Graco party, part 2

You can read the interview conducted a few months ago and see a few more pics from the party here.

Graco party, part 1

My dad likes to enter sweepstakes.  So far we have made fun of him for winning:

• a set of knives
• a Hannah Montana PSP game (he doesn't own a platform)
• a phone call from various Disney characters
• a night's stay in a hotel from the Jonas Bros Rockin Sweepstakes.

Anyway, he called us at the end of April to let us know that he had won yet another online sweepstakes, and this time he was the Grand Prize winner!  I couldn't believe it when he told me that it was the Graco From the Heart sweepstakes.  I had told him about this back in March of '09 and he's been entering it pretty much every day since then.  To qualify, you had to be the parent or grandparent of a baby born during the sweepstakes time frame.  Since he was the grandparent of Kaitlyn, he entered over 200 times!
Due to these entries, he and Kaitlyn were chosen as the grand prize winners and were therefore entitled to:

• a catered party for Kaitlyn's family
• a professional photographer & videographer to record the party, as well as a book and pictures for us from the party
• 10 round trip plane tickets to fly out of town family to Kaitlyn's party (Mom, Dad, Matt, Chris, Tyler, Carisa & baby Weston from Idaho; Grandma & Grandpa from California, and Mandy & Ryan from Texas)
• 5 hotel rooms for 3 nights to accommodate the above family members
• 2 rental vans to drive everyone around in
• $1000 worth of Graco products of our choice (we chose a double stroller, a single stroller, and a convertable carseat for ourselves, a travel system and a pack and play for my sister, a large infant/toddler carseat for Jared's sister, and a stroller to keep at my parents' house for visits.
• $5000 savings bond for Kaitlyn's college (this is one of our favorites)!

So, the whole crew came into town for an early celebration of Kaitlyn's first birthday.  Also in attendance at the party were Jennie & Sean, Grandma & Grandpa Z, Steve & Linda, Andy, Tammy, Coulton, Taylor, Mara, and Lexia.
We had so much fun playing with the family.  We went to the temple, IKEA, swimming, Kennecott, and just hung out at the hotel.  It was so great to spend a relaxing vacation in the Salt Lake area, and we loved every minute.  We were especially excited that Grandpa Brown came in and got to meet Kaitlyn for the very first time!  He made her a beautiful music box that has a rocking chair and some teddy bears on it.  Kaitlyn was thoroughly spoiled and loved having so many people to play with!  We are so grateful to everyone for their gifts and well-wishes.  Enjoy the pics!
P.S. I haven't heard yet when we'll be getting the professional pics back, but when I do I'll let you know.

72-hour Sanity - Week 3

This week I bought a 5-pack of BIC lighters.  One went in each bag.  I also bought some pencil boxes from target to store all the little things that will need to be organized (such as lighters).  Total spent: $10.50.

72-Hour Sanity: Week 2

This week we bought bottles of hand sanitizer for $0.99 each!

72-hour Sanity - Week 1

This week for our 72 hour kits we bought backpacks.  Because it's getting close to that back-to-school time of year, some places are trying to get a jump on backpacks.  I got three backpacks for $15.00 at Ross.  I also saw some at Macey's grocery for $8.00 each.  Now we have something to put our 72 hour kits in!

How to keep your little ones Reverent in Sacrament meeting.

My cousin Tammy has these awesome church bags that keep her kids reverent and focused on the Savior during Sacrament meeting.  She can rotate the items in the bag, but most (if not all) are focused on the Lord.  The bags grow with her kids from toddler age to teenage.  I have had so many other moms ask me about mine and wanting to make their own, that I thought I'd create a blog to share with other mom's out there.  I'll be updating and adding new ideas often, so check it out!  http://churchbag.blogspot.com/

Called to Serve...

In the Honolulu, Hawaii mission, reporting August 18, 2010: Chris Brown!

In the Mexico City East mission, reporting November 17, 2010: Matt Brown!