Daddy/Daughter "camping" and a nice nature walk

As I write this Mike and Sarah are having their second daddy/daughter sleep over this week. Mike's schooling prohibits us from a lot of long trips, so Mike and Sarah improvised and are camping out on our balcony. Sarah wants to sleep out there every night, but it's getting pretty hot, even at night.

I think I've mentioned this before, but Sarah has slept in that sleeping bag every single night since we went to Moab for Easter. She slept with it on her bed for a month, and has been sleeping on her floor the last couple months. She refuses to sleep in anything else, but it has been a miracle gimmick to get her to sleep.

Yesterday we went up to Albion basin in Little Cottonwood canyon with our friends the Smith's. The kids really enjoyed playing in the water and throwing the rocks around. Sarah had to be reminded a few times to not pick the flowers. Even though she knows it's bad, when it's for a worthy purpose, like her wedding bouquet, she thinks it's OK.




Sarah was really excited when she saw, "her favorite season," so we hiked up to a couple of snow piles and let the kids play. We had to had to be careful to clean off the snow so Steven could eat it, because he kept shoving the dirty snow in his mouth.





I love Utah. It is such a beautiful place to live.

Still Pinching Pennies

I thought I'd give an update to how I've been doing with lowering my grocery bill. I'm am happy to report that I have dropped it by an average of $150 and I'm really happy about that. I've had to make some adjustments, and have become the coupon queen, but it has been worth it. Here are some reasons for my success:

Grocerysmarts - You can pick any grocery store and it rates the deals they're having and matches the weekly specials to coupons you get with the newspaper, mail and online.

Pinchingyourpennies- Great website for coupons to a lot of retailers and not just grocery stores.

I made my own laundry soap, and it works great. HERE is the recipe. They sell all of the ingredients at Smith's and you will spend $10 or less for a years worth of detergent. I had a friend that asked me how it smells, and it smells really good. :-) I'd be happy to give you the ingredients for a batch if you'd like.

I don't get to buy as much "all natural" and organic products as I would like, but someday my budget will probably be bigger. For now, I'll spend the extra time "hunting" for bargains and stocking up.

Sunny St. George and Mission Flashbacks

This last weekend the kids and I tagged along on Mike's business trip to St. George, UT. We met up with my two of my favorite mission leaders and their wives, which is why the kids and I came down. On Sunday we visited the St. George Temple on our way out of town.


I was only going to post the pictures we just took with them, but then thought it would be fun to include pictures of me with them during my mission. I laughed so hard. For any of you that have served missions, go back and look at the pictures. If you were half as nerdy as me while serving, then you'll have some great comic relief. I included before/after shots from various stages. OH the fun memories! (and if you want to make fun of my wardrobe, I outgrew all my cute clothes in the first few months and had to buy more. :-)

On Saturday we had dinner with my 1st Visitor Center Director, Elder Derrick, and his wife Sister Derrick. (no, I don't call them by their 1st names yet, but they are Tad and Willa) They are two really amazing people that I admire. Mike was worried about getting a long over due "are you worthy to marry Sis. Gauld" interview, but instead he got a lot of good pilot talk in. Elder Derrick is a retired Air Force fighter pilot and commercial pilot, so you can imagine how much Mike enjoyed listening to his stories. It won't be hard talking him into another trip.

Here we are after we ate dinner. They haven't changed at all.


Here we are at the beginning of my mission in the LA Temple Visitor Center.


Their mission ended before mine, so here I am with them on their last night. Sis. Derrick was just a little sad. She was very motherly to all of us.


On Sunday we went to visit President and Sister Christensen at their home. I love them both very much. Even with all of the missionaries they led, they always had time for a talk. Mike got more of an interview from Pres. Christensen than Elder Derrick, but he didn't mind. Sis. C played with my kids and gave Sarah the little crochetted baby bed she's holding.


Here I am with them my 1st day in the mission with my trainer Erin Comstock. (now a famous Roxy snowboarder :-) BTW, it had been a long day. :-)


Here I am with Sis. C and Sis. Benson during the mission when they held a fireside. She was my inspiration for loving Ann Taylor. Such a classy lady!


The Christensen's left before I did, so here I am saying good bye.



Here I am with my mom at the MTC when she dropped me off


And when she and my dad picked me up (funny story if you ever have a minute)


My two angelic MTC companions, Sis. Stoddard and Sis. Clark our 1st day in the MTC


And towards the end. (these two ladies are amazing!)


And since many of the people that actually read my blog are friends from my mission, here are some fun memories.

Bowling on P-Day Cheese factor 8.0


Wearing our flag shirts for the 4th of July celebration. Cheese factor 9.0 (one year in)


Wearing those same shirts under our jackets for a concert of some sort. I love Sis. Armentrout in the "hooker red" lipstick I made her wear. :-)


Yes, we planned this. Kelly and I talked our companions, Sis. Armentrout and Hna. Soto into matching with us. Cheese factor 10.0


Miss VC contest. Sis. Alvarez (Miss Spain), S. Cowley (Miss Bountiful), S. Benson (Miss Idaho), and me (Miss SLC)


And, here we are at the beach. :-)


There were so many fun/goofy pics I wanted to add, but I'd be boring too many people. :-)

"Make it a good one!" Pres. C

Sarah's great ideas

As many of you may know, Sarah is FULL of great ideas. If you don't believe me, just ask her. Here are some of the great ideas she's had lately.

About three weeks ago she was riding a neighbor girl's bike around our neighborhood. Sarah had been telling everyone that she's going to be getting a "pink princess bike for her birthday on November 28th." After she was done riding she came over a told me she had a great idea. I could buy her a bike now, and buy her something else for her b-day. She was so sure of that idea that I laughed. I went on KSL.com and found a really good bike for a great price and now I have to think of a b-day gift for her.


Last week she had another great idea. She should wear my wedding dress. She had been begging, so I gave in. She said she was going to "hunt, hunt, hunt for Prince Charming in the forest and then marry him." The next day she managed to drag it upstairs and get it out of its bag, so now it is off limits, but it was still really cute, and another "good idea."



Mike bought Sarah a little princess crown with a veil, so now she wants to wear this ensemble everyday. In case you're wondering, she knows she isn't allowed to get married until she's at least 25.



A couple days ago Sarah was helping me make cookies. I let her lick the mixers and when she was almost done she started telling me that I'm tired and need to take a nap. I asked if she was tired and she said no, I was the tired one and I need to go take a nap. She then told me I needed to go hide so I couldn't see her. AHA! The little sneak. I asked if she wanted to eat more dough and she gave me an honest, yes. She wanted to get rid of me so I wouldn't see her take more dough. Funny girl!

Love your Body 5k/10k

This is a great women's only race for anyone that is interested. I will be running the 5K, and my friend Jamie will be running the 10K. Although I probably should have worked my way up to a 10K by now, I'm still going to have to run to work up to a 5K. The race is timed, you get a t-shirt, and it is fun, for anyone that is interested. :-)

Ballerina Sarah

Sarah had her first recital recently and it was adorable! We're going to take a break from dancing over the summer, and I'm hoping she'll want to try something in the fall.

Here are their pictures

Here is the video of her performance. My cat ate through our speaker wire, so I couldn't edit them. (yes I know, but no I'm not going to cause her harm or give her away ;-)

My Little Michelangelo

Steven thoroughly enjoyed his 1st time finger painting the other day. He started out using his fingers, and then decided he wanted a paint brush like Sarah. I think that more went on him than on the paper, but he did create some mini master pieces.

Mike took it upon himself to name Steven's masterpieces, so here they are:

Here is Steven creating "Sunrise over a dewy meadow in the morning. On fire."

And here is the finished painting


Here he is painting "Apricot tree in bloom in the morning. On fire."



Here is "Beach ball rolling down a deserted coast in the afternoon. On Fire." (I don't think he'll ever be hired as a professional painting namer)


And the hands of the Master. Notice the way he uses the colors to emphasize his mood. The underlying blue to show his comfort and peace. The green to express his thirst for knowledge. The red to show his passion. (for food) :-)


Sarah also enjoyed a much less messy version of painting. :-)