My Halloween Post....FINALLY

Ah, Halloween. At time for Friends.... (My friend Marlana and her boys and us)
Prancing around in the Pumpkin Patch, Cute Cheerleaders..... (Adelaide)


And Handsome Devils..... (Hyrum.... oh I laughed so hard at this picture)

I sat in my trunk at the church for three hours (as a bee caught in a spider's nest) and handed out awesome candy bags. There were SO MANY people there!! A lot of them were EXTREMELY weird, as the trunk or treat is open to anyone and everyone. I ended up freezing and getting a really bad cold. But my car was the coolest and random people took pictures of it.
Playing inside a huge pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.


My little devil can be sweet sometimes.
And he is OBSESSED with SCARY things... just like his sister. They could have spent hours in the Halloween section at the store with me. They are totally my kids!
Peek a boo!


That is it folks. Sorry it took me so long. It is funny how I post like 10 times a day on my website socalcoupongals.com but hardly ever on here..... but I do want to let you see my cute little demon kids! So there you go.

Ahhh life

My main question is, how come I have to stand next to such a beautiful girl? Melissa and I went to Vegas in August. We had a blast and just relaxed. We joked about how pink I am vs. her yellowness. This picture shows how true that is! We chatted about life and all that goes with it. I'm soooo lucky to have such an awesome cousinfriend!! But my advice is, don't ever drive in Vegas if you don't have to! Terrifying. We almost died like a hundred times. And on the way home I sat in my car for 7 hours vs the usual 2 1/2. And a tire beat the crap out of my car when traffic FINALLY picked up. Figures.
What is this? Another cat??? What is wrong with these people? Do they have to take in every creature known to man? Well, yes. Yes we do. Actually, my neighbor came over and forced this kitty on us because she felt bad about Lola being missed. And after Lola came back, (HOORAY) we didn't have the heart to give this baby back. Adelaide and Hyrum named her Baby. She was born 6 weeks premature and barely survived. So now she's our fourth cat. No more!!
The stucco people were kind enough to leave us a huge dirt pile (sarcasm). My kids adore this, and I can't help but remember that a big dirt pile was our primary source of entertainment as kids growing up in LeMars, IA. The joy of kids and dirt! :)

Couponing Rant

Ok, so I know we all get stuck behind the lady with a million coupons at the store sometimes and can't believe our bad luck. I specifically remember thinking rude things about them. And now that I am that lady, I say, "Back Off!"

I recently found a new love.... couponing. It is my job and I save a butt load doing it. But sometimes, I get weary of people who hate on me for just trying to save some money. For instance, if you were able to get all that stuff in the above picture for free in one easy trip, you would, wouldn't you?? I did. And I had a great time doing it!

Some people just don't understand. And I"ll admit there are different types of "coupon" users. I would like to think I'm very polite and understanding about the rules (thank you medication!) but I am also often better educated on the stores coupon policy than their workers. This can be awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved.

I recently decided that I shouldn't apologize to anyone, because while I should be polite, I am not doing anything wrong. In fact, many stores make money when customers use coupons. In fact, most people behind me in line are amazed when they see how much I say. Often they are educated and leave with my website address in hand.

My advice? Invest in the paper. It only costs me $8.00 a month to get it every day. Plus they gave me a $10 gift card to Kmart when I joined. I've been paid back by uncountable amounts. And BE NICE to the poor lady (or man) in the line who is using coupons. It isn't their fault everyone else is an idiot. :)

Missing Lola

Do you ever feel just awful? Guilty like you just farted in an elevator, only worse? Right now, that is me.

You see, after being nagged to death by Cody, I agreed to put the cats out into the garage (so their mess, aka hair) would stay in there. Lola hated it. Could you blame her?
So she ran away. Or was chased away, by our dogs. And so I'm feeling like crap. I've checked all the shelters around, left fliers with them, posted fliers around the neighborhood, and went door to door with fliers asking about her.
I even check the DOA (dead on arrival) list at the shelters. Thank goodness she wasn't on it. But the not knowing is killing me. I dream about her every night. It kills me not knowing where she is or if she is okay. And I can't help feeling that she hates me now. I would. After four years of living snuggling with me, I kick her out. What a jerk.
What do you do in this situation? I still feel terrible about Frank (the gray and white and black) who died in my care... I'm still sure it was my fault somehow... I just don't know how. And now Lola, my most loyal pet, is gone. Any ideas on what I can do?

The Price of Beauty

Need I say more??

This blog's title

Yes, it is true. I adore Glenn Beck. Yes, it is true, I used to think myself a liberal. And yes, it is true that I used to be very VERY stupid.

I've been thinking about the title of my blog a lot lately in relation to our country's problems. My advice is to stand up for what you believe in. Our constitution is hanging by a thread, and it scares the crap out of me.

Cody and I practice marital bonding each night by curling up on the couch and watching Glenn Beck show us, piece by piece, how our country is falling apart. What romance, right?

A House United Will Not Fall. I used this name for my blog for a completely different reason than I think of it now. No matter if it is a relationship, a family, or a COUNTRY, the words ring true. I'm ashamed of all the years I spent hiding from controversy. I wish I had been standing for what is right. I remember not knowing how I felt about the church supporting Prop 8 and asking its members to protest. Now I am super proud of those who did, (John and Wendy!) and wish that I could have been part of it. There is something liberating about knowing and standing up for what is right. And, like Glenn Beck says, "The truth shall set you free. It's going to make you miserable, but it will set you free."

If you weren't a democrat when you were young, you didn't have a heart. If you aren't a republican when you've grown, you don't have a brain.
Done.... for now.

Vacation and a new addition

Here we are at Kennecott Copper Mine. It was pretty fun actually.
Uh... big tire. Those are the actual size of the tires on the machines that move all the dirt.
Us at the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi, Ut. Pretty neat.
The kids in the dinosaur hole.
Hyrum with grandpa and Willy. So sweet.
He's on a horse. I love that Old Spice commercial, don't you?
We went to the petting zoo at Gardiner Village in Midvale. The kids had so much fun!
Here is a picture of Hobbes, our newest addition. Did we need another cat? No. But look how sweet! Hyrum walks around saying, "I love Hobbes so so much!" My only complaint is he is not litterbox trained, and thus makes me clean up after him on a daily basis. Any suggestions?

My other new addition is my soon to be website socalcoupongals.wordpress.com We are getting rid of the .com soon! Yay! I can honestly say I am super excited having something else to keep me busy and happy. I love shopping and I love saving money. Put the two together and you've got our website! I posted this picture on the socal website but here it is again for you slackers who don't check it.

All of this in one hour, two stores (target and walgreens) and all for under ten bucks. Over 300 dollars worth of stuff! So come check out socalcoupongals.wordpress.com and see how easy and fun it is!

My new obession!

Yes, I know how totally Mormony it sounds, but I am sooo into coupons! I recently went to a relief society night in which they had a couponing class. I took my awesome friend Marlana and we got super into it. So we started a new blog socalcoupongals.wordpress.com that features all the awesome deals you can get. Check it out! And let me know if you are interested in learning more or what awesome deals you get!

Update from a lazy blogger

Well between the ear infections (mine, not the kids!) and Easter and Mother's day and every little thing in between I've been a slack blogger. So here are a few pictures to keep you updated.


Here is Hyrum after helping me dye Easter eggs. He had so much fun. I am so glad I've got kids to have fun Holidays with! For some reason when you get older people think we shouldn't party like we did when we were ten. Not I! So thanks kids for giving me an excuse!

The kids and their Easter baskets. Once again, I swear it was so much fun for me to see how much fun they had!
Hyrum loves sunglasses, so he got some in his basket.
Adelaide lookin too cool.

Hyrum turned three on April 17th! I can hardly believe it! Like a bad mother I don't have pictures of him with his cake. His uncle Nolan took some fine pictures of Hyrum being a typical stubborn boy, refusing to blow out his candle. He refused and finally I did it for him, resulting in a meltdown. He's lucky it was his birthday, or that boy would have got a sore butt as a present. Other than that snafu, he had a great time.

The kids had a great May day. First they got to go to their cousin Natalie's Princess Party, then they had more fun at Aunt Marlana's Kentucky Derby Party. Our horse lost, but it was so much fun for all of us. Marlana and I made our own hats, and have determined that shall be our new tradition.

Me posing with my acne, Adelaide with her peaches and cream complexion. Ahhhh jealousy! Cody grew out his hair and beard then took pictures as he trimmed down. Which is your favorite?


Thankfully he got a calling in the Sunday School Presidency, so he looks nice and groomed now. :)
Last but not least, Mother's Day. I told Cody he didn't have to buy me anything but he needed to help out more than normal. I should have been more specific. But anyway, we got a huge chocolate bar in Sacrament meeting and I was in it before I got home. Yum.
Me and my little ones.

A big shout out to John and Wendy for their big move to Ohio and to Mark and Britta for baby Geni!

Apple Valley....we've arrived.

Well we've arrived in Apple Valley! We set up a tramp in the living room to keep the kids from killing themselves while we deal with the millions of projects to be done here. There is enough work to last a lifetime! And to top it off, after being here only two weeks I got called to be in the primary presidency. So I've got plenty to keep me occupied, and haven't found the time to be too lonely. Cody decided to adopt two dogs one day, and hence, I've also had two crazy dogs to add to my list. The brown one is a Belgian shepherd named Shelia, and the black is a bull mastif/labrador mix named Sammie. They are constantly digging out of the yard and running rampant. That is our next thing to work on.

Here is our little home. It looks better from far away. :) The outside is falling apart, but what with Cody and my work, the inside is looking really lovely. I'm super excited for any visitors that want to come. We've got a lot more work to do, but mostly on the exterior of the house. I built a firepit in the backyard and have had lots of fun being a pyro. Hopefully I will have more pictures up soon. Until then, feel free to send me love in the mail!

Update

For Thanksgiving the kids and I went to California and spent some time with the Andreasens. Cody and I went to see a movie to come back to all the kids having conked out.

Adelaide had her 1st birthday. It was a Princess and the Frog theme as a shout out to John. Her cake was super cute.
Here she is being a typical Ballard diet coke fiend.

I was lazy this year and didn't send out Christmas cards... But here is our typically Raggdy Ann Christmas picture.
The tradition lived on with the cute pjs the "reindeer" left for Hyrum and Adelaide.
Stockings
Presents
Aftermath
The day after Christmas, Cody and I got remarried. No big affair, just Uncle Paul and Mom and Daniel. Very very low key. Somebody took this horrible picture of the occasion. Just be happy I'm posting it... It was a long day and I can see my food belly. Yikes... it is worse than I thought.
The following day we took a train ride downtown, which I thought the kids would love. Turns out they liked the first ride, and weren't so happy on the way home (aka naptime).

Well one can only hope it won't take me months to post again. However, I'm moving at the end of the month into a ghetto house, so it is a real possibility it will be awhile. But I'm also posting my new address for you all.
Laura Andreasen
20692 Nisqually Rd.
Apple Valley, CA 92307