Family Dinner

Do you make family dinner a priority? 

About 4 years ago we moved into a new house that had a big enough dining room to hold a dining table big enough to fit all 7 of us (my mom ~Grammy~ lives with us). We made it a goal to have dinner together as a family as many nights of the week as possible, usually at least 4 nights a week. These have become some of our most cherished times together. 

While we don’t usually make new memories around the family dinner table we definitely reminisce about old memories, talk about our day… the good and the bad, and simply take the time to be present in each other’s lives. It is also a very good way to teach kids how to pray.  

This weekend we are camping and put 2 card tables together to make a family table.

If you have a hard time coming up with things to talk about I found this great list of questions here. 

If you have any great family dinner topics or questions please share them….

Visit Boise Idaho without breaking the bank!

This last weekend we decided to take a small family trip to Boise from our hometown in southeast Washington to visit my father who has been in the hospital for a couple weeks. With some money saving ideas we were able to visit Grandaddy and make it a vacation. I wanted to share a few of the ways we were able to take this trip with a family of 6 (plus my mom) without spending a ton of money.

• Look online and plan out your hotel in advance. I was able to find a hotel for an average of $117/night for 1 room (we needed 2 because Grammy joined us).  I was able to get this rate because I did the entire booking online. That was a savings of almost $100/night. It included a warm breakfast including waffles, sausage, eggs, etc, a very nice indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, and workout center.

• Get a cargo carrier for your vehicle. In the past when Grammy joined us on vacations we needed to take a second vehicle (we have a Toyota Highlander that seats 8) because we couldn’t fit all of us and our luggage.  Recently I found a nice soft cargo carrier at a yard sale for just $20 and on this trip alone it saved us at least 2 tanks of gas in Grammy’s car. Ours is a lot like this one and as you can see it’s worth the savings with just a couple tanks of gas you didn’t have to buy.

• Research gas prices along your route. I will be honest I am not the one in our family that does this part, hubby does it. For instance on this trip gas was cheaper in Washington and Idaho so he was very careful not to need gas in Oregon. It isn’t a huge savings but a little bit can go a long way.

• Plan your meals. Obviously we were able to save a lot of money because the hotel had free breakfast and for dinners we got food we could cook at our hotel in the microwave. The first night we ate frozen pasta bowls and spent less than $3/ person on dinner. The second night we went to the store and got some finger foods and shared them in the hotel while we watched a movie. For lunches we did eat out because we were going from one attraction to another and didn’t want to take the time to make food. So one day we went to McDonald’s and the last day we had our first Chick-fit-A experience. Also, be sure to take along snacks so you aren’t tempted to pay convenience store prices.

• We were able to visit three of the main family attractions in Boise, World Center for Birds of Prey, Aquarium of Boise, and Zoo Boise. We were very impressed with the prices of each of these attractions and you would not have to do all of them in a single trip. The Birds of Prey exhibit was very neat as it houses many endangered birds and teaches about the importance of conservation. The Aquarium of Boise had a lot of touch pools with many different types of fish, sharks, and sting rays. Zoo Boise was my favorite. We have been to a few zoos in our day but this zoo offers a much more personal experience with the animals. We were able to be within a few feet of some of the most amazing animals on earth, where at bigger zoos the animals are a fair distance away and you don’t necessarily get to see their size and colors up close. We also got to feed a sloth bear for just $3 (we bought one cup of meal worms and shared) and you could also pay $3 to feed a giraffe (we weren’t there long enough for giraffe feeding time)!

• We also really like to take advantage of small stops on our way to and from our destination. On our way home from Boise we found a beautiful bridge with a gorgeous view in Perry Oregon. Had we not been willing to go a couple miles off the highway to this view point we would never have see this part of God’s beauty.

  If you have any great ways of saving money on family vacations I would love to hear them!

~Amanda

 

 

 

Back to school with a big family

Up until 2 years ago back to school shopping was a piece of cake. I only had 2 kiddos in school and it didn’t seem like a big deal to wait until the middle of August when we got their school supply lists to start our shopping. Then Monkey and Bear went into kindergarten and holy moly… all of a sudden I went from 2 supply lists to FOUR! I almost had a nervous breakdown. I hadn’t saved or planned or anything. To say we scrimped by that year would be an understatement.

Now I have a plan… instead of waiting until the supply lists come out in August I start shopping in June. That way I buy a little bit at a time (we get paid twice a month) and I don’t have to scramble by waiting until the last minute. I start with the items I know they will be expected to have… pencils, paper, folders, dry erase markers, backpacks, lunch boxes, ice packs, scissors, crayons, glue, etc. Then I pay attention to coupons and back to school sale ads in our local sunday paper. I also use an app on my phone called Flipp to get our local sale ads.

So far this year I have purchased new lunch boxes for each of the kids at Walmart for just 6.99 each and new back packs for Monkey and Bear at Walmart for 10.99 each. Thankfully Butterfly and Monster don’t need new ones.

I also purchased a lot of the essentials from Office Depot using their Back to School Deals. In this picture there are 6 pencil boxes, 6 pairs of scissors, 6 mini staplers, 4- 100 count index cards, 9- 24 count Crayola crayons, 9 sharpies, 6- 4 count papermate pens, 9- 12 count pencils, 9- 3 count erasers, 1- 10 piece math kit, 1 three hole punch/ruler, and 1 three ring binder pencil pouch. My total was $42.26 and and my savings was a grand total of $166.76! The only thing you will want to watch out for here is you are limited to 3 of each item. I took Butterfly with me and gave her cash to pay for her cart full of supplies so you will want to take an older child, your spouse, or maybe even a friends if you need more than 3 of each item.

If you have any great ideas on how to save on back to school shopping I would love to hear them!

This police life

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My whole life in one picture. Hubby is headed off to work. To protect and serve just like he does everyday. Only today… our hearts are heavy, our senses heightened, and our heads are on a constant swivel wondering if he could be the next target. I know I am not the only police wife hesitant to send her LEO to work today. I am not the only one that begged him to come home. I am not the only one who will hold their breath until I hear the door open and the velcro on his vest as proof that he is home safe.
 However, one thing I will never do it beg him to STAY home as I know without a doubt that this is his calling from God, which means police wife is one of my callings and I will wear that hat proudly everyday!  Please keep our brothers and sisters in blue in your prayers today.

Praying for Dallas Police

My heart is breaking as I watch the news about 11 officers being shot (4 having lost their lives) in Dallas tonight. Please join me in praying for our nation’s law enforcement!