Creekside Park & Splash-Pad

There is a new park that opened on the east side of Louisville, off Beckley Station Rd. After a week of relatively cool weather, it got hot enough to take the kids to try it out. It is super cool. The playground has some neat climbing structures and lots of fun things to do. On the far side, is a splash-pad and covered pavilion with tables. We had a picnic lunch and let the kids play. Great fun followed by great afternoon naps!!












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Jeff took the kids to the zoo

For the past month or more we have been suffocating in temperatures in the high 90's with heat indices >100 and stifling humidity. It was no fun leaving the cool air-conditioned house for anything much less taking a trip to the zoo (or any outdoor play area).
Today the temperatures have significantly dropped to a cool 83 degrees. I wish I didn't have to work and could enjoy the outdoors with the kids. At least Jeff was able to take them to the zoo so they could have fun.

Could this picture be any sweeter?
Nathan is showing Norah the gorillas.

Petting Zoo

Watching the baby giraffe in his enclosure

Grizzly Bears at the new Glacier Run exhibit

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Nathan visits Mamaw & Papaw

Nathan just came home from visiting his Mamaw and Papaw in Fort Wayne for 5 days. Ever since Norah got to go a couple months ago, he has been asking to go.
He always has such a fun time there. My mom had a list of fun things to do while he was there. They went to the pool and splash pad, rode bikes, played with cups,went to the park, played with sidewalk chalk, made cookies, spent the morning with Uncle Aaron and went to Uncle Andy & Aunt Jenni's house and pool. I'm sure they did even more things than just what I listed, but it sounds like a fun-filled, jam-packed trip.








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While Nathan is away...Norah will play

Nathan went to Fort Wayne to visit Mamaw and Papaw for 5 days. While he was having fun with his grandparents all to himself, Norah got to act like an only child (if just for a few days).












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Frugal Shopping

Couponing has become very popular in the last months and years. Just look at shows on TV like TLC's "Extreme Couponing" (which I do not watch).
I have become much more efficient at the world of couponing. Don't get me wrong, I don't spend nearly the time and energy on it that I have seen on TV or read in blogs. Thanks to blogs that match sales with coupons to get products at their lowest "rock bottom" price, I have recently scored some good deals and I now have started a small stock pile of items my family uses on a regular basis such as TP, toothpaste, spaghetti, etc.
I do get one Sunday paper and print coupons online off sites such as Coupons.com. I am also able to print coupons for items directly from a link on one of the blog pages when a specific deal is discussed that I may be interested in.
Not only is this fun and a little addicting, but I can already tell it is saving a lot of money. We are also eating at home a lot more instead of always eating out because we have a lot of food on hand and can make meals at home much more easily (and cheaply). See a previous post about Make Ahead Meals
The below pictures represent a few of my best shopping trips recently where I scored the best deals. I could never have matched the sales and coupons on my own. I have to thank Moneysavingmom.com and Thekrazycouponlady.com and their contributors for putting the sale scenarios together for me.

Target Deals
Retail total $101.44
Paid $9.72



additional Target purchase
2 pair of jeans for Jeff
Retail $29.99 each
Paid $1.98 each



Walgreens Deals
Retail cost $60.29
Paid $16.04



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