canyoneering

Have you ever heard of this? I really want to do it. It combines rock climbing, rappelling and squeezing in between canyon walls in those beautiful red rock canyons of Utah. Check out Sunset magazine's January issue, the article is called "On the Rocks". Who's with me?

excursionsofescalante.com

i (heart) CVS

Do me a favor. Read this post , then head directly to your local CVS and get yourself an Extra Care card. Do it. I'm a recent fan of CVSing, otherwise known as "getting stuff for free". Here's the deal:

1. Go to CVS and sign up for an Extra Care card. It's their store card, you can even put the tiny one on your key ring.

2. Check out the Sunday ad in your paper and look for items that are on sale and will earn "extra bucks".

3. Clip the corresponding coupons from your Sunday paper.

4. Prepare to get stuff for free.

Last week I did this. I scanned the CVS ad and looked for items that we use in our household (shampoo, lotion, laundry detergent, light bulbs, etc.). I bought things that we would need eventually and have room to store. Last week I spent about $33 and came home with $10 extra bucks. Extra bucks are printed out at the end of your receipt and you can use them like cash on your next purchase.

Tonight I went to CVS with my list, coupons and last week's extra bucks. My total before coupons and bucks was $31.92. I paid $2.28 and earned $8 extra bucks for next week. Seriously.

One awesome thing they are doing this week is a promotion on green bag tags or reuseable bags. You can buy 2 bags or tags for your own bags at 99 cents a piece. Then, next time you come in the store, scan them. Every 4th scan earns you an extra buck. This is awesome. Most stores credit you with only 5 cents per bag that you bring in. Also, you can transfer your prescriptions over and earn extra bucks on them.

I don't mean to be a product pusher, but honestly, who doesn't need to save money right now?

I'm a little addicted, it's like a game to me. If you have questions or want to see my receipts I'd be happy to help you get started. Or, go to my favorite site for deals: www.moneysavingmom.com and check out her sidebar post on how to get started at CVS.

I promise to put up cute pictures of the kids soon... this commercial is now over :)

christmas activities

December has been very busy around our house! I took Jason and Cameron to see The Nutcracker and the kids both loved it. For the next few days there was a lot of ballet from Miss Cameroo (and of course many Madagascar moves too).

We also got our tree. We treked deep into the forest of the Walmart parking lot to get just the right one. The kids love to help with the bungee cords and sawing the stump but the enthusiasm fades as the afternoon goes on. I usually find myself decorating alone toward the end of the process :)

hayden's 1st birthday

It's hard to believe it, but one year ago today this little girl entered the world. She came at three o'clock in the morning and has been a night owl ever since. It's a good thing that she's so sweet, it makes all the long nights worthwhile. We had a little party for her tonight with all the grandparents.

Hayden had a lot of help opening her presents from big brother and sister. She got right to work, playing with everything (except for the toy I bought her, I forgot to get batteries, so it's a dud until we get four Ds in the busy ball popper).
I made red velvet cupcakes for the little birthday girl. At first she didn't know what to do with her cupcake, so she smeared the frosting all over her tray. After a few tastes of frosting off my finger she got busy eating the cupcake.

Of course, it wouldn't be much of a party with out a swordfight between the grandparents. Here, Nanny and Pops battle it out on the Wii (Nanny won... don't mess with Nanny!)

the most patient dad in the world

I don't think that's an exaggeration. Check out these pictures and see if you could handle putting up Christmas lights with two little helpers at your feet. Sorry, I forgot how to rotate my pictures!

thanksgiving

I just thought I'd put up a cute picture of the kiddos in their Thanksgiving clothes... Hayden's dress was so cute and nearly impossible for her to crawl in!

we're back!

Wow, I missed the whole month of November. If anyone's still checking in here, I offer you my deepest apologies! I blame Facebook for my absence. I got sidetracked for awhile but be assured that I'm reinvigorated and ready to blog. I give a few updates of what has happened in the Rusco House.

Halloween: For months Jason has been saying that he wants to be a Lego guy for Halloween and for months I just kept saying "uh-huh" and hoping that he would drop that idea. I guess he's too old for that sort of short-term memory now so I found myself on Halloween morning constructing a Lego head. I made it up on the fly with poster board, fabric, felt, duct tape and lots of glue. The miracle was that the head made it through the Harvest party with no problems (of course, it's the kind of thing that a kid wears for the pictures then rips it off to play games and jump in the bounce house.

Fall projects: We finally have some decent fall weather. The kids are playing outside all afternoon, every day and they've met some really great kids across the street. We went for a nature walk one afternoon, collected leaves and then brought them home for leaf prints.

I promise I'll be back with more updates, including a look at some Jedi moves and a nice Thanksgiving picture.