Thompson Tales

HAPPY LOVE WEEK

2012-02-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

Happy love week...I didn't do alot of Valentines decorating in our home this year. These are the only images I have around my house that has anything to do with Valentines Day. The top picture is a strawberry that I just picked up at the store for Mike, it was delicious! I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and feel love like I feel from my Mike daily!

What we have been up to....

2012-02-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

I have been loving all of the color that has been in all the magazines lately! My sister has been getting me all of the kiwi green LeCreuset items that I have been wanting, the color makes me smile! I can't get enough of LeCreuset!

Guess who came to town to celebrate her 2nd birthday with us!!! Caralynn and Britnee!! Her birthday was January 8th, I can't believe that she has been in our lives for 2 years, we absolutely love her and cherish the times that she spends with us! She is so stinkin cute, we can't get enough of her!

This is what we do every weekend....go to wrestling tournaments to watch Brenton! He is doing pretty dang good this season, he started the season on the jv team, but now he is wrestling varsity. He is the only freshman varsity wrestler, he is wrestling at 106 pounds ( and he is 5'9")...he is loving his first high school season, the practices kill him but he is learning so much!

Time for changes

2012-01-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

I know I am very late, but happy new year!!! I love the new year because it gives me time to reflect on my life and make changes. This year, I have decided not to make any resolutions on weight, because its not even worth it, and I don't want the dissapointment!! Instead, I want to be selfish and increase my knowledge in computers and cameras!! I am very computer illiterate and I always say I want to learn more, but I never do, but this year, I am going to!! I have an awesome camara Mike got me last year, and I love it, but don't know how to use it, so I am going to take a class on photography!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!! I sure did miss Britnee, Chris and Caralynn though!! Britnee and Caralynn will be here this Thursday and I can hardly wait to see them!! I really didn't want/need anything for Christmas this year....but I have been wanting a light fixture in our living room since we moved into the condo. Mike hung this one up a couple of weeks before Christmas and I love it!! It is so bright in the living room now! The fixture is perfect in this room. It took Mike all day long to hang this fixture up, but it looks great!

I am turning into my husband!!

2011-11-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said that I wanted to add more yellow to my living room? Well, I couldn't believe my luck the other day! I was walking by a neighbors garbage and here was this beauty of a table calling my name! It is perfect! It is in great shape, I asked her if she was actually throwing it away and she said she was, so I asked her if I can have it, she even had her son bring it over to my house! I am a garbage picker just like my husband!! I want to sand the top of it so I can stain it darker, but that will probably happen this next week! I love my new addition to the living room!

The witch is in.....so is a mouse!

2011-10-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I am having one of those days....you know, the kind where you are sitting at your computer in the basement, and you see something out of the corner of your eye, then you turn your head and see a freakin mouse!!! I have been married for just about 25 years, and I have never, ever seen a mouse in my house!! MAKES ME WANT TO MOVE SO BAD NOW!!! I know I am over reacting, but they are rodents to me! Nothing cute about them. I haven't seen any droppings or anything that would tell me that I have mice. I sent Bristyn to the store (in her pajamas) to get some traps, now I have beautiful D-Con traps in all of my corners down here. Bristyn let me know that it is my fault that we have this little critter in the house because we won't let her get a cat!!!

Feeling the LOVE!!

2011-09-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

We started to paint and freshen up our master bath way back in July.....we finally finished it, and it is September now! I painted the bathroom walls a really pretty blue/green color, but you can't tell in these pictures, but I love the color. I looked everywhere for a shelf to hang over the toilet and I finally found one after weeks of looking, it is perfect! I ungrounded myself from ebay and purchased this Big Ben clock, I LOVE the color and patina, I have never seen it in that blue/green color. I probably spent way too much on it, but oh well.....

For my birthday, my sister ordered this adorable pillow from Ballard Designs for me, love it!! It goes wonderful with all of the other pillows I have all over the couch!

I love this thank you gift from my brother, Mike!!! I was surprised one day when this was delivered to our home and I opened it! Best gift idea!! I love the fact that he had our name put on it and it works perfect for when we have barbeques to put all of the drinks in it! Thank you Mike!

One day a couple of weeks ago, we were ding-dong ditched with this delicious plate of chocolate chip cookies.....we have this girl in our ward at church who makes the BEST cookies EVER!! Her name is Arden Bradley, but we love to call her Garden! She should seriously consider opening her own baking business, they are that delish!!

And then this cake.....I absolutely adore these girls, Alicia Thayers and Savanna Wallace. They are my Bristyns really good friends. They surprised me with this cake that they made themselves! I have to say, I was impressed!! They are great girls! I know they read this little blog of mine, and I just wanted them to know that they are loved by me!!

Mellow Yellow

2011-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to Broomfield so I can go shop (or actually, just browse) at Pottery Barn. I love all the new colors that are out for the fall season, especially the yellows. I had no intention of buying anything, but when I saw that Limonade pillow, I had to have it!! I am loving the little bits of yellow in the living room. I didn't say anything to Mike about buying the pillow, and it took him almost a week to realize that I had a new pillow on the couch!!

Guess who came and visited me lastweek??? That is right, my daughter, Britnee and my sweet Caralynn! My brother and his boys came out to visit for 9 days and mom came out from Boston also. Our house was full of people! We had a great time visiting! The weather was more then perfect, even though the mosquitos were out in full force!

Happy Fourth of July

2011-07-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July to all my friends and family! I am so thankful for this great country that we live in, for the freedoms and rights that we have! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

What we are up to....

2011-07-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brenton!! Yesterday, July 1st, Brenton turned 14 years old! I can't believe that my baby is 14, it really breaks my heart. This past Tuesday, Brenton and I flew out to Seattle to visit Britnee, Chris and Caralynn for 9 days. The weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been wonderful! Brenton spent the day yesterday at Wild Waves with some friends from Fort Collins that are also here visiting.

Can I just say that I can't get enough of this sweet baby girl!! She is so delish! I love being with her, she is so funny and happy!

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours (she owns a publishing company) asked Bristyn to be a model for a book that is coming out in November. Bristyn thought that it would be fun, so she did it! They also make book trailers now, and Bristyn is in the video for that also..I will let you know all about the book when I find out more about it!!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2011-06-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, Brenton is now taller then Bristyn!

Today was an FFF day, FORCED FAMILY FUN!!! And actually, it turned out to be a fun day! We went to the Wildlife Sanctuary, which is northeast of Denver. We had read about it and really wanted to see it! Bob Barker (from The Price is Right) and Jorja Fox (CSI) are the celebritities that have really helped these animals. They just donated money to have a building built for 25 new tigers and have them flown in from Bolivia. All the animals at this sanctuary have been abused but they are all healthy and thriving at this time. I couldn't believe how close we came to the animals, it was awesome!

Britnee and Chris' Wedding

2011-05-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Garwood family....Richard, Denise, Caralynn, Chris, Britnee, Casey, Kelsey and Lindsey

The Thompson family....Diana, Bristyn, Chris, Britnee, Bradley, Mike and Brenton

This past Wednesday, our family went to Las Vegas to celebrate the wedding of our beautiful daughter, Britnee and Chris Garwood!! Britnee was absolutely gorgeous and Chris wasn't bad himself!! The wedding was held at the Little Church of the West and then we all went to Bootleggers for a celebration dinner. We are so happy to have Chris as part of our family, we love him to pieces. I am so happy that Britnee found such a wonderful person to marry and someone that makes her so happy! Congratulations Britnee and Chris!

One mans trash

2011-05-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a little re-doing in the living room and front entry way this last week. The other day, my husband was helping a friend load up his storage unit to move. While there, his friend was throwing away some of his wifes decorations, which included these 3 pictures of Paris. He had bought them from a street vendor in Paris. My husband stole them right up!! They are so beautiful, I love the simplicity of them. I am still trying to learn how to use my new camara, I love trying to figure it out, but I seriously need to take a crash course on it!!

For all of you who didn't believe me, this is Bradley after he cut off 15 inches of his hair! It was my surprise for Easter! He is so stinkin cute!

Pretty In Pink~Prom 2011

2011-04-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Prom 2011.....This year, Prom for Bristyn was on a Friday night. The kids didn't have school yesterday, so it was all about getting ready for Prom and all the drama with it!! Bristyn had her heart set on this cute little dress, but it was huge on her. We bought the dress, but we had to have it altered. Thank goodness for talented friends, because I have no idea how to sew! This is Bristyn and her best friend, Savanna Wallace. They are so hysterical, I love being around them. Reminds me of my friends growing up. The kids all had such a great time.... of course, I don't have a picture of Bristyn with her date...

Fun Stuff

2011-03-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

This last week I went to Washington to visit my daughter, Britnee and granddaughter, Caralynn. I just cannot get enough of this sweet baby girl. She is so stinkin cute!! She is so happy all the time. She always has such a huge smile on her face. She is 14 months old now, she is walking really well and saying a couple of words. Of course, while I was there, it rained almost every day, but I miss the rain living here in Colorado. While in Washington, I went down to Vancouver to visit some friends and my brother, Mike. I had a great time with everyone, just wish that I could have stayed longer....and why don't I ever take pictures of me with my friends?

I got those white velvety pillows from Ikea when I went to Portland, Oregon. I can't wait until Ikea opens up in Denver, I love that store!!

This little suitcase is a gift from Barb. I love it, so cute!!

Mike and I have been working on trying to get our bedroom complete. It has taken forever for us (meaning Mike!!) to hang our TV up. Mike didn't want to put any more holes in the wall to hide the cords so my friend, Barb, found what I call a chord condom!!! It actually looks really cute.

Yearning for Spring

2011-02-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

I am in desperate need of spring and nice weather. The last couple of days, the sun has been shining, but it has been crispy cold outside. I went out yesterday and picked some of these branches down the road from our condo, I love how they look in this urn. I need little changes in my decor to liven things up. Do you ever get bored with what you have? I seem to be in that rut lately. I can't wait until all of the flowers start bursting with color in the next couple of months, I love the spring!

Have I ever told you about my walking partner, Barb? She is awesome!! She is one of those friends who always knows what to say and makes me feel better about life and myself. She is also a great gift giver! Do you see that tiny clock on the scale? It is called a Tiny Tim and she got it for me for Valentines Day, I have never heard of Tiny Tim clocks, but it is very old. I love it. Also for Valentines Day, Mike got me a massage, lets just say, I need a massage from that massage!! I am feeling alot better today, but I know now that I have muscles where I never knew I had muscles!

My new obsession!!

2011-01-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

I have a new obsession and I think my husband likes it!!! My sister, Liz, works for LeCreuset and I have become totally addicted to their cookware. They are pretty expensive and I would never be able to afford them if it wasn't for her discount!! My goal is to buy one piece a month until I have the whole collection. Everything I cook, seems to taste better when I use these pans, I absolutely love them. They are also so pretty, I have been collecting the kiwi color cause I love the color green. It seems as I have been cooking alot more since I started using LeCreuset.

Onto my next obsession, Brenton, my little guy! After wrestling season was over at school, we decided to put Brenton in a wrestling club so he could continue practicing and learning. Today we went to a tournament in Loveland called the Pikes Peak Tournament and Brenton came in first place in his division, we are so proud of him. He got some scratches and got his ego hurt during one of the matches, but he pulled himself together and won! He loves wrestling and he is such a natural at it, maybe its because his older brother always beat him up!!

Is it already January???

2011-01-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

These are my first attempts at using my new camara. While we were in Washington, I took a trip down to Portland, Oregon to shop at Ikea and Monticellos. I bought that cute white, chippy box. Actually, it is quite big. Filled it with some things that I had around the house, but I had to add the new picture of Caralynn!!!

Munching on a candy cane at Uncle Mikes house!!!

What is that gross thing in your nose Bristyn???? I am not a fan of nose rings, and I think that she did this to tick me off, but it didn't!!! Our daughter, Britnee, did the same thing when she was in college, but after a couple of days, it was gone....hopefully, Bristyns will be gone soon!!

Hottest grandpa EVER!!!! Mike is sharing a piece of ice with Caralynn, anytime anybody had any food or drink, she was all over it!! By the way, did I ever mention that I have the best husband in the world??? Our anniversary was on December 20th, and he gave me a Canon Rebel....everyone knows how computer illiterate I am, but I am worse with a camara!! That camara makes me feel dumb, definately gonna have to take a class on how to use it!!

I miss this sweet baby girl so much!!! Everytime I see Caralynn, I fall in love with her so much more! I loved our visit with Britnee and Chris, and I so bad just want to be near them. I promised myself that I wouldn't get depressed coming back to Fort Collins after the holidays, but it happened. I am working on counting my blessings here.....

Brenton and Jack Wrestling

2010-12-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

I know there is alot of videos, but we put them on here for our daughter, Britnee, to watch!!! I hate to brag about our Brenton, but here I go...this year he wrestled at 96pounds, last year he wrestled at 80 pounds and came in third in the district! He actually only weighs 90.1 pounds but I didn't want him worrying about his food and calories, so we told him he should wrestle up. Can I just say, he did awesome, we are so very proud of him. He ended his season with 7 wins, 1 loss. Yesterday was the big district meet and he came in 2nd overall, and it was tough!!! Very tough!! I know its not the Olympics or anything, but I seriously get emotional watching him! And then when they do the parade of champions, I have a ball in my throat because I am so proud of him!!

Brenton and Jack Wrestling

2010-12-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

Brenton and Jack Wrestling

2010-12-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Brenton and Jack Wrestling video 2

2010-12-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Brenton and Jack wrestling

2010-12-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Some Christmas decor

2010-12-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Did it seem like the month of December came too quickly this year?? I can't get myself organized to do anything. I decided to keep my decorations to a minimum this year....do you ever get tired of the decorations that you have? I am at that point....my kids don't want me to get rid of any of the decorations because they love them and it reminds them of Christmas' past. I love looking at all of the inspiration in blogland! Makes me want to change out all of my decor! I haven't sent out my Christmas cards yet because snapfish hasn't sent me the pictures, and I was supposed to get them this past Wednesday (I was actually organized about doing the cards!) As for my baking, haven't even started that....not even done with my Christmas shopping....my goal is to have everything done this next week!!!

Thanksgiving, snowboarding, birthdays, oh my!!!

2010-11-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

Bradley, Rusty, Brian, Jacob, Brenton, Mike and Bristyn

Dang, its been awhile since I have updated this blog!! We have had a very busy last couple of weeks. To begin with, for the last 6 years I have been dealing with a "swallowing" issue, and I finally decided to go to a doctor and find out what is going on. It got to the point where I was throwing up everytime that I ate, I should be anorexic skinny, but obviously I am still getting all of my calories!! Turns out, my esophagus shrunk and I had an infection in my esophagus, I am now on a steroid treatment for 30 days and I have felt great since my procedure last Monday!! For Thanksgiving we went to Millies house, as usual, the food was wonderful!!! After eating, we headed up to the Rocky Mountains! We stayed with my sister, Liz, in Frisco for 3 nights. The kids got to snowboard in Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Keystone. They loved it!! It was our nephew Jacobs birthday and he came up with his dad to go snowboarding for the day at Breckenridge. Our son, Brad, lives in Frsico and loves it! He is a total mountain man! I always give him a hard time about having his long hair and beard, but as I looked around all the men who live in the mountain look exactly like that!! Bristyn wants to live in the mountains now, she has become a really good snowboarder...oh, I just go up to the mountains to relax and catch up on my reading!

A little sunshine

2010-10-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Quite a few people have asked me to post pictures of Bristyn and her homecoming date...the truth is, I took pictures of the group of kids who went, and my camera died when I was going to take pictures of Bristyn with her date, I am always lucky that way!!! All of these girls beg me to put their picture on my blog, I had no idea they even looked on my blog!!! I love all of these friends of Bristyn, they are such good kids (most of the time!!!)....Bristyns date was Rob Burns and he is standing right behind her....the girls in the picture are Bristyn, Alicia Thayer, Savannah Wallace, Sydney Branniman, Amanda Compton and Demi Westfall....they all looked so beautiful!! Demis mom did get a couple of pictures of Bristyn, so as soon as I get them, I will post them....

Did I mention?

2010-10-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that I won another giveaway?? I did...!!! I won the giveaway from the blog mommyholly.blogspot!!! Her mom has the blog foxgloves, fabric and follies and she makes these beautiful pillows, I won the one that has the XOXO on it!! Thank you for the pillow, I love it!!

Did I mention that I decorated for Autumn? I am loving these white pumpkins, they are so cute!! I love everything about Autumn, especially the yummy smells of baking...even though I do bake all year long!

Did I mention that I am missing my sweet little Caralynn? She is so stinkin cute! It feels like I am missing out so much in her little life, they grow up way too fast! Cherish your children for as long as you can!

Past weekend

2010-09-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our daughter, Britnee, and our granddaughter, Caralynn, came to town to visit for 4 short days. I already miss them so much!! While they were here, I asked my friend, Monique, to take some pictures of our family, she did such an awesome job. I am having a hard time deciding which pictures to have blown up, they are all so great! I did ask Brad to shave, I even offered him money!! I guess that is what snowboarding bums look like!! Thank you Monique, I am forever grateful for these wonderful pictures!

Happy Birthday to ME Week!!

2010-09-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

The clock is from my friend, Renae, and the pitcher is a Lecreucet from my sister, Liz

Bristyn got me this magnifying glass and the cutest birds nest, all bought with her own money!!

Another Lecreucet pot, I have been wanting this dutch oven for a very long time, thanks Mom!

This is a double basket full of fun things from my friend and walking partner, Barb....my other partner, Raelene, paid for a haircut of mine, I will have to post pictures, I got 8 inches cut off!!

Candle holders from my sister, Michelle, I love all the colors!

I hate to admit this, but I LOVE to be spoiled on my birthday, and let me just say, this year was the BEST!! I not only had a birthDAY, but a birthWEEK! To start with, my dad took our family to the Rodizio Grill here in Fort Collins, it is a Brasilian restaurant and the food is devine!! I spent a couple of years growing up in Brasil, so I love the food. My friend, Renae, took my family out for Thai food and my sister, Michelle, and Millie (who is like a sister) had a barbeque for me, let me just say, I was in a food coma all weekend!!!! Everyone spoiled me with love and gifts, I truly have the best family and friends!! I took some pictures of the gifts that I got.....the last photo is a picture of my walking partners, Raelene and Barb, they are awesome!! About 2 weeks ago, we went to Boyd Lake to visit Barb, who was camping there. We had dinner together and made soaps and bath salts. Barb is like a real life Martha Stewart, she is very creative and is hands down an awesome cook!! I am sure that my Mike wants her to cook for him daily!! I don't have pictures of all the gifts that I got, but I just want everyone to know how much I love everything!! OH, and I have lived here in Colorado for 4 years and have never bought a winter jacket, but my sister, Liz, took care of that for me, maybe that is why I hate the winter months here so much!!!

Last week....

2010-08-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was a tough week for me, let me just say teenagers!!!! I think that Bristyn realized how upset I was, and last Monday, when I got home, I noticed these two cute little birds on my clock plates. It was her way of apologizing to me. They are adorable, and I did forgive her!!

About two months ago, I think it was the June issue of Romantic Homes, they featured an adorable store called Old Glory Antiques. I have been dying to go down to Littleton and check it out. My sister, Liz, and I went down last week, it was totally cute....I thought it was a little expensive though....Liz bought me that basket that is lined with the number 4 on it, it doesn't look very big, but it is. I found these number 6's, so I had to buy them, and I also purchased the thing that is holding a paper clock. Liz treated me to lunch, I have never been to Littleton and it is so worth going to, I need to get out more!!!

Estes Park Colorado

2010-07-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

This past week, the kids (and my nephew Jacob) and I headed to Estes Park, Colorado. It is about an hour drive from Fort Collins. When we got there, the weather was beautiful, then all of a sudden, there was a huge down pour of rain, I have never seen it rain like that and I lived in the northwest!! It was awesome. Becasue we were in the mountains, the thunder and lightening were very intense, the kids loved it, me, not so much. Of course, they were running in the street and I was trying to hide myself so I wouldn't get struck by lightening.

A visit with my sister in Frisco

2010-07-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Me and my sister, Liz

Me and my Mike

On Lizs' upstairs deck.

This past January, my sister moved to Frisco, Colorado, it is about 15 minutes from Vail. My kids are very excited because they love to snowboard in the winter at Copper Mountain, and that is only 2 miles from my sisters place, so we have a place to stay (FOR FREE!!!)...my sister has quite a touch with her decorating, I didn't take many pictures of the house because my kids came in and dumped everything on her floors!!! What can I say, they do the same here.....I felt like I can touch the mountains when I was on her upstairs deck, it was absolutely beautiful, it is a cute little town.

Waterworld for Brenton birthday

2010-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

For Brentons 13th birthday, he wanted to go to Waterworld down in Denver. Our family loves to go there. It is the biggest water park in the nation. It isn't too expensive and the best part about it, is the park lets you take in your own food. We had a great time, and for once I was smart and put on a ton of sun screen so I didn't burn!!

My purchase from a giveaway

2010-07-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I won a giveaway from Melaine at My Sweet Savannah, it was a gift certificate from TJ Maxx. I wanted to buy a shirt that she had, which I loved, but I searched and searched, I even went back 3 times to look, but they didn't have it. So, I decided to purchase a new lamp for my bedroom. I have been looking for a lamp for a while for my room, we have no over head light, so we really needed something to brighten the room up in the evenings. I got the lamp that is in the first picture, it is perfect. I wanted something simple and not too big. After I got it home, I decided to clean my room and take pictures. I love my new lamp, thank you Melaine!!!

New pillows and new friendships

2010-07-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

Lately, I find myself getting very bored with my living room, it is kind of an odd shape and I really don't have many walls where I can put my sofa, or arrange the rest of the furniture!! So, if any of my bloggy friends have any suggestions on furniture placement, let me know. I have been tweaking the living room lately with accessories. I ordered the 2 pillows from Anne Holden(she was a vendor at Farm chicks), and they arrived in the mail this past week!! I adore them!! I moved my huge candle holder into the living room and also added an extra lamp. It does feel very cozy in there, it is my favorite room in the house...maybe that is why I am getting bored with it, because I am always in there!!!

I know that I sometimes complain about living here in Fort Collins, but lately, I am trying to count my blessings!! I do miss my friendships in Vancouver so much. But I feel so blessed with the friendships that I have made here lately. These flowers were given to me by some of my new friends and I absolutely love them. These friends actually have thanked me for the things that I have done for them, but in reality, they have done so much for me. Just when we decided to put our move on hold to Vancouver, these new friendships came into my life. Actually, I have alot to be thankful for in the area of friendships.

Already missing her....

2010-06-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

I am back from my vacation in Washington, I have been home for 5 days now and I am missing my sweet granddaughter so much already!!! I hate being away from her....I had my nephew over for the last couple of days, and out of the blue, he asked me if I was a devil worshipper because I have the number 6 all over my house!! I never realized it before, but I guess I do. I love the number 6 becaue we have 6 people in our family. So, I took some pictures of the number 6 that I have around our living room. Some exciting news for me today, I won a giveaway from www.mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com, she is sooo awesome, I have met Melaine a couple of times at Farm Chicks and she is great, go check out her blog!!!

Farm Chicks Show

2010-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Table from the Blue Canoe booth, this is not a good picture, but this table is so beautiful.
My friend, JoDee, so wanted this bed, it was from Chateau Chic Antiques booth.
I got these pillows, so stinkin adorable!!!
Another shot from the Chateau Chic Anitques.

These two last pictures are from Tartes booth, she is a very talented and creative person.
This was my second year going to the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane, Washington with my friend, JoDee. Let me just say, I absolutely loved it, LOVED IT!!!! Last year, JoDee was a vendor at the show, but this year she took it off because her son is graduating. She WILL be a vendor again next year. At first when I walked in, I was a bit overwhelmed, there were so many people, it kind of was chaotic. I loved all of the booths, there are so many creative people in this world, it is just inspiring. There was a new booth this year called Blue Canoe, they are a husband and wife team from Orange County California, OMG is all I have to say about their booth. I got to see some bloggy friends and meet some new people, everyone is just so genuinely friendly and sweet.

Now, I am in Olympia, Washington visiting my daughter and my sweet granddaughter. I love being here with their little family, they are very easy to spoil, and let me tell you, they let me do that!!! I will be here for the rest of the week and head home to Colorado on Saturday. I am going to need a vacation from this vacation, I am exhausted from spending all of my husbands money!!!!!

I am GROUNDED

2010-05-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have officially grounded myself off of ebay. It is addictive to me and it is getting too expensive. I have learned something about myself while shopping ebay...I hate to lose!! I never realized that I was a competitive person until someone beats me in a bid. It sucks. I seriously get ticked off. So, as you know, I love these Baby and Big Ben clocks from the 1920's. I have purchased them all off of ebay and I love every single one of them. But now, I need to stop purchasing them for a while. Mike doubts that I can do that, but I will show him!! But I won't stop any of my friends from getting me any!!!!!

Mothers day and Puerto Vallarta

2010-05-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I really do think that my kids love me!!! Sometimes you wonder.....especially with teenagers. On Mothers Day, on our way to church, Bristyn told me that I really am the best mom anyone can have. It made me feel so good to hear that from her, its not like she hands out compliments daily to me!! After church, Mike, Bristyn and Brenton made me the best food I have ever had in my life. Mike googled "delicious shrimp recipes" and found one, oh.my.gosh..it was sooo good!! I didn't want any gifts, but Mike got me these flowers. Britnee and Bradley also called, which I think is the best gift!!

On to our trip to Puerto Vallarta.....LOVED IT!!! The first night we were there, we stayed at a hotel that was located on the marina, it had a wonderful view, we took a long walk and had dinner at the Fajita Banana, there is nothing like authentic Mexican food, I can eat it all day!

The second day that we were there, we took an excursion through the jungle, it was absolutely beautiful. We got to see the downtown area of Puerto Vallarta and then we headed out to the jungle. It seems like all the Mexicans kind of get upset about the fact that alot of Americans are buying the land, our tour guide kept calling one area the Beverly Hills of Puerta Vallarta, and said how it didn't belong there!!

This was one of the stops on the tour....the Tequila factory. These are agave fruits that make the tequila. The factory was in the middle of nowhere in the jungle and it was all open, no doors. I don't drink at all, and I would highly recommend going to one of these factories, it was alot of fun. By the end of the tour, most people were drunk from tasting all of the tequila.

We had lunch at a restaurant in the jungle. Mike and I both ordered chicken skewers, as we were eating, we looked down and there was a chicken walking around in the restaurant!! I seriously lost my appetite!!

This is on the beach behind our hotel. It was gorgeous. We were at the beach for only 2 hours, I got so sunburned, I seriously couldn't walk the next day. My joints were killing me, and my chins hurt so deep. Mike had to set a chair up in the shower so I could sit and shower, I was in that much pain. I was actually embarrassed to have to sit in the shower, but Mike thought it was pretty funny. I don't think that he pitied me that much!

We went to a restaurant called Pipis the last night we were there. Highly recommend it. This is the mariachi band, they were great!!! This is my sunburn, I couldn't even wear a bra home on the plane, I am sure that was attractive!

Me and My Mike!!

Spring is here....FINALLY!!

2010-04-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

I think that I am safe to assume that Spring is finally here in Fort Collins, trust me, I do not miss the snow at all!! I was so excited for a couple of days of nice weather, so I had to plant some flowers on my front porch. Along with flowers for Spring, we have baby foxes in our neighborhood, and I want one!! They are so cute. They live along the trail in our neighborhood that I walk every morning. They are very playful and don't seem to mind all of the people who watch them. I just wish that I can get closer to them, but my walking partner has forbidden me!!!
Does anybody notice what I did??? I got bangs...I haven't had bangs for at least 8 years, and I needed a change. Not sure what I think of them yet. Some fun news...My Mike and I are going to Puerta Vallarta this Saturday for a little vacay, I can't wait!!! Trying my bathing suit on was not a pretty sight, but I can't do anything about that in 5 days!!! Cellulite and all, I will have a great time!!

WOOHOO!!!!

2010-04-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

First of all, I know that I am the worse blogger in the world. I must not have an exciting life or am not as creative as all the people in blogland. I have a hard time coming up with things to blog about and I am not an inspiration like all of the blogs I love, but that is okay, I love having my friends and family visit me on here. So, I guess I will just keep plugging along on here.....Fun news....Bristyn FINALLY got her braces off after having them on for 2 years, 2 months, but whose counting??? I love her smile!! She is so stinkin cute! We took her to Dr Brad Goings here in Fort Collins, he was awesome. He has the best staff of workers, they are all so friendly...Bristyn got hers off and Brenton got his on (but I don't have a picture of that..opps). Bristyn loves to feel her teeth with her tongue!! Next up...my new obsession, Big Ben and Baby Ben clocks. I have looked everywhere here for these old little clocks and I can never find them. So, I started looking on e-bay for them and have won a couple of bids. I love them, they are the best little accessory.

My friend Monas house

2010-03-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from Monas son, Vikram, his room....I love all the colors that she has on the walls.

This is at the top of the landing right off of the master bedroom, it is so cozy.

Upstairs hallway

Entry way, it is so welcoming!!

Part of the family room.

Eating area and kitchen.

Even her laundry room is decorated.

A sculpture in the upstaris hallway.

While we were in Vancouver, we stayed with our friends, Mona and Anoop. Mona owns her own decorating business called, Elegant Interiors by Mona. she is very talented. It seems that the decorating craze lately is having an all white house, but I love all the color that Mona uses in her home. She has exquisite taste!! She has such an eye for detail. We always feel so welcome in their home, thank you Mona for putting up with the Thompson clan again!!!

Spring Break in Olympia

2010-03-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

The reasons that I want to move back to the Northwest!!! I miss this sweet family so much. Caralynn is nine weeks old now and she is adorable! She is smiling the cutest smile, she is also feisty like her mom!
The best looking Grandpa that I have ever seen! WE want to take her home with us!

Our fun loving Bristyn....she really does not like us right now!! First of all, we took her away from all of her friends for spring break, can you believe that? We must be the worse parents in the world, she actually thought that we would let her stay in Fort Collins by herself to hang out with all of her friends! We drove here to Olympia and it took about 18 hours in the car, she didn't talk to us for the first 12 hours (now that I think about it, that was kinda nice!!). When we were looking on the internet at homes, she started crying, she does not want to move. I am really torn about this. My family and close friendships that I have are here in the Northwest, but Bristyn is so happy in Fort Collins. She told me that we can move, but that she is staying in Colorado.

Is it Spring YET???

2010-03-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

I am totally yearning for Spring!! I love the color green, and to me it is such a Spring color...right now in Colorado, everything is still dead and brown. I need the lush green of the northwest!! This Saturday, we are heading to Olympia to visit our daughter and granddaughter, I can hardly wait!!! Bristyn and Brenton have Spring break next week, we were going to go to Las Vegas, but I miss my family so much and I need to see that sweet baby!!

Since I haven't blogged in weeks, I thought that I should mention that Bristyn tried out and made the Fort Collins High School soccer team. They are off to a great start already. This is a picture of Bristyn pigging out on the best chicken noodle soup that I made, sometimes, I am a good mom!!!

Happy Birthday to the BEST husband in the world...Mike turned 42 on March 7th, and all I have to say is that he is getting better with age!! I LOVE HIM!!! Even though he lectures me about my spending habits!!

A little bit of red...and a bit of the "blues"

2010-02-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows, our granddaughter, Caralynn, was born on January 8, 2010. We are so excited to have her in our family....the only bad thing is, our daughter, Britnee, lives in Olympia, Washington and we live in Fort Collins, Colorado. We moved to Colorado almost 4 years ago, to help our son, Bradley, get through some pretty tough situations that he was in. Bradley is doing very well now, and as a matter of fact, has moved back to Vancouver, and is attending Clark College. We even got a letter from Clark stating that he is in the top 5% of the student body in grades. My dilemma...do we move back to Vancouver and be near our family or stay here in Fort Collins? I know it is very hard for teenagers to move...Bristyn is very torn, she is 15 and does not want to move, it took her 2 years to get used to Fort Collins and doesn't want to go through moving again. Brenton wants to move...and I just want to be near my older kids. I know that we won't always be near our kids and grandkids, but I so miss Vancouver and I also have some very close friendships there. I NEED HELP!!! Oh, and Mike, he will do whatever the rest of us decides!! He is the best husband!!

INTRODUCING.....

2010-01-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

Sweet baby Caralynn Rose Garwood. Our daughter, Britnee, had her baby this past Friday night, January 8, 2010. Caralynn weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. She is a beautiful baby, and I am not saying that because I am the proud Grandma...or as the kids are calling me, G-Maw! She has a head full of hair and she looks alot like what Britnee looked like when she was born. We are over joyed with the birth of our first granddaughter. I flew out to Olympia yesterday and will be here for the next two weeks to spoil my daughter and granddaughter. Words cannot express how blessed our family is with this baby, Heavenly Father has truly blessed us with Caralynn.

I.LOVE.THESE.PLATES!!!!

2010-01-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

The first time that I saw these plates in the Pottery Barn catalog, I knew that I wanted to have them. I didn't even say anything to my husband about them, but he must have looked through the catalog and he tried to order them, but they were sold out!!! WELL, for Christmas, my two really good friends, Jessica and Dana gave me a gift certificate to Pottery Barn, so we drove down to Boulder, and they were completely out of the plates, I was soooo sad!!! I came home, called Pottery Barn and they gave me some numbers to call of stores across the nation....I tracked down the plates in Santa Barbara, and the bowls in Chevy Chase, Maryland. They arrived yesterday in the mail. I absolutely love them!!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Happy New Years!!! This year, I have decided that I need to be more organized.....I think that I am pretty organized, until I open my pantry or my kitchen drawers. Not to put the blame on anyone else, but it is not always me who puts the food away in the pantry. So, on January 1st, I decided to clean out the pantry and my kitchen drawers. I love opening the pantry and seeing how nice and organized it is, it makes looking for items alot easier. Next up on my list of things to clean out, my closet!!!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

2009-12-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Wonderful, Merry Christmas! May everyone be blessed at this joyous time of the year.

Snowboarding at Copper Mountain

2009-12-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday, Brad came home for the holidays, he has a month vacation from college!!! That night, we surprised Bristyn with an early Christmas gift, a snowboard!! That is all she has been asking for for months. It is totally Bristyn, it is so cute!! On Friday, we went and spent the night up in Frisco. On Saturday, we went to Copper Mountain for a day of snowboarding, it was a blast. Bristyn and Brenton are getting pretty dang good at it, and Brad is a beast on the mountain, like he says, he is a mountain man!!! Couldn't tell from all that facial hair!!!! Today is our 23rd anniversary!!! We are having our entire family over for dinner this evening to celebrate Christmas, but Mike and I are planning on going to Denver one day this week to spend the night, can't wait!!!

Tougher than he looks!!!

2009-12-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

We are so excited for our Brenton. This past season, Brenton decided that he wanted to wrestle, and frankly, the sport grosses me out. As everyone knows, Brenton is our mild, meek and timid child, but, as we learned, get him out on a wrestling mat, and he is a maniac!!! At the beginning of the season, we were VERY worried when we watched him wrestle, but as the weeks went on, we saw a huge change. I guess getting picked on by your older brother all of these years, paid off!! He wrestled in the 80 pound division, and he wrestled varsity for his school. He was so good about keeping to his diet and not putting on any weight. This past weekend was the district championship and Brenton came in 4th place, it was awesome (and very stressful for me to watch!!). He was the only 7th grader from he school to make it into the championship finals. By the end of the season, I was yelling and cheering instead of being grossed out, half the time, I kept thinking he would get ring worm or something!! We are very proud of him and what he accomplished. In January, he will start training for the Regional competition.

December

2009-12-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry this picture is so blurry, it didn't look blurry when I uploaded it!!!

Britnee, Mike, Bristyn and Brenton.....in Estes Park

Seriously, my husband is hot!!!!

I haven't been able to blog for the last couple of weeks because we have been so busy. Our daughter, Britnee and Chris have been here for the last 2 weeks. While here, my family (but not me, I had to work) went up to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Forest, they had a great time and saw a ton of animals....I have to say, Brenton took all the pictures that day and they are all so good. We also had a little baby shower for Britnee, where she got spoiled again. Mike took Chris fishing, Chris had never gone before...he might not want to go any more since going with Mike!!! Mike loves his fishing.....we did alot of shopping and just hanging out together. Yesterday, my day was filled cleaning and decorating for Christmas. I love how our home looks when it is Christmas time, so cozy!! These pictures of some of the decorations are not the best....I am in desperate need of a new camara...whenever I snap a picture, my camara lets out a little smoke...NOT GOOD!!! Maybe that is what I will ask for for Christmas!!! Oh, and today when we woke up there was about 8 inches of snow outside and it is still snowing!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I am very thankful for all the blessings I have in my life. I am thankful for the wonderful husband I have and the 4 healthy children Heavenly Father has blessed me with. We are so thankful that Britnee has had an "easy" pregnancy so far, only 8 more weeks. We are happy to have Chris in our family, he is awesome. We miss Bradley this Thanksgiving, he stayed in Vancouver for the holiday. We are having dinner at my sister Michelles house, with the whole family here in Colorado!! Have a wonderful day and count your blessings!!

This is what I woke up to this morning.....

2009-10-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

A FREAKIN BLIZZARD!!! Now, everyone knows that I am not a lover of snow, however, the first "real" snowfall of the season is always fun, for a day....Nothing is EVER cancelled in Fort Collins for snow, but today, school was cancelled, so was seminary. I love that!!! My kids have been out all day long, I seriously haven't seen them. The news keeps saying that we should be getting about 20 inches of snow by tomorrow. Not sure how long the snow will be here for, but I am enjoying it today. Ask me tomorrow how I feel about it......

These next couple of pictures are just random things that I have recently purchased. I have decided that I am loving Pier 1 Imports. I bought that jar and these 2 Halloween figurines there. I am also loving all of the Christmas dishes that they have. Let me just get through Halloween before I start buying Christmas things....

This Past Weekend

2009-10-21T16:08:00.001-07:00

Lisa, Me and Allison...I didn't realize how short I am until I am in the middle of these two girls!! And I am 5 foot 7 inches!! Did you notice that I got 12 inches of my hair cut off? I was shocked that I did it, it was totally on a whim!! This picture was taken at Britnees baby shower.

Mikes mom had this made for baby Caralynn, it is so beautiful. Great-grandma Jessie, really spoiled Britnee at her shower!!!

These were some of the gifts that she received at her baby shower, these were from our neighbor in Vancouver, Paula and Dale Rice. They were the best neighbors EVER!!! Have you ever met people that loved your kids unconditionally, when it is really hard to? That would be Paula and Dale. Our kids (and Mike and I) love them.

Britnees friend, Brittany, gave the shower. She did a wonderful job with everything. We really appreciate all that she did....thank you Brittany!!!

Bristyn with her friends.

This past weekend was Homecoming for Fort Collins High School....I wasn't home to help Bristyn get ready or to take pictures, needless to say, there really isn't any good pictures....She had a great time with her friends, and can you even believe that she picked out a hot pink dress to wear??? I bought her some really cute shoes to wear also, but she ended up wearing her boots, which doesn't surprise me...she could care less about fashion or how she looks, but really, doesn't she look so cute??

While I was away and Mike was supposed to be watching the kids, he did what any other man would do when their wife is gone....FISHING!!! He loves to fish and found a great spot to go to...he did take Brenton out this weekend also to go rifle shooting, but I don't have any pictures of that!!!

While I was in Vancouver, Washington this past weekend, I stayed at my friend, JoDees house. I LOVE her house....I love this collection of old family Bibles that she has, it is beautiful. She needs to do a tour of her home on her blog, it is amazing, she has great taste. JoDee wasn't home, so I missed her, but I got to stay with her boys, who I would kidnap if I could, they are very respectful boys and helpful. I went to Vancouver with my sister, Michelle. We had a great time at Britnees shower and we also had a mini reunion with the girls we grew up with from church, my camara died, so I don't have any pictures from the reunion, I will get one from my sister!!!

Oktoberfest

2009-10-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I am the worse mom because I never want to go to any of the school "functions". Lastnight, at Brentons school, they had the Oktoberfest celebration and Mike "made" me go with him. After about 5 minutes, I really just wanted to leave, I really do not know anybody at his school so I had nobody to talk to. But, we stayed and stayed and stayed to the very end. We bought 3 punch cards that we put into the raffle box, and we put Brentons name on all of them. At the end of the evening, they announced the winners. They had 6 people who won pizzas, then on to the better prizes...Brenton won a gift certificate to a restaurant and the big prize, which was this bike, it is so awesome, he was so surprised and excited, he couldn't believe that he won 2 prizes. We couldn't either, I mean, who wins 2 times in a raffle??? I told Brenton that he is allowed to buy lottery tickets now, because the chances of him winning are big!! On the ride home, he said to me, "Hey Mom, do you know how great it feels to win something?" He is so humble, and such a great kid. I guess it made the whole evening worth attending! I will never complain about going to another school function again.

Happy fall and catching up (as usual...)

2009-09-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

Britnee and Chris...we met up in Longview, Washington for breakfast. Britnee is 23 weeks pregnant in this picture.

Bradley and his new car. He was my driver while I was in Vancouver....

My sick little guy....Brenton has missed the last 2 days of school, but more importantly (according to him) is that he missed his football game today.

While in Vancouver, Washington, I went to Monticellos in Portland, Oregon with my friend, JoDee...she has a booth there, it is called Duchess, wonderful stuff!!! I got this clock face at one of the booths there. I just need JoDee to come to my house and decorate it, she has such a beautiful home....I keep threatening her that I am going to take pictures of her house and do a tour on my blog!!!

For my birthday, JoDee ordered me this pillow that I have been wanting for months, I LOVE IT!! On the back side of it, it has the number 4 on it (because I have 4 kids!!).

Some fall decorations around my house....oh, I also got that tiny little clock at Monticellos.

I love this crow!!! When Mike first saw it, it scared the crap out of him, it actually startled him!!! He was on the phone with Britnee and she said that he screamed...what a wuss!!! LOVE HIM!!! Meaning Mike!!!

Some random leaves hanging from the light fixture.

Front hallway....

I have been very bad about blogging lately....actually, I have been very busy. Brad was here in Fort Collins for about 3 weeks. While he was here, we bought him a car. We decided that I should drive back to Vancouver, Washington with him, yes, that is right, Brad and I in a car for 18 hours!!! I am glad that I went with him, because he was tired of driving after 1.5 hours!! It was nice just being with him, I am sure that I drove him nuts....I was only in Vancouver for one day. We drove up to see Chris and Britnee, she looks so cute pregnant, I miss her and Chris alot. I did some shopping with JoDee, and then had to head to the airport. I miss Vancouver so much, but I will be there next month again!!!

My husband, the dumpster diver....

2009-09-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

I am always reading blogs about people who find these great deals for free furniture on the side of the road, or in peoples garbage, and when I read it, I have to be honest, it kind of grosses me out!!! But then they show what they do with the furniture that they find, and I always love the end result. The other day, we pulled up to our condo, and I looked over near the dumpsters, and I saw this changing table. I had Mike go over to the garbage and see what kind of condition it was in, it was in perfect condition, so he hauled it home!!! I called Britnee to tell her about the treasure we pulled from the garbage, and her reaction was the same that I usually have when I hear something was from the garbage or side of the street!!! All we have to do is paint it pink!! My husband is an official dumpster diver!!!

The BEST gift of all....

2009-09-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

This pillow I got from my sister, Liz. I saw it in the Ballard Design catalog and HAD to have it. So, I called her and begged her to get it for me!! I love it!!

My sweet niece, Jamie, got me this cute iron scroll, it fits perfectly in my kitchen in between two doors that I have in there....she knows her aunt loves anything iron!!!

My sister, Michelle, got me this cute basket that I hung in my kitchen, it looks perfect hanging in there.

My friend, Millie Vanillie, got me this adorable clock...she liked it so much that she even bought herself one!!

Today is my 41st birthday!!! I get spoiled every year by my friends and family. My Bradley came home for a mini vacation in between semesters at college. He is going to be here for two weeks. He wouldn't pose for me, so this is the best picture that I could get of him, I am so happy that he is home, when you only get to see your kids a few times a year, you really need to cherish the times they are with you!!! THE BEST FOR LAST...as some of you may know, our daughter, Britnee, is pregnant and due January 22nd, we are so excited to be grandparents!! Today, she had her ultrasound and found out that she is having a baby girl, WE CAN'T WAIT!!!! That was the best gift to get, now I know what I need to start buying!!!

My new obsession.....

2009-08-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

PILLOWS!!!!! I am in love with these pillows that I just purchased. I got them from a very talented gal that I found through blogland, her blog address is www.saseaboutique.blogspot.com, go check out her blog and etsy shop, she has the cutest pillows. And her prices are awesome!! The gold crown pillow, I gave to my sister, Liz, and it looks so cute in her bedroom with her red and gold bedding, the pillow with the french address on it, I put on my little corner reading chair, it is so adorable, it is the first thing that I see when I walk into my living room and the black crown pillow, I put on my bed!!! Just wanted to thank Katie at Sa-Sea Boutique for the pillows!!

And the winners are.....

2009-08-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

Some of you are going to be surprised to know this about me....but, I always think that people don't like me. It is a total insecurity about myself. I do try to be friendly to everyone and I always try to look for the good in people, but for some reason, I just automatically think that people are just not going to like me. The older I get, the "better" I am getting at this problem. So, I was so excited when we had our neighborhood picnic about 2 weeks ago. We live in a great neighborhood community here in Fort Collins. At this picnic, all the neighbors voted on Best yard, Best garden and the Best citizens. There were about 500 people at this picnic, it was great. Of course, as the guy was announcing who won the different categories, I was talking....but I heard them say, the winners are Mike and Diana Thompson!!! And then there was cheering....what did I win???? Mike and I won the Best Citizenship in our community award. I was thrilled, it really is an honor. Just so you know, earlier that day, I was totally feeling sorry for myself because I miss my friends in Vancouver so much, but after I won that award, I realized what great friends and neighbors we have here in Fort Collins. Maybe people do like me after all....I totally understand loving my Mike, he really is the greatest guy, he would do anything for anyone, but me??? Thank you to all my great friends and neighbors here in Fort Collins.

Brentons bathroom

2009-07-19T12:40:00.001-07:00

Okay, we have been in our condo for a year now, and I still have to do all of the bathrooms, but I got a little start on Brentons bathroom, which is actually the upstairs hallway bathroom. All of the bathrooms just need to be gutted, but I am trying to do things on a budget, so I am not going to redo the floors or cabinets for a little while. One of my favorite blogs, BlondieNSC, did a tour of her moms home that she just had built and I feel in love with her color scheme in the guest bedroom, it was gray and yellow. Then when I went to Vancouver, my friend, Jodee had just redone her boys' bathroom in a blue/gray....gray must be speaking to me!!! I loved her boys' bathroom, so I told her I was gonna copy it. And I did!!!! I got the paint from my friend, Mona, in Vancouver, it is the color that she painted her family room/kitchen area. LOVE IT....I got a new mirror from Target, new light fixture from Lowes, new shelf from Target and knobs for the cabinets/drawers from Target. My sister, Liz got me the new candle and soaps for the shelf, thank you Liz!!! My budget was $200..... The chandelier I used to have in my room, so I moved it in the bathroom to see if I would like the yellow with the gray, and I do!!!!

paint $0

light fixture $70

mirror $60

shelf $20

knobs $9

Total $159

Catching Up

2009-07-06T19:35:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July, our family went to my dads house for a barbeque. Both of my sisters families came also. My mom came out to visit us from Boston. She looks amazing. She has lost over 100 pounds in the last year, we are all so proud of her. The 4th was a fun day, except for the very last firework....my husband let it off, and it went crazy...it went into my dads yard, then flew over across the street into the neighbors yard, and it hit a little baby. The baby got burns on her face and hands, so sad!!! I hate fireworks, as a matter of fact, I told Mike not to buy any this year, but you know how boys and fire are....I think that he learned his lesson.

My sister Liz, me and my sister, Michelle. They are the best sisters anyone can ask for, however, I am the best sister of all!!! :)

All (well, most) of the cousins...Jayton, Bristyn, Jaeger, Jaime, Jace, Brenton and Jacob.

Our family on the 4th of July. We missed you Britnee and Bradley!!!

Brenton turned 12 on July 1st. He decided that he wanted to have a swimming party with his friends from church. It was very hot that day, so it was a great idea. We got him an Ipod, he is the hardest kid to buy for because he never asks for anything. Happy Birthday Brenton.

So sad...

2009-06-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am seriously mourning the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I remember when I was a little girl, playing "Charlies Angels" with my sister, Michelle and my cousin, Lillian. I always played the part of Kelly (Jaclyn Smith). We loved that show, I always thought that those women were the most beautiful women, who didn't want to be like them? And then Michael Jackson, so sad....he truly was such a pop icon, I remember doing cheerleading routines to his songs and doing dance routines with my friend, Carrie to all of his videos. I loved him, I always felt bad for him in the last couple of years for the troubles that he had in his personal life. I don't even know these people, but their deaths have really affected me.

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to all of the wonderful examples of fathers that we have, but especially to my wonderful husband and my dad!! Hope all the men in our lives know how much we appreciate and love all that they do for us. For Fathers Day, I made a yummy dinner of roast, mashed potatoes and carrots, and for dessert, Brenton really thought that Mike needed a cheesecake, so I got up this morning and made one. Later on this afternoon, we are going for a bike ride to my dads house, but for right now, we are watching the Brazil vs. Italy soccer game!! Let me just say, those are my 2 favorite mens teams, talk about some freakin hot guys!!! just saying.....enjoy your day!!!

My Sweet Savannah Giveaway

2009-06-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Go to My Sweet Savannah (link above) for a sweet giveaway that she is doing.

Farm Chick treasures and other shopping stuff

2009-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know, why in the world would I buy a big, red number 6? Because as soon as I saw it, I had to have it, that is why!!! I love it, I got it at the Lisa Souers booth, she had some really cool stuff at her booth. People ask why the number 6...because there are 6 of us in the Thompson family!!!

Love this sweet pillow that I put in the eating area. To me, it screams Farm Chicks!!!

I love this tea towel....I got it at Teresa Sheeleys booth at Farm Chicks. I wish that I had bought a couple more...I might just have to order some from her Etsy shop for my sisters cause I think that they would love them!!

Okay, I know that I am not the best photographer. I would really love to take a photography class and learn how to take pictures. Or maybe, I need a better camera. I got this clock at one of the booths at Farm Chicks. I wish that I could remember which booth, but I can't, I am bad that way!!!

Sorry this bracelet is so blurry....my friend, Jodee, got this for me and I love it. It has tiny pieces of watches in it, it is awesome, I have never seen anything like it. Oh, and my hands are swollen because I just got back from walking my 4 miles, and I am dying today because of it.

I got this car for Brenton. He loves slugbugs ever since Jodees daughter, Brannigan, got one in high school. When we first moved to Fort Collins, he would still look at every yellow slugbug to see if Brannigan was in it!!! I think that I got this car at Ross, love me some Ross!!!

I love Homegoods, that is all I have to say!!! It is the best store, and we don't have one here in Fort Collins. I got this apothecary jar there (and I got one for each of my sisters), and I got the cute candle holders at Monticellos in Portland, Oregon.

Our Family

2009-06-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Do you know how long it has been since our whole entire family has been together? Almost three years. I took a ton of pictures this past week because we were all together, I miss us being in one place, but I guess that is what happens when your kids grow up. All I have to say is, cherish your kids when they are with you, because when they leave the house, it is never the same. I LOVE MY KIDS!!!!

Our college graduate

2009-06-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we went to Cheney, Washington for Britnees graduation from Eastern Washington University. We are so very proud of her, what an accomplishment!! She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in History. Her next step is to get her teaching certificate so she can teach high school history. She worked so hard to earn her degree, she has the best future ahead of her!!!

Britnee and Chris, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!

2009-06-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Britnee and Chris are engaged!!! We are gaining a wonderful son in law!!! We are so excited for Chris and Britnee, of course, we don't know when the wedding will be, we will let everyone know as soon as we do!!! Chris got her an absolute beautiful ring, but all the pictures that I took are so blurry...(sorry Mom, I told Britnee to take a picture of it and post it on her blog).

Duchess Booth at Farm Chicks

2009-06-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

As some of you might know, about 2 weeks ago, I went to Vancouver, Washington to meet up with my friend, Jodee Smith, so we can go to Farm Chicks in Spokane, Washington. It was awesome, I have never been to an antique show like this before. Jodee started her business about 9 months ago, and she is thriving. Everyone has always told her that she should be in the business of decorating, she has a real eye and talent for decorating, and like I say, she makes ugly things beautiful!!! Her business is called "Duchess". I loved her booth at the show and I am so proud of her. She is going to be at the Barn House show in July, and she is very much looking forward to that. If any of you have the opportunity to go to Farm Chicks, do it, you will not be disappointed. I also got to meet some of my favorite bloggers, I was so excited to meet Melaine from My Sweet Savannah and Tara from Blondie NSC.....they are adorable!!! I love this blogging world!!!

Welcome to my sister Lizs' house

2009-05-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

I think that every house in Colorado has some type of a dead animal in it, NOT mine though. I always make fun of her for having this carcass hanging on her wall, but she reminds me that it is also her husbands house.

Those things hanging above the picture of my nephew are antlers that my brother in law finds in the woods. He puts them everywhere...I think that he does it to irritate my sister!!!

This afternoon, I went over to my sister, Lizs' house to help her in her yard, she wanted to surprise her husband while he is out of town. We didn't get far though. We trimmed back some bushes and did some weeding....she needs to get a rotatiller to do the rest!!! I did get some color on my skin though!!

Our busy weekend

2009-05-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

For Bristyns birthday and last day of school, we took her and 5 of her friends out to dinner to the Rio Grande. After dinner, we came home and more of her friends came over to hang out, two of her friend boys made her a cake, I think that she had a great birthday. This picture was taken on Saturday night, she is totally exhausted because I think her and her friends stayed up all night Friday night.

Also, this weekend, Brentons soccer team played in the end of the season tournament. It was awesome, as everyone knows, we love soccer!! His team won the tournament, and Brenton was nominated Best All Around player.

On Friday night, Brenton and Mike went fishing and camping with Brentons scout troop from church. Both of them love to fish and camp. Brenton is a real outdoors type of a boy, he would even camp in the snow, not me though.

I am feeling old now...our baby (okay, so he is not a baby anymore) Brenton graduated from elementary school on Friday. No more kids in elementary school!!! It is one of those bitter-sweet things. You realize that your children are growing up, but you still crave for them to be your little baby.

Happy 15th Birthday Bristyn

2009-05-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our Bristyn is 15 years old, it is hard to think that she has been in our lives for that long....for her birthday, I am going to share 15 fun facts about our Bristyn....here it goes...
1. From the time that I was pregnant with Bristyn, there was always a close bond with her and Bradley. He took such good care of me when I was pregnant, and when she was born, she was the world to him. She loves, loves, loves her older brother (she also loves her other siblings also!!). To this day, there is a closeness with those two siblings.

2. Bristyn has been playing soccer since she was four years old. She is very passionate about it, she lives for it!!!

3. For some reason the song, "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie", has become our song. We know the whole song and we sing it so loud when it is on the radio. She told me that whenever she hears that song, she thinks of us.

4. From the time she was born, her nickname has been Miss America...maybe it is because she doesn't like girlie girl things...we also call her Missy...but I have noticed that our bishop calls her Brissy, and I love that name.

5. I feel bad for Bristyn because she loves animals. We have never had a pet though, one of these days maybe we will cave in and get her a dog. But for now, she has to deal with her younger brother!!

6. Bristyn has her Daddys smile. Huge!!! People have always commented to us about her beautiful smile. As a matter of fact, last school year, she was voted "Best Smile". We love her smile, it always makes us smile.

7. From the time that Bristyn was nine months old, she always had to have a banana for breakfast. She loves them and she still eats one most mornings.

8. Bristyn loves to be with her friends and hang out...she has alot of friends, most that I approve of!!! She is ALWAYS on her phone texting, THAT drives me crazy!!!

9. Bristyn took a photography class this year at school and has become quite the photographer, she is great at it!!! Her favorite subject to take pictures of is herself!!

10. As a child, Bristyn NEVER played with Barbies or dolls. Trust me, she had every kind of doll and Barbie, but never showed any interest....she would have rather been playing outside with all the boys.

11. This year at school, Bristyn was voted Best Sense of Humor....I can see why.....

12. Her favorite food is fruit salad.

13. Bristyn likes to wear flip flops to church, I don't like her doing that...we have gotten in some arguments about it, so now, she goes to church bare foot. I think that she does it to embarrass me so it looks like I have no control over her.

14. Bristyn loves to make brownies, the only problem is that she eats half of the batter before it is put in the pan..needless to say, her brownies are scary.

15. To gross us out, she likes to give herself wedgies and walk around the house like that. Trust me, not attractive. But funny....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR SWEET BRISTYN, HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!!

Soccer Banquet

2009-05-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year again, when you have graduation parties, banquets, and the end of the school year!!!! I love it!!! Last night was no exception...we had Bristyns soccer banquet at the Fort Collins Country Club. I have decided that I am not a country club type of a gal. I feel very uncomfortable in "stuffy" places. Bristyn had a good soccer season, she really loves all the girls on her team. I love having evenings with just Bristyn and I, she is a funny girl. After the banquet, I came home to a house full of my husbands priest quorum boys. They went fishing and came to the house afterwards for a little party, let me just say, those boys can eat!!! I am exhausted today, but I have a full day ahead of me....

Pictures from Mothers Day

2009-05-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you Britnee, Bradley, Bristyn and Brenton for the flowers and bushes for my patio pots, I love them!!! These are some of the pots I have outside that I filled with my Mothers Day flowers. We went to our "sister friends" for dinner yesterday, and I made a chocolate dessert, I don't know the name of the recipe, but I got it from my friend Allison, and I made a fruit pizza, per request from the sister friends. Dinner was yummy, and so was dessert. We played an all time favorite game, Pictionary, and Bristyn and I won!!! I love winning!!! I need to get a picture of my sister friends so everyone knows who I am talking about....

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

I hope that all of my wonderful friends and family are having a wonderful Mothers Day. We are going to our "sister friends" for a barbeque this afternoon. Mike and the kids got me flowers to plant in my planters outside. Every year for Mothers Day, I love to work in the yard and get it ready for summer, but since we moved into the condo, we don't have a yard to fix, and trust me, Mike loves that!! Brenton got me a necklace from his school garage sale and he spent all of his fake money on it!! I just wanted to wish my mom a happy Moms Day. She is the best mom anyone can ask for. She is the most Christ like person I know, who always looks for the good in everything. She has been through such a hard time in the last two years and my heart just aches for her. I wish that she was near us so we can take care of her. I know that she gave up so much so us kids could have what ever we wanted, and I appreciate that. She is also the best Grammy!! Even though you are not here Mom, you are right next to my heart, I love you and miss you and I hope that you have a wonderful, happy day.

Tuesdays with Mike.....

2009-04-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

This has become our tradition. Every Tuesday, Mike and I go out for lunch at this cute little cafe called Genoa Coffe and Wine. It is our favorite place to have lunch. It is sometimes very hard to go out for dates on Friday or Saturday evenings because of all the activities that the kids are involved with. So, this is our weekly date. We always share a bagel sandwich and a dessert, it is so yummy!!! The owner spoils us there, she loves us!!! I love spending time with my Mike.

Bristyn in action

2009-04-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Bristyns first love....SOCCER!!!! Yesterday, the Fort Collins High School soccer team had a game against their biggest competitor, Rocky Mountain High School. It was a tough, hard game, unfortunately, Rocky Mountain won 3-1. I love watching these girls play, they are all such great players. Bristyn is learning alot from playing on this team, she is loving it, but it sure is alot of work!!

Brenton

2009-04-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here you go Mom, a picture of Brenton playing goalie....he is too cute!!! I always tell him that he is the best player on the field and the cutest!!!

Colorado Rapids vs. LA Galaxy

2009-04-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our day was full of soccer!!! We love soccer....Brenton had two games, which he won both!!! Scores were 5-1 and 7-1. He usually plays goalie during one of the halves, which totally stresses me out (cause you know it is all about me!!!), and the other teams did not score on him, he did score a goal in the second game, his first for the season. Bristyn had a game also, but she did not play in it (long story)....and then lastnight, we went down to Denver to watch the Rapids vs. the Galaxy!!! I was pretty bummed that David Beckham wasn't there (he is still in Milan), but I did get to see Landon Donovan, LOVE HIM!!! He scored for his team, the ending score was 1-1. I wish that we could afford season tickets to their games, they are so fun to watch.

I love letters

2009-04-19T10:46:00.001-07:00

I love letters!!!! I was walking around the house the other day and noticed how many letters I have around here. My sister, Michelle, has a whole wall in her home with the initial "N", I love it and I think that it looks awesome, so I kind of copied her!!

The living room, with no tv cables!!!

2009-04-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

I know, we have been in our condo for almost 10 months and Mike finally got the cable mess from the tv fixed!!! I guess it started driving him crazy, so he fixed it. I also rearranged the furniture a little bit so I thought that I would post what we have done. I love the way the room is looking, so cozy and comfy. I will post the pictures of our theater room, Mike spoiled our family this last week, so we are getting it fixed up!!!

Found the Easter pictures....

2009-04-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

I finally found the pictures of Bristyn and Brenton from Easter...it was a very cold morning, but Bristyn still managed to wear her flip flops. She wears those things even when it is snowing outside, doesn't matter if her toes are blue, they are still on her feet! I don't like her to wear them to church either, but when she wears her church shoes to church, she takes them off as soon as we get there, drives me nuts!!

Weekend project...basement hallway

2009-04-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

This shot is taken right outside of Bristyns bedroom at the right of the basement.

This shot is taken at the left side of the basement, outside of the theater/office.

This shot is taken as I was walking down the stairs, you can go right to Bristyns room or left to the theater/office.

Another shot from the stairs.

I am soooo excited about our weekend project. I got this great idea from a very talented lady, her name is Melaine Thompson and her blog is www.mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com , go check out her blog, she is very inspirational and talented. We really haven't done too much to our basement and I am really itching to get it done. By all means, the lines are not perfect, so I still have some spots to fix. I love how it turned out, I find myself just walking by the basement door and just opening it so I can look at the hallway downstairs. It just looks awesome!!! I love the blog world for great decorating ideas, everyone knows that I can't think of great decorating ideas like this!!! Now, I need to get the theater room done....

Easter dinner at Michelles

2009-04-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

This year for Easter, we went down to my sister, Michelles house for dinner. As usual, I ate way too much, everything was wonderful. These are just some random pictures that were taken. I can't find the pictures I took of Bristyn and Brenton before we went to church, so, as soon as I find them, I will get them posted. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter and that we can all remember what the Savior did for all of us.

Happy Birthday Britnee...!!!!!

2009-04-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITNEE....FROM YOUR CRAZY FAMILY....WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU AND WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! H-A-P-P-Y-B-I-R-T-H-DAY!!!!!

I MISS BRITNEE

2009-03-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

I miss Britnee so much, she has been in France and Germany the past two weeks and it is not the same to not be able to talk to her and to know how she is doing. I am happy that she has been able to go and see the world and experience different cultures but I miss her calls almost every hour.
I miss Bradley too. I am very happy that he is doing so well in school. I just wish that they were both closer to me and Mike. oh how i love them and brenton and bristyn

My new purchase

2009-03-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

While on spring break in Las Vegas, I went shopping with my friend, Susie. I love to shop, but there isn't alot of fun stores around here, so I took advantage of the shopping while in Phoenix and Vegas. In Vegas, I purchased this fun table/shelf. I bought it, initially, thinking that it would be a great "island" in the kitchen, but when I got it home, it was too big and tall, so I put it in the eating area, and it fits perfect. I love the color and size. I bought it at Home Goods, we don't have one here in Fort Collins, and we need one!!! The black picture frame and green "t" I got while shopping with Angela in Phoenix, we went to a store called, Razmataz, LOVED IT!!!! I didn't spend very much and I am happy with my purchases, Mike didn't even ask how much I spent!!!

Hippity, Hoppity, ITS SPRING!!!!

2009-03-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!!! The weather her for the last two days has been so nice, however, I just heard that we are supposed to get a snow storm tonight....and you know how I feel about snow!!! Oh well, I will enjoy the weather today. My neighbors (Liz and Melanie) invited us over for a barbeque tonight, and the smell of barbeques makes me yearn for summer!!! I just have to say how much I love my sister friends, Liz and Melanie. They have become such dear friends to both Mike and I. They came into my life at a time that I was in need of friends, right after we moved to Fort Collins, I was very lonely, and all of a sudden, they were there and a void was filled!!! Not only that, but Liz loves to cook (and always makes a ton of food) and is always inviting us over...LOVE THAT!!! They are the best sister/friends/neighbors ever!!!

Just Because....

2009-03-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just because I can't get enough of these two...I just had to take a couple of shots of them after church today....I love my kiddos....and I am missing my other two terribly!!!!

Diana and Susie Bell Henrie

2009-03-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is my wonderful friend, Susie. Look at how buff she is and how I am trying to look like I am buff!!! She is awesome and so much fun to be around. We had a great time with her family.

On the strip

2009-03-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

When we got to Las Vegas, we stayed on the strip for 2 nights and then we went and stayed at our friends, Susie and Troy Henrie. I have known Susie for 26 years, we are young!!!! She is buff, she won the Excalibur Figure Competition and she is such an inspiration. The first night we were in Vegas, I HAD to have the New York style pizza at the New York, New York, it was divine!!! The kids rode on the roller coaster ride, not me!!! It was alot of fun to just hang out and walk around.

Our visit to Phoenix

2009-03-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

Diana and our sister in law, Angela

Bristyn, our niece Jess, nephew Josh and Brenton.

Mikes youngest brother, Keith.

Mike and the adorable, Bristyn.

Brenton and Josh in Uncle Keiths backyard.

For Spring Break this year, we took the kids and Bristyns friend, Kyra to Phoenix, Arizona and then to Las Vegas. It has been very fun and very hot!!! We went to Mikes brothers house and it was absolutely beautiful. Angela and Keith have done such a wonderful job with their house, we loved it and we felt so welcomed there. The kids loved hanging out with their cousins, and I loved the weather....like I said, I love the warm weather!!! I felt totally at home in Phoenix!!!

I got to see Brannigan!!!

2009-03-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

While we were visiting Mikes brother, Keith, in Phoenix, I called my sweet little Brannigan and she came over for a barbeque!!! Brannigan is the daughter of one of my closest friends, Jodee. Brannigan is like a ray of sunshine, I LOVE HER AND HER CRAZY HAIR!!!! It was great seeing her (even though I had my swallowing issues really bad that night!!!). We miss you Branny!!!

Driving to Phoenix

2009-03-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is how I felt being trapped in a car for 13 hours with the family!!!! Kidding...the kids did great, they were very excited to see all of our family and friends.

Happy Birthday Mike

2009-03-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Forty-one and still hot!!!! Happy Birthday to the best husband and father. For Mikes birthday we went out to one of his favorite restaurants in Fort Collins, Sri Thai. We went with his friend, Eric Hamrick and his wife Laura. We have known the Hamricks for about 15 years now and Mike and Eric have run (I think) 4 marathons together, crazy!!! We came back to our house and had ice cream and cake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!

This is for Lisa....

2009-03-04T18:57:00.001-08:00

My friend Lisa did not know what an apothecary jar was...so this is one Lisa!!! Do you see all of the pretty shells we collected on the beach?? Love it!!!!

My trip to Cancun Mexico

2009-03-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

Lisa and I at the outdoor senote in the middle of the jungle....Allison is my most adventurous friend, she was probably jumping off a cliff or jumping off a rope to the middle of this senote!!!

This was at the beach at our hotel, there was alot of rocks on the beach, but it was beautiful. The water was warm and so turquise.

Us girls having our virgin drinks on the bar at the beach.....

Our nice night out. WOW Lisa, you look soooo tan!!!! I do not put on sunscreen (as you can tell), so the first day, I really got red, but now it is tanning. Allsion and Lisa are very good about covering their skin. This picture was taken in the lobby of our hotel. We stayed at the Omni Cancun.

The 3 amigas

This is the one of the ruins at Chichen Itza, it is quite amazing here. I learned that the world is supposed to end on December 21, 2012, according to the Mayan calender.....

This past Thursday, I met up with my friends Allison Vanderwood and Lisa Moarefdoust in Cancun, Mexico to celebrate our 40th birthdays. It was AWESOME!!! It was great to have girl time with two of my closest friends. We had a fun filled 6 days together. We went to Tulum to see the Ruins and spend the day on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, we went shopping in Playa Del Carmen and ate at a wonderful authentic mexican restaurant and went to a chocolate shop. We also went to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan Ruins, saw the way the Mayans live, and went to a Senote to swim in, that kind of creeped me out!!! It was in a cave....we also went to Selvatica to do the ziplines through the jungle. That scared the crap out of me, so I inherited a little guide for myself to help me through it!!! We also rode bikes through the jungle to get to an outdoor senote. I had such a blast with Allison and Lisa, now I wish that I can do a trip every year for my birthday!!!

Congratulations Bristyn

2009-02-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

Bristyn is a freshman this year, but still attends junior high, but they have to do sports for the high school. Bristyn LOVES soccer, she has played it since she was 4 years old, it truly is her passion. This past week they had try outs for the high school team. Competition here in Fort Collins is quite amazing, there is alot of talented soccer players. She really didn't think that she would make the team (I always knew she would!!), we are happy to announce that she made the high school team!!! I made cupcakes to celebrate her huge accomplishment, we are very proud of her and can't wait until the games start!!! Congratulations Bristyn!!!

Food Storage

2009-02-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am excited!!! As you all know, I am a horrible shopper (I get that talent from my mom:), so lately I have been trying to figure out ways to be a better bargain shopper. I have started clipping coupons and shopping at multiple stores instead of just one store. My shopping is taking more time, but the money I am saving is worth it. I got all of these groceries today for under $100!!!! I couldn't believe it. I think that Mike was happy with my shopping also. I have been working really hard towards our food storage this past year, and today I am feeling that I did a wonderful job adding to it. Just so you know, I really never take pictures of my groceries, but I just wanted to share my accomplishment.