jason's grandmother gave it to us as a shower gift. Actually, today is her 95th birthday! Grandma H. is a wonderful woman--a prayer warrior for our family and we love her!

This pan is also notable because it's the only pan we own that is this style. I'm kind of a "set" girl, so I didn't really want to register for this particular pan. It didn't go with the set that we picked out! Oh the horror! Jason convinced me that we needed THIS pan because it would be perfect for omelets and that was the best reason to get it. 10 years later, I use this pan all the time...but rarely for omelets!

8 days...to 10 years!

Eight days to our tenth anniversary!

These are my favorite mugs at our house. We purchased them soon after we were married and I use them all the time! When we bought them, they had a bag of M&M's in each mug. The M&M's obviously have not lasted as long as the mugs!

The boys often tell me to use the green one--because it's a girl M&M! Ethan likes the blue one and Micah likes red, so Jason is left with the yellow one!

Off to the races!

This past weekend we were off to the races! Well, the duck races anyway. Ethan's school had a fundraiser where they sold rubber ducks for the race. Then, on Saturday, the race took place at a local park with a creek full of twists and turns.



First, they counted down and released the bags full of ducks. If you look in the above picture you can see them with the bags on the bridge. I'm not sure how many they sold, but one of the ducks we saw was numbered 731. I'm hoping that means they sold over 700 ducks!



It was fun to see all of the ducks together at the beginning of the race. Some of the ducks quickly caught the current and took off down the creek. Others were stuck along the way. Thankfully, there were volunteers who walked the length of the course and knocked the ducks loose. No duck left behind!


We wandered down to the finish line to see the first place finisher...first prize was a kayak! We didn't win. Oh well, we have cute ducks at home now!


After we watched a bunch of the ducks finish, we wandered back to see a few of the stragglers. There were a lot of ducks still coming! We also enjoyed seeing how deep the creek was in some areas. The poor guy in waders was up to his chest in a few areas! I think I heard him say they had a leak--now that's support and dedication to stay in the creek!


It was a great fundraiser and a fun way to spend the morning. The boys had fun hanging out by the creek and cheering on their ducks. We now have a flock of ducks in the bathtub!

9 days...to 10 years!

If you're totally confused about the title to this post, check here to catch up!

Nine more days to our anniversary! The next item that's been part of our ten years of marriage is this clock:


We received this clock as a wedding present. Can't say I remember who gave it to us! This clock was above our sink in our first house and now resides in the same place at our current house. The batteries have been replaced many times, but it keeps on ticking! We've checked the time on this clock MANY times in ten years...and many times it showed us that we were late!

10 days...to 10 years

Next week is our ten year anniversary. Some days I can hardly believe it! In honor of the past ten years, I looked around our house to find items that have been a part of all 10 years of our marriage. It was kind of fun!

The first item is my recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I've been making these cookies since before we were married, but we've continued to love the cookies. Many times, when I ask Jason what kind of cookie I should make, he votes for chocolate chip. I've had to slap his hand away from the bowl of dough many, many times over the past ten years.


I actually just made this batch yesterday. They beat out peanut butter cookies in the voting! I love to bake, so I imagine this recipe will stick around for many years to come. Check back tomorrow to see what else I found!

Couponing

Those of you who know me well know that I love to "coupon". That's a verb in case you were wondering. :) I don't post often about my deals, but this one I couldn't resist. Apparently Kraft is doing some sort of marketing blitz because they have flooded the market with coupons recently. Today, I took full advantage of it! I love it when all my coupons work together...I had a coupon for almost every item in this picture. I didn't have coupons for the Mac & Cheese, but I bought them because they printed off savings for my next shopping order.


You know this post isn't complete without telling you how much I spent. Before coupon cost of the groceries: $76.11. Post coupons? $19.96...which then came down to $14.96 after bottle returns. I also have coupons for $4.00 off my next shopping order! Thank you, Kraft!

**I should note that I'll never eat that much Mayo. But it was free after coupons, so I'm giving it away!

Mother's Day

My boys and I had a wonderful Mother's Day! After church and lunch Jason and I decided we would like to take the boys to walk on the pier by the lake. I was all for it because you have to get ice cream when you walk along the pier. Really, I think it's a rule posted somewhere. The boys loved watching the boats coming and going--though there were not too many big ones yet! It was a little chilly for boating.


Micah enjoyed a new-found seat. He barely stopped talking the entire time we were walking! He loved looking at the water and the boats and jumping from rock to rock.


I think both of the boys would have happily spent the entire time on the rocks. Seriously, what could be better than jumping around on rocks?

I used the scenic area as an opportunity to get an updated photo of my boys. I think I'll keep them. Really, all three of them are keepers!

These guys are the reason I get to celebrate this holiday as a mom! I have two wonderful boys and have loved watching them grow up so far. They're already so big!