The Family That Paintball's Together...

We've all heard the saying, "The family that plays together, stays together". This also applies to the game of Paintball. While I'm not one for the actual sport of Paintball, I have heard quite a few stories about the games my son and husband have played against others in their group. Here's a shot of my son and husband after a game. I bet you couldn't tell that huh?











Some of the group have included cousins, uncles, and brothers in which they have a great time shooting at each other. Here's a picture of one of the cousin's.











When the "group" gets together, it is usually up in a wooded area. Easier to hide I'm guessing. So here's a picture of a beautiful wooded area in northern Arizona. I would go just to take in the beauty of the forest, but a Paintball game is usually when the guys get together.





It's a wonderful time for family to get together doing an activity that they enjoy. Next time they go, I'm supposed to be taking the pictures. I hope there will be a tree or two wide enough to hide behind so I won't get hit!

October Conference

For the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, is is about listening to the LDS General Conference in which we get to be inspired, uplifted, and most of all learn as the General Authorities of our church speak to us about important topics. This conference is held in Salt Lake City, Utah in which anyone can watch this via the BYU Channel on television or the internet, or one of the local channels of your television anywhere in the world. This is the activity in which I will be choosing this weekend.

Frugality At The Mall-With A Toddler!

You would think that going to a mall would be expense. Well, it can be if you're going to do some shopping on your own and without anyone else. Think toddler!

At my mall, I have found ways to make the mall experience inexpensive and still have a good time while doing so with a toddler in tow. If you have a small child here are some ideas for you and your little one to do at the mall that won't cost you a dime!

Inside the mall there is a play area where kids (usually of the smaller type) can play on various objects such as animals, slides, blocks, etc. While watching the children play and getting their energy out of their little systems, the parents can sit back and relax. It also is helpful to go there with the idea of "wearing them out" just before nap time.

You can taste a sample of a restaurant's food in the food court. They are usually standing by their restaurant enticing people to eat at their restaurant with their tidbits of food. Just go around to each of the restaurants you like, graciously accept the samples and fill up! Never having to buy anything if you don't want.

Then it's off to dessert time. Inside a See's Candy shop, they always have a free sample of mouth-watering chocolates to choose from. Just ask them for a sample. I am usually satisfied with this small bit of chocolate-free, although the aroma makes me want more. Children always want candy too. It's a win-win situation.

And lastly, usually at night, there is a band, a clown presentation, a school group, etc. playing in the courtyard outside that you can listen to for free. Though after the play area, we don't make it to the evening presentations. The toddler I'm with is ready for nap... And so am I!

Photos: http://seescandies.com/

Wait, How Much?

There are things that can be done to entertain the little ones. Some can be activities that don't cost anything to activities and events that can be costly. Such is the last statement this weekend. While it didn't hardly cost much to get in, I would say it was made up around lunch time. There was a kids fair in which my daughter and I took my grandson Jameson to. We arrived right at the opening of the doors to the coliseum.

There were vendors selling their wares at booths and booths to promote the good of the community such as child protection. Jameson spotted a booth that he wanted to check out. Here he is inside jumping around with other kids until we decided that kids would enevitably get hurt 'cause there were too many of them at one time. That's him in the plaid shorts.

While there were many, many booths to see, way at the back of the coliseum were carnival rides. Jameson spotted a ride that he really wanted to go on. The Airplanes. So I stood in line to purchase additional tickets for that one plus I got more for any other he spotted. He was so proud of himself "flying" that big ole' plane!

I had only enough tickets for 1 more ride for him to go on, by himself, 'cause that would've cost more, believe me! So we waited and waited in that line what seemed like an hour, until it was time for Jameson to ride the swings. He was so cute on them wasn't he?

After lunch (I guess you could call it that) consisting of a hot dog each,which was outrageously priced, and a small drink each, I figured out that I just spent equivalent to the price of admission just for lunch. No frugality here. I had forgotten how ridiculously overpriced food was at public places. Yikes! Next time, we'll sneak in our own lunch and drinks.

After a few hours and a much needed nap, we finally were heading towards the exit when Jameson discovered Cookie Monster. Now who could resist a cute picture with a Sesame Street character to tease him with when he's 16? I had to get it. So darn cute I tell you!

After trekking our way back to our car with a few weary family members, no longer had we been out of the parking lot and we looked back in his car seat and he was out! Out as in asleep! Fighting the crowds, a 2 1/2 year old, and let's just say lack of decent food, I was ready to be knocked out as well. Even though I had spent more than I had anticipated, it made up for it 'cause I think that Jameson had more fun that his Mom and I put together. Way more!!

3 Ways to Use Apples

We've all heard how an "apple a day keeps the doctor away", well, with the arrival of apple season, it's hard to stick to the one-a-day rule. Having had my apple cravings this month, here are three ways I've come across to use apples.

Use in Food:

Apple pie comes to mind. Need I say more?

Also Caramel Apples are a favorite this time of year. These are one of my favorites. Yum!!

Use in Activities:

Bobbing for apples can be a fun activity especially around Halloween. Take a bunch of apples and place in a container full of water. Without using your hands try and get an apple out of the container. This is a fun activity!

Have a Johnny Appleseed Birthday Party (born 9/26/1774) with apple snacks, such as applesauce, apple slices, dried apple rings, apple cookies, apple cake, apple pie, apple juice. Consider going to an orchard and picking your own apples then making your own treats. Plant some apple seeds and observe.

Make applesauce with the kids. Children can use plastic knives to chop up the apples. They will love this.

Make prints, cards or wrapping paper. Turn apples into decorative stamps by slicing the fruit horizontally, exposing the inside star shape. Or create more elaborate designs -- hearts, moons, Hitchcock's profile -- with a small knife. Then stick a fork in the rounded side of the fruit, dip it in paint and press the stamp on paper. Sounds fun!

Use in Beauty:

Whip up a facial mask. Treat your skin to an apple mask.

Combine one grated apple with honey, smooth the mixture on your face, then rinse it off after 10 minutes. For a pastier consistency, add some uncooked oatmeal.

Photos: courtesy by cardcow.com and kaboose.com

Autumn Handprint Wreath

I was looking for an activity to do with my grandson to keep him entertained this weekend and came across this one by DLTK.com. I think I may have found the perfect age appropriate activity. It's one that is sure to be a hit.


Materials needed:

• glue
  
• scissors
  
• yellow, orange, and red construction paper.
  

Directions:

There are two ways to do this craft.

1. Ttrace the child's hand onto paper and cut out the prints


OR



2. Make paint handprints on the paper and cut those out.
   
   

Make nine handprints (3 of each color). Cut out the prints and glue to form a wreath.

You can decorate the wreath further with pictures (like leaves, pumpkins or corn, or candy corn). Some of these decorations can be stickers, hand drawn artwork by the children, pictures from coloring books or magazines.

5 Things To Do With A Library Card-Check It Out

Celebrate September by signing up for a free library card. September is National Library Card Sign Up Month. What better way to celebrate libraries than to do just that? There are many things you can do with your own library card. Take a look below.

Check out books:

This month has been an interesting one with the hurricanes and the presidential campaigning underway. If this is what you want to learn about, look for books about weather or hurricanes. If you want to learn about Government at the local and national levels, why not check out a book about just that. There are so many books to read and just as many subjects to learn about. If you're anything like me, I could spend hours in a library just wandering through the vast aisles of information.

Activities:

A public library has activities for the very young up to the elderly alike. Some of the these activities include baby storytimes, toddler and school-aged programs. There are game nights, crafts that you can do with your children or for yourself, films to watch, and musical performance groups to listen to. Check with your local library to view their activities for the month.

Computer Access:

Having access to a computer can be valuable if you don't have one at home. Children can do their homework at the library and if they need to look for reference books, etc., they can do so right there without having to drive back to the library. Adults too can have access to a computer at the library.

Movies & DVD's:

Have you every watched a movie or DVD from your local library? You can while saving money at the same time. It doesn't cost anything to check out any movies or DVD's. They usually have quite a selection to choose from. Think of all the money you saved instead of renting them from a nationally recognized store.

Workshops & Lectures:

Learning something new is always a good thing, even presented at the library. There are local and sometimes even national speakers that you can listen to for free. These classes are educational and informative as well. There are book discussion groups and also, book authors sometimes have book signings at the library.

So take the time this month to sign up for your library card if you havent' done so. Take advantage of this wonderful service that is provided to you. You never know what you might read, watch, have fun doing, or listen to. You might even learn something. Check it out!

Saturday Night At the Park

Having spent the day with my grandson and my daughter, doing the usual thing when she comes over like going to the mall, it was kind of nice to just go to the neighborhood school playground near the end of the day. The mall is starting to get a little boring every weekend, although my grandson likes to play in the play area. We arrived at the playground just before dark so as to not be too warm outside. I just couldn't resist some cute pictures of him playing. Above is a picture of him and my daughter swinging.





This picture shows a true kid at heart. Can you tell which one? My husband and grandson were going to go down a big slide before this one was taken.





My grandson thinks he is just as big and wanted to go down the big slide by himself. I thought that this picture was the cutest!



It is always fun going to the local playground and watch my grandson play and have fun. I can think of no other activity that is both cheap and entertaining and that he likes to do.

Boyce Thompson State Park

While looking at pictures this morning, I had forgotten about this little spur-of-the-moment activity my husband and I did. About three years ago this week, we took our son up to his first year of college at Eastern Arizona College. My time flies! Anyway, on the way back down to the valley, my husband had this hair-brained idea to suddenly stop off at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park which is located near the historic copper mining town of Superior, roughly about 55 miles east of Phoenix. I wasn't happy about going there after helping move my son into his dorm(I was tired)and mainly 'cause it was really hot and humid out. Oh well, he won out. While we've never been there it actually was a nice experience to take our own personal tour without tour guides despite almost dying of thirst and killing over! The area was peaceful and quiet with beautiful plants, flowers and trees. So here's some pictures that we took while we were there.

Above is a picture of me on a bridge crossing a dry creek (how I wish there was water in it, I would have jumped in). Above on my main page there is a picture of some of the trees in the Arboretum. They were absolutely beautiful! To the right is a picture of my husband in the Cactus Garden. With a living collection of over 800 kinds of cacti, the Arboretum has become a center for the study of this family of desert plants. Most of the 800 species are displayed in the Cactus Garden. No, we didn't tour all of the 800 species thank goodness. Cacti are inseparably linked with the Sonoran Desert landscape; their many sizes and bizarre shapes may go far beyond our mental image of a typical cactus. There are skyscraper saguaros; paddle-shaped prickly pears; twisted, tree-like chollas; diminutive pincushions; globular barrels; and squat, branched hedgehogs. The Boyce Thompson hedgehog cactus was first identified at the Arboretum.

Now that I look back on these pictures, I'm glad that we did go to the Arboretum because in reality, we probably wouldn't have come here otherwise. If you want more information on this beautiful state park click here: arboretum.ag.arizona.edu

Mama Mia!

I normally don't like to go to the movies because of crowds, or the movies out lately have unsuitable content, but when I went to see "Mama Mia" with my cousin Sharon last Friday, I had a blast! Not only did we surpass the long lines by using the "ATM" of movie tickets, but the movie was actually fun! As for Pierce Brosnan singing? He can't but I'll give him an A- for trying. Yes, it did have a couple of suggestive comments/scenes, (which they could have left out) but all in all we were laughing a lot and I know I was singing to the tunes of ABBA in my head the whole time. Ahh, it brings back memories...Anyway, where was I? I would recommend this movie especially for the crowd who delights in the songs of ABBA, or for a quick back in time to the 70's. It truly was a hilarious and fun movie! Don't forget to stay through the credits or you'll miss more songs and action-packed fun!

So I didn't post anything yesterday 'cause my grandson and daughter came over early Saturday morning. My grandson, Jameson, ended up staying overnite, which means I didn't get much done. He's 2 1/2 years old, full of fun, mischief and wonder. So I'm making up for it tonight by posting at least something. We went to a multi-level indoor playground on Saturday called Makutu's Island for something fun to do. When living in Arizona in the summertime, all the activities should be indoors. I have to say that the place was very crowded, loud, and tons of kids running around. We were mostly running after my grandson Jameson so he wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He had fun, I had a headache! After spending about 2 hours there, we went to lunch and then headed home. Because he didn't have a nap, he fell asleep in the car. The rest of the day was devoted to Jameson. Water activities in the backyard and watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog's Really Big Movie" and "Peter Pan" for the 3,000th time (although "Chicken Little" peaked his interest for 1/2 of the movie). He finally went to bed or I should say I put him to bed (he still wanted to do the "Panda Dance" to "Kung Fu Panda") at 10:00 p.m. I was wiped out to say the least but knowing he had a fun day at Grandma's means all the world to me.

Summer Water Fun!!

There are some summer activities that can be as memorable for children as well as for the adults. Take for instance water activities. Give a child a garden hose and a bucket and they're set for some outdoor fun. Throw in some fun, colorful floating toys to enhance the activity. Please remember that toys in the water or pool will draw the attention of small children. Always bring in the toys when done playing so that children will not be enticed to reach for them when you're not there to watch them. Then there is the good ole' sandbox. Kids will have fun digging in the sand and making sand castles out of different shaped buckets. Make it fun for children to enjoy their summer and you will also have fun with them creating memories to last a lifetime.

Cupcakes & Sprinkles

Happy 4th of July everyone! Well, today was a good day. I had fun with my grandson. I made these cupcakes and he put the sprinkles on top. He was delighted and was so proud of himself. I just made it from a cake mix and plain vanilla frosting in a can. A fun and simple recipe that everyone loved! This picture says it all.

Ten Excuses To Not ...

Listed below are some of the excuses I've found to not (drumroll please)... exercise.


1. I'm too tired


2. It's too hot outside


3. I'm too sore from the last time I exercised


4. Don't want to use any more gasoline to get there


5. I have "better" things to do today


6. Too crowded in the gym


7. Clothes not in fashion


8. Not coordinated enough


9. Did that class already this week


10. Rather watch t.v.


We all have excuses why we don't want to exercise. Even Oprah says she hates to exercise, but if you just DO IT, you will feel much better afterwards. What is your excuse?

The Summer Calm Before the Storm

It all started with "Mom, what are you doing tomorrow?". I replied "well, not much, just the usual Saturday stuff". When she asks that question, I know that's my que for me to bolt down the house 'cause my 2 year old grandson will be coming over. Although he is as adorable as can be, he also can be quite a handful! So I proceed to take a deep breath and relax before my daughter and her son arrive. I have approximately 1 hour to do so as they live 1 hour away. The house is picked up and in order like a "calm before the storm". After they finally arrive, I do my usual grandmotherly stuff like hug him, kiss him, give more hugs and kisses, kiss, kiss, and kiss him some more. After our greetings, things start to unravel. DVD's are strewn about waiting to be watched, toys from the toy box seem to somehow crawl out and make their way around the room, and the cat, well, she nervously watches the whole thing from a distance. Then there are the computer programs that he likes to watch and interact with. After the boredom of all the visual viewing he does tends to wear down, there is also activities to be done outside on the backyard porch. These include water play with the hose, sliding down a slide, and a sandbox to build castles in. Then there are fun snacks to eat: Popsicles, summer fruits, and PB & J's. A game I came up with today is called "Fruit Punch". As crazy as this sounds, is has nothing to with a drink. I told my grandson to roll a ball on the floor to me and said to "punch the ball, like fruit punch". He could relate well to that type of drink. Well, he now thinks that is the most funnest game to play on the floor with a ball. It's one game he'll remember, the name that is. After spending all day with my grandson and his mom, it's sure a relief to hear my daughter announce that it's "time to go home now". Although I love having him over, the tornadic trail left behind means little in comparison to the love I have for that little boy.

Yoga Does a Body Good

Have you ever wondered why the commercials say that milk "does a body good"? While that may be the case nutritionally, our bodies also need to exercise and stretch. One way to do this is by taking a Yoga class. Yoga can strengthen our tight muscles making us feel good again and less sore. I've been taking a Yoga class for about 1 1/2 months now at a local gym and I can honestly say that each and every time I go, my back and sore muscles thank me for it. Today I went to class after 1 week off. I can tell you that I really needed to go because I was getting pains where there shouldn't be pains in my back and hips. After class I felt energized and relaxed. I try to go to class 2-3 times per week. One way to keep on track is to schedule this time on my calendar. That way it's written down so that I know it's one of the things I need to do for that day. Just like having a serving of milk daily, Yoga can also "do a body good".