Semester's End...

And not a moment to soon!

We did it! We made it through another semester!
It was a little rough going back to school for me, I had the hardest time getting back into the educational scene and knowing just how to prioritize my time well and I'll probably struggle with that until I graduate. I have a greater respect for my sisters, mom, and friends who have earned their degrees while doing the family thing--you are all so amazing to me! School used to be fun for me, but being a mommy is so much better than being a student and I've lost all interest in school. Oh well, I just have to make it through the next year.

So I'm pleased to report that Deryk and I both did quite well this semester!! And I have to be sure to give credit were credit is due--Thanks to Deryk, this semester was a successful one. He is the reason I passed physics and was able to do what studying I did manage to do. Thanks Deryk, you're my life-saver! (Just think, at this time next year I'll have a degree and it'll be just a matter of time until you have yours!!!)

So now we can enjoy a productive and eventful summer as a family and put all the stress of this last school year behind us. I look forward to another summer--it REALLY is my most favorite season!

Totally Lovin It!

So Deryk put in a fire pit in our backyard a few weeks ago (he made it out of a dryer or washer part) and I just have to say how much we love it! We have been using it every chance we get! We invited the Pocatello Simper crew and Stephen and Sarah (they live in Blackfoot, which is only 20min away) to a Family Night and roasted Hotdogs (of course, its not a Simper family event without hotdogs). Then Deryk and I used it to roast marshmallows for our own little family night and since then it has been used over and over again with Rachel's and Debbi's kids and with deryk's brother Braden and Joe (Deryk's dad) to make smores. So needless to say, in the few short weeks we've had it, it has been used very well and quite often. I'm glad Deryk is so inventive and acts on his good ideas, even when I'm not so sure about them ;).

Here are some pictures of us enjoying Deryk's inventive fire pit.

Thanks Grandma Simper for the Booties

My mom Knitted these adorable little booties for Gracie, who absolutely will not keep her socks on! Aren't they just so cute, my mom is so talented with her hands, she can knit, sew, cross stitch, cook, and crochet (all of which, I never really learned to do well because I'm so darn impatient). Thanks Mom for the cute Booties! They are perfect for Grace and I just love seeing them on her little (okay, not so little) feet!

I took these pictures a while ago, but because the last month has been so busy, I am just now posting them.

Oh ya, and the new ones are so darn cute and work perfectly! Thanks Mom-You are amazing and I appreciate all you do!

A Busy and Productive Saturday

Wasn't it so beautiful Saturday? We were so glad to have both nice weather and Deryk's day off at the same time!! We were able to get a lot done.

So check it out-- we were able to get the garage cleaned out, The garden tilled, the backyard cleaned, put a fresh coat of paint on the front door, closet doors, bedroom doors, and bathroom door, plant some flowers, and pull out some old bushes in the fenceline, AND get the monthly grocery shopping done!

Not to Bad, Huh?
Grace would not allow us to do anything without someone holding her!
I felt like Dad spraying off the patio--Thanks for teaching us how to keep our yard clean Dad! Grace was exhausted by the end of the day--she was out before we could get dinner on the table!

Ya, I call that a good Saturday!

A New Pass-Time

A few days ago I was babysitting Miriam and Rachel's children and they were extremely rambunctious and fidgety. It was cold and rainy outside and the longer the day got the wilder and more mischevious the kids got. What was i to do?!!!

The solution...

I put a work-out DVD in and we all kick boxed and ran in place together.

And now...

The kids beg me to do it EVERYDAY!But that's okay with me, bcause now I'm getting in my 30-45min workouts, which I am MORE than okay with!

Spring Yard Work--Hoping for Blooming Flowers Soon!

Last year Deryk and I dug out a flower bed. We put three bushes in it (that are struggling to survive) and this year we're planting flowers to go with the bushes. We took andvantage of all the extra hands we have in our home each day and got the flower bed all ready for planting...
Thanks Horton Crew for helping us, you are all so helpful and sweet (you can not believe how happy and excited they were to do it)!

Easter Fun!

Here are a few pics from our Easter! We had a great day and hope you all did too!

The Easter Bunny was so nice to us! Goodies for Deryk and I and Gracie was left a stuffed animal, book, and Dress.

Gracie Crawling to her basket.

She was happy with what the Easter Bunny had left her.

This is the best picture we have of Gracie in her dress, she has a cold and she was not willing to do a photo shoot, we'll get one later and post them then.

Will Crawl for Food!

Don't judge us.

We're so happy she's crawling! She just needed a little encouragement to get her to see that it's a good thing.

(This was a little while ago, (I just didn't get to it until now) she crawls much better now--she's almost a pro!)

By-the-ay, it takes FOREVOR to load a video on Blogger!!!!

Enjoy it While it Lasts!

The weather was beautiful today! We just had to get out and enjoy it while it lasts!

There is no doubt we have SPRING FEVER!

I forgot to put these cute pics from Las Vegas on the last post, but I think they are so cute.

What does David Archuletta and Las Vegas Have in Common?

Answer...

They are what we've been up to lately.

So My sisters and I, and a few of our friends, went to see David Archuletta in Idaho falls a few weeks ago. It was tons of fun to yell and scream with all the overly-zelous teeny-boppers. Thanks Steph, for hanging with me!

Stephanie (I took her for her birthday) and I waiting for the show to begin.David Archuletta--doin' his Thang!
(Hey Rach--we missed you TONS, a sisters outing is just not as fun without you!)

So Deryk and I had the chance to take a family vacation over spring break, so we decided to migrate to warmer weather for four days--so off we went to Las Vegas with my sister, Miriam and her family.

Gracie playing peek-a-boo on the long drive to Las Vegas--too cute! Waiting for the Volcano to explode outside the Mirage.

Gracie was Pooped! We had been walking all day. She crashed while we were checking out the conservatory at the Belagio.

It was a long drive, but it was a great vacation! we had the chance to get out and enjoy some sunny weather and renew our spirits for the last month of classes we have left in the semester, I think we'll make it!

I'm a Believer!!

A few months ago my little sister Rachel, told me (and everyone who reads her blog) about a website called, theGroceryGame.com. IN a nutshell, if you love to save money and hate seeing the dollars climb higher and higher every time you go grocery shopping and you've begun to wonder if it's possible to live off of saltine crackers, cereal, water, and tortilla shells (shudder)--then have no fear! This website is the answer to all your problems. It helps you use coupons and sales for all they are worth and you really do come out on top!
So tonite, Deryk and I tried it for the first time (we've been collecting coupons for the past few weeks) and it was the funnest grocery trip EVER! So are you ready for it? ...
We saved....
a Wopping....
158 dollars!!!
CHACHING!
And we bought a ton of pantry items! For the first time, in a long time, I feel as though the money we spent actually spread as far as it seemed it should.
So if your achin, for some Bacon but you're not really willing to shell out the "dough" for such a luxury item, check out the site...you'll be more than glad you did--Deryk and I were Giddy as we watched our overall total drop to more than half of it! SO AWESOME!
Thanks Rachel for the advice! We owe you--bout 158 dollars or more!

5k Blowout!!

Literally!
So we did it, we ran the 5k this past weekend in Idaho Falls. First of all it should be said that my nephew, Trevor is absolutely amazing!!! He did a great job and ran as though it was no big nothing! He completed the race with wings on his feet and really showed us all up!
As for me...
Well, I woke up in the night a few times feeling terrible, but thought it was nervousness for my first 5k. So I thought eventualy that it would go away and all would be well, and there was no way I was going to look like a woose by backing out at the last minute. So off we went to Idaho Falls.
The race began and off we went....3 miles and 27 minutes later, Trevor is flying throught the finish line...with no Jo insight!!! Ya, well, I did finish, though much later than Trevor. Let's just say it was a bumpy three miles for me. when I did finish I was just thrilled that it took me just barely less than 40min--I fealt like I had been out there for ETERNITY. Anyway I'm glad I went and finished despite it all.
The rest of the story...
I came down with the STOMACH FLU!
Oh well, I can only get better from here...

The start of the race. (Trevor, Debbi, and I are the runners farthest to the left)

By-the-way Trev, I had a great time despite the absolutely disgusting feeling and series of events that took place...can't wait til the next one.

Springtime Fashion a Little Early

We dressed Gracie up two Sundays ago like it was Springtime...we failed to look out the window and see that it had been snowing all morning!!!

O Well, nothing wrong with a little hopeful wishing.

A Major Face-Lift

Many of you already know that Deryk and I decided to get rid of the old carpet and go with a whole new look! So here are pictures of the project.

Here we have the best "before picture" I didn't really get one before we started taring out the carpet. (try to look past the cute little neice folding laundry)

And what it looked like when we got the carpet up...kind of a mess! We have no idea what the paint is all about!

And the finished result...

It really gives it a whole new look doesn't it? Yep, it was totally worth it--no buyers remorse here! I think it will deffinately add to the resale value when deryk and I put the house on the market in a little while. Deryk did a great job! It REALLY pays to have a handy man for a husband! Your great Deryk, Thanks for all the hard work!

New Years Resolutions or Bad Habits

So now that we are more than two months into the year, I've been thinking about my New Years resolutions. Usually by this time my resolutions have become a very unrealistic goal and I abandon any resolve I once had to "go for it." But this year things are a little different. I've really tried to stick with it, and make some concerted efforts to reach my goals.
My goal to get organized is slowly getting the check in the box next to it. I've organized the pantry, cuppords in the kitchen, bedroom and linen closets (I totaly should have put before and after pictures on here, but I'm affraid the before pictures are way to embarrasing), taken a few trips to D.I. and found that less really is more when it comes to having an organized and orderly home and have desperately tried to keep the house-clutter picked up before I go to bed (that one is the hard one, and often I have to re-resolve at the start of each ne week to it). I still have so much more that I want to accomplish but I'm making progress and that is more than I can say for past New Year resolutions.
As far as the budgeting goal...Well.. Let's just say we're doing a little better most of the time.
Really this post is just about bragging--I'm just so impressed with myself that I've been able to get a little closer to obtaining the goal! Anyone else feel the need to brag or do better?

Who Says Homework Has to Be Boring?

Tonight I was helping Deryk catch up on some homework for his internet classes by looking up comercials to analyze. I found these and I just had to share them with you

Deceptively Delicious?

So my sister Rachel has this cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, "Deceptively Delicious." The book has great ideas for incorporating nutritious food, namely veggies, into goodies such as brownies. Not a bad idea! So I decided to take a look through the book one day as I was babysitting, the kids actually love to pour over cookbooks and stare at the yummy pictures and declare whether they want to try it or not--I can't tell you how many times they ask me to get the "kid cookbook" down so they can salivate over the yummy treats (by-the-way, the "kid cookbook is a a cookbook that has lots of ideas for serving fun treats and dinners for children--you know what I mean right Rach?) Anyway, I totally digressed. Well, as I was looking through the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, I found a recipe I thought looked good. Now, take a look at this picture and you tell me how good it looks to you? (this is the picture I took when I cooked it)

Not so tempting looking is it? So this is called tofu chicken nuggets. The idea sounded great to me and the picture in the cookbook looks nothing like it (I think that is were the real deception comes in)! Needless to say they did not taste as good as I had hoped. Thank you to a sweet husband who so willingly tries the crazy things I sometimes come up with and eats them without complaining!

This incident, I think, will be as famous in this family as the zucchini pie incident we experienced in my family as children! (Ya, it was THAT bad!)

Catch-up Post

I've been meaning to post a few things for a while now, but I just haven't taken the time to do it, so here's a post to catch-up on the the random events and happenings of the Barretts.

First of all, Grace has been sitting on her own for a while now (YAY!). We're hoping the bald spot will grow in now! so here's a picture of Grace hanging with her cousin Ethan, trying to act like she's in the big league now! Next Up (and this is in no particular order of importance) We got to celebrate Deryk's Mom's birthday with her! We had a great time! We are thankful for our mom and grandma, she does so much to support and help us, and there is no question about how much she adores her little grandchildren--such a good Grandma! Thanks, Sue, for inviting us to share your birthday with you, we love and appreciate all you do! SO this is Gracie with her Grandma Sue, just after her bath. I absolutely love this picture and I promise to get you a coppy too, Sue.And finaly, (I wish I had a picture of this, but sadly I didn't think to get a picture when I went) I went to the cannary for the first time since my mission. I went with my older sister Miriam and we had a good time canning dry milk, wheet, flour, and rice. For those of you who may not be familiar with the cannary, it is a place where you can help can food storage items and even get some for yourself at a very reasonable, if not cheap, price. Deryk and I have decided we need to get a little better prepared so I'm going to go once a month. If anyone is interested in going with me just let me know, and if anyone is interested in knowing more about the cannary give me a holler. I think it is so important to have a food storage with the economy the way it is (I"m sure many of you feel the same way), and going to the cannary is actually quite fun!

So that's that! I'm caught up--I think.

First Valentines

Not only was this Grace's first Valentines Day, but it pretty much is the first time Deryk and I actually celebrated it together. Lat Year I was doing the morning sickness thing and I was in class until 8:30, so we didn't do anything, and the year before that we were still in the, "we're friends, but are we more than that?" stage, so needless to say we didn't do anything for eachother then either.

So, as our first real Valentines toghether, I decided we should celebrate it. So here's the rundown of our Valentines day

We went to see "He's just not that into you" (FOR FREE! can't get much better than that)

Then Deryk took Gracie out while I fixed a surprise dinner complete with candles!

The menu:

Appetizers: Stuffed Mushrooms (It was my first time making them, they turned out pretty good)

Pre-entre: Salad

Entre: Chicken enchiladas and garlic bread

Desert (my favorite part of the meal): Chocolate dipped strawberries and red grape sparkling cider--so Yummy!

And yes, Grace ate with us too--Her cuisine: Pureed Pease! Her Favorite!

It was a nice V-day. Probably the best I've ever had! Nothing beats having the people you love most with you all day!

Here's some pics of our little Gracie playing with her Valentine's gift from her grandma and Grandpa Barrett