Introducing...

PAISLEY ELLE MITTON!
Born: April 28, 2010 at 4:21 PM.
6 lbs 7 oz
18 inches long


(more pictures forthcoming)

Warm Weather and "Green-nics"

Is anyone else here in the Utah Valley loving this amazing weather? We sure are... we've been BBQ-ing and going to the park and pretty much just playing outside whenever we get the chance! I can't wait for summer to finally be here. And neither can Sawyer!
I need to be better at documenting all of the funny things that he does and the good times that we have. I am lousy and blogging and lousy at keeping a journal. But today I am going to share a few of the things that he loves, and hopefully that will be good enough until I can come up with some sort of system.
Today after church we decided that we should have a picnic in our backyard. The weather was great and we thought it would be fun to just be together as a family. So we asked Sawyer if he wanted to have dinner outside and have a pic-nic. Since we haven't had a pic-nic since last year, Sawyer has no idea what a pic-nic is and so he thought we had said a "pink-nic". He looked at us for a second and then informed us that he didn't want to have a pink one, he wanted to have a "green-nic". It was so funny! We tried to explain that is was a pic-nic and not a pink-nic but he was insistent on having a "green-nic" so we had one. Although when we threw down our big red quilt to eat on he told us we were having a "red-nic". I love how this made so much sense to him, and he was so sure what he was talking about! I'm sure that we will now have a summer full of "green-nics".
With only a couple of weeks until the baby gets here, I'm realizing that I'm running out of time with just my little boy. This makes me a little sad but he's going to be a great big brother- and we're going to have so many fun times with another little person! At 2 1/2 years old... here is Sawyer in a nutshell:
Favorite food: Pizza and lasagna.
Favorite movie: Toy story and Toy story 2.
Favorite color: green.
Favorite song: Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam, Moon Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the ABC's.
Favorite things to do with Dad: watch BYU sports, take showers, sing cowboy songs, shoot hoops, wrestle, hide, jump on the bed, and cuddle on the couch.
Favorite things to do with Mom: cook, help "fold" laundry, read books, and play time-tunnel under her legs.
He loves talking to grandma's and grandpa's, and aunts and uncles on the phone, playing with other little kids, going to nursery, and take car rides. He loves being outside and he loves all animals.
He loves to help do the dishes and put the soap in the dishwasher, and he loves to help vacuum.
He learns so fast and is always excited to try new things. At the park his favorite thing to do is swing. He would be happy to swing for an hour straight and not do anything else.
He is just starting to be more picky about what he wears. He likes to pick out his own pajamas and his own socks. He always wants to brush his teeth by himself.
He is definitely getting more independent. He wants to do everything by himself, from climbing in and out of the car, to buckling his car seat, to closing doors. He gets very upset if you try to do anything for him.
He is such a great kid- and we love him so much! We are so lucky to have him as part of our family. I'm anxious to see how he adapts to a sibling. I think he'll do great! He is so easy-going and brings so much happiness to our home. What else can I say but WE LOVE HIM!!

I swore I would never do this...

If you know me really well then you know that my new big thing in couponing. I have really gotten into it! And I swore to myself that I was never going to dedicate a blog post to the deals I'm getting. But today as I was dancing out of the store (that's right... dancing!) I knew I had to blog about this trip. I have to tell SOMEONE about the awesome deals I'm getting- and Eric just doesn't quite get into it like I do. So I'm going to tell whoever is reading this right now.

It's taken me some time to see results, but I am definitely seeing them. And I'm not like some couponers out there who buy something just because it is a good deal. I don't buy something unless it's something that I will ACTUALLY use. I guess I figure that if you buy something you don't normally use, chances are you're going to end up not using it- and even if it was a really really good deal- it's still a waste of money. But maybe that's just me. Eric always says that his grandpa used to say something along the lines of "If you don't NEED it, it's a waste of money- no matter how good of a deal it was." So I ONLY buy things that we use. And with couponing I buy ALOT of it now, so I guess you could argue that it's a waste to buy 5 boxes of crackers when you only go through 1 box of crackers a month, but this way I buy 5 boxes of crackers for pennies and then when I would normally have to go back to the store to buy another box for regular price- I just skip down to my storage room and pull out another box-- I'm mean, it's not like their going to go bad (unless a mouse gets into them or something)! I get things like pasta sauces, pastas, canned goods, jarred goods, dishwasher and laundry detergents, etc- and none of those things are going to go bad before I can use them. By the way, my food storage is AWESOME for a little family of 4! So this is my justification: if I can buy 4 times as much stuff for the same exact price- I'm going to do it!

So today I was able to get some AWESOME deals. Smith's has some major sales going on. So here's what I got



Total at checkout: $67.35
Total I paid: $17.44

I saved $49.91 on groceries today (which, by the way, is a 75% savings!) So how did I do it? By combining coupons with sales. Let's break it down! (oh my gosh I am so nerdy!)

Here is a list of everything I bought and what I paid for it:
* 4 boxes of saltine crackers: .69 cents a box!
* 4 bags of Quakes rice snacks: FREE- I paid nothing for these!
* 4 tubs of "I can't believe it's not butter"- .49 cents a tub!
* 5 boxes of Krusteaz cookie mixes: .49 cents a box!
* 3 pkgs of Solo plastic cups (which will be great for our baby blessing coming up
this summer): .49 cents a pkg!
* 2 Edge shaving creams: $1.25 each!
* Eggs (18 count): $1.89
* Milk: $2.00
* Bananas (not pictured): $1.50
* Tic-tacs: (which were for Sawyer for being such a "good boy while shopping"): .79
cents. (not exactly a great deal but worth it!)

Throw in some tax and I paid $17.44! An average of .67 cents per item! Isn't that CRAZY!!! I love it. Like I said I was dancing out of the store! They were even out of a few items that I need to go back for on Friday (stocking day) that will bring my average even lower!

Now not every shopping trip is like this. But I have noticed enough of a difference that I am going to keep on doing it. Maybe I'll keep doing little updates like this- just so you can see how great it really is- even though I swore I wouldn't. It makes me happy!

Catching Up

After a few months of silence I guess it's time to do a quick update. Here is what's going on with us...

* Lindsay is now working in the billing department at Alpine Pediatrics and loving it. (same company, new department).

* Eric just finished his first semester of his master's program and his grades are amazing!

* Sawyer celebrated his 2nd birthday last week! It was so much fun to watch how excited he was! We took him to Cabella's to see the "animals" (the fish are his favorite), and we had a birthday dinner/party with some family and close friends. We ate tacos-- which are Sawyer's favorite right now, and had cake with the greenest frosting you have ever seen!

* Our "bun in the oven" now has 4 outfits to call all her own. That's right.... IT'S A GIRL!!! Due May 2nd, 2009.

* Christmas is in full swing at our house. We got a Christmas tree for the first time in 3 years, put up our Christmas lights, got all the shopping done and the presents wrapped, and made our annual trip to SLC to see the lights at Temple Square.


I guess that's pretty much it. Incredibly lame I know, but none the less, it's there!
Here are a few pictures just because.


Happy birthday to my little bug.


Helping dad water the Christmas tree!


The beautiful lights at Temple Square!


Another one from Temple Square (sorry it didn't turn out very good)


Another one of Sawyer just because he is so stinkin cute!

Ready or not here we go.....again.

For all those of you who think this is a pregnancy announcement, well....you're right! Eric and I are expanding our little family of 3 to 4. Baby Mitton #2 is due the first week in May and we are so excited!!! It has been so long since I've posted anything and I'm going to blame it all on morning sickness (which is actually worse in the evenings, but whatever). If you have any foolproof remedies let me know. I wasn't sick with Sawyer so this is all new to me, and it is not fun at all! So here's to the next 7 1/2 months of heartburn, indigestion, swollen feet, back aches, nausea, throwing up, going to the bathroom every 10 minutes, sleepless nights, wierd cravings, crying for no reason, and hormones way out of wack....but in the end it's all worth it for that little piece of heaven! Wish us luck.

Bitter-sweet Moments

You know.... those times when something great happens but there are some not so great things that go along with it. I know that everyone has had these moments. Graduating from high school, getting married, pretty much any life-changing event has it's ups and downs. For us, here are just a few.

About a week ago we found a new apartment and decided for sure that we are going to move. We love the new place, love the area, love that we won't have to commute to work anymore, and just LOVE it! So what's wrong with this picture. Well for one, we are going to have to leave our little apartment that we have been in for the past 4 years. And you would think that after 4 years in a small 2 bedroom apartment we would be ready for an upgrade, but we've still loved this place too. We've had great neighbors, an awesome ward, and granted we do live in the "ghetto" of Provo, but the ghetto's been good to us. This place had seen us through Christmas's, birthdays, births, new furniture, new cars, lots of fun home decor, and a ton of other things that aren't so physical. So many good times were had, freinds were made, and memories were created. So yes, we are so excited about a change, but we are also sad to leave a part of the past 4 years behind us.

I was also released from Young Women's yesterday. I have been working with these girls for almost 3 years now. And when I first found out that I was going to be released, it was like a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. No more mutual activities every week, no more stressing if I offended this girl or that, no more having to deal with young hormonal/attitudal teenagers. But I love them. I love laughing with them, crying with them, seeing them show up every week to be with us. I love that their testimonies have grown so immensely that they aren't even the same girls they were a year ago. And I think my favorite thing is watching as they finally grasp a concept that they didn't get before. It's like a light turns on and they think "Oh wow, I get it now!" I am going to miss that. And I am especially going to miss the other women who I've served with. They are truly amazing!

We are going to miss our whole ward in general. There aren't many families that have been there longer than us, and being here has been a great experience. I hope I can always remember the feel of the Freedom 2nd ward. You know, its easy to have faith and realize your material blessings when you are well off (not that being financially well off doesn't have it's hardships), but since we have been here I have seen people who have no material blessings. They have nothing. They cut their own hair, wear donated clothes, and have stop by the food bank to feed their families. I've seen so many single mothers, struggling to get by and not complaining about it. But they still come to church every week, and they still are so sincerely grateful for everything that they have. They are the examples for me. And to be honest, I'm a little bit scared to leave this place and go somewhere more financially stable. I'm scared that I will forget to always be grateful for the blessings that I have, even if they aren't the blessings I WANT. This ward has provided us the opportunity to serve in ways that we never thought we would. And we've been blessed for it. I'm a little bit nervous to give that up. But I am excited to see where I'm needed next...it'll be an adventure I'm sure!

I guess every good thing has to have it's opposite. And when we make decisions, we have to take the bad as well as the good. And just maybe, if the bad wasn't there, the good wouldn't seem so good. So I'm going to try and take the "bitter" part of the sweet moments and be grateful for it, because I think THAT is what makes it so sweet.

Anyone need a photographer?

In case anyone is wondering, the pictures of Sawyer that are on my header were done by my amazing friend, Marci. She did such a good job...especially considering what she had to work with! If anyone is interested in getting some done, her prices are amazing and (as you can tell) she does an AWESOME job!
For more information check out her web site.....you'll be amazed! (And yes, I did just use the word amazing/amazed 3 times in one tiny paragraph-- there's just no other word!)

www.jesseephotography.com

(I'd post a link, but I'm not that smart!)