Elf on the Shelf day 2

Sitting in a vase:

The Elf on the Shelf is back!!!!

This is our third year doing the Elf on the Shelf. I love it and the kids do too! Thanks to Pinterest I also get some creative ideas.

Our Elf will be surprising the girls on Black Friday to kick off the Christmas season! He also brought them a note reminding them to do good things for others. I hope they are excited!

10 FREE cards from Tiny Prints!

Tiny Prints is giving away 10 FREE holiday cards!  What a perfect way to kick off the Holiday Season! Beginning right now through next Tuesday 11/13 at 11:59pm PT, anyone, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, even Yankees fans, can get 10 Free Holiday cards from Tiny Prints. Below are all the details.This offer starts today and ends next Tuesday, November 13.  Just use the code HOLIDAYCHEER to get this awesome deal!

Here are just a few cards I am in love with this year:

Wishing Whimsy  

 Festive Delivery

Oh What Fun

This offer is only good on flat cards only.  Additional charges will apply if you add rounded corners, etc.  Happy Shopping and share if you end up ordering and show us what you got!

Carving our Pumpkins!

Well I totally slacked on Halloween this year. I have no idea where my decorations are and we skipped the pumpkin patch this year. I normally am all about pumpkin carving and I buy a fancy kit and do some intricate design.  This year we used a basic knife and a basic design.  We did manage to carve our pumpkins tonight and they turned out great!

Getting ready to go! 

Putting these kids to work.  Amazingly mommy was the only one who got her hands dirty...

The finished product!  Not too bad. 

Couldn't resist this pic of Madeline showing off her belly!

The girls are SO excited for Halloween now.  We are keeping our pumpkins inside until Halloween night so they don't rot out in the heat before then.  It's strange living in the heat again during the Fall!

Tiny Prints 20% off sale!

If you love Christmas and sending Christmas cards, then you  have probably already been browsing through cards.  I already have a few cards that I love.  I used Tiny Prints last year and LOVED my card.  It was my favorite by far!  I love sending cards and love receiving them!

Tiny Prints is having a 20% off sale PLUS free shipping, now through October 30th.  This is a great deal considering the quality of their cards is awesome! Plus they review your cards before printing and contact you if there is an issue.  Excellent customer service!

Just use the codes:  Sitewide:  20% Off - OCT20SW | Free Shipping: FREESHIP12

Now get shopping!   Click here to get going!

Zoo Trip!!!

Today we ventured out to the Phoenix Zoo.  On half days Brooke only goes to school until 9:40 (why bother??) so I decided to get out for the day.  I guess I didn't think it would be too hot, but let me tell you when its 104, its HOT.   The good thing about it being hot is hardly anyone is at the zoo and you don't have to deal with crowds.  The bad part is that none of the animals are out because they are smart enough to be inside their air conditioned rooms!  Luckily the zoo has some splash pads and we spent the majority of our time there.  I ended up buying a yearly pass so we can enjoy it more when the weather cools down.

Here we are at the orangutan exhibit.  This lovely lady was hiding until we came up and then she ran up to the window!

I packed lunches which were a big hit and easy on the wallet ;) They had kid sized picnic tables on a lake with huge birds so the kids were very entertained.

Of course we had to ride the carousel.  Madeline chose to ride the lion and Brooke rode the zebra.

At the end of our day, we finally found the giraffes and ostriches.  Those were what they wanted to see and lucky for me they were in the same exhibit (and had shady benches with misters blowing on me).

Here is a bonus pic of Madeline at the splash pad. 

Overall we had a great day.  Of course on the walk to the car I had to endure the 5 year old "I am dying because I am so thirsty and tired" speech.  We only saw half of the zoo today but since we now have passes we can go back and see the other animals on another day (preferably one that is under 100 degrees). 

I'm back!!!

Whew! It's been a whirlwind summer for sure! We are all moved into our new house and things are finally settling down. This poor blog has been neglected. We just got our Internet set up last night! A month with only being able to use my phone for the internet was rough! So this week I plan to return to the blog world and get this baby up and running again!