Summer Goodness

Hans is working all day everyday, so on the days I am not working, It’s good to find something to do with my time.

Yesterday my cousin Megan was off work and so was I! So we decided to make a little trip to a pottery place. We got to paint our own pottery, and it was so fun!

She decorated a mug

And I decorated a Cupcake cookie jar!

Of course, after they are finished, when we pick them up, the colors will be a lot darker, and they will be shiny and beautiful. Stay tuned for pictures of that.

We also went and got some ice cream

  

Such a cute little place! There was even a cute little train…

We were so artistic.

It was good we went together, because I don’t think Hans would enjoy stuff like that as much as I do….

Happy day. I can’t wait to see the final product.

Another Week

Here we are again, starting another week, and I hope it’s a good one! But I still always wait patiently… or not patiently…. for the weekend to come around again.

This weekend we went to the National Air and Space Museum. To be completely honest, I didn’t expect much. It takes a lot to impress me….. But it was actually really cool!

Something about seeing a bunch of huge airplanes all over is just cool.

My brother really likes that kind of stuff, so we bought him a postcard and we are going to send it to him in New York! Yes, he is in New York now, and as far as I know he is doing well! We’ll see what he says in his next letter :)

We also went to a barbecue with friends on Saturday. I forgot to take pictures until the very end. But I did get a picture of the Hinckleys…

And Shannon and her baby…. minus her husband and little boy..

Note to self: next time, take pictures.

Here is a video of a firefly.. I’m sure most of you have seen them…. but maybe not!

There are a bunch flying around at night here. They kinda look like an ember shooting out of a fire….. I guess. That’s the best way I can think to describe it.

On Sunday I learned how to make homemade tortillas with the family. It was fun!

And I made everyone get together to take a picture :)

Sometimes, I wish I had nice dark hair.

Love those girls!

Friday

Well, it’s Friday, and I almost forgot to post today!

Here is the one thing I have to post about being frugal.

We got the toothpaste! I couldn’t pass it up, and now we are going to have to find a way to pack it in our already full suitcases, and have them not weigh over 50 pounds… which they already do. Hmm. That should be interesting….

Those usually cost $4 each. But we got 4 of them, a fathers day card, a huge package of sour patch kids, kleenex, and 1 candy bar all for $7! 

Well, now that the week is over, we are glad.

I for one, am finally starting to feel comfortable in the area, and things are going great! We had a rough first few weeks, with a root canal, trying to find a job, trying to find our way around here, trying to find a car,….. just figuring things out. Just being in a new place is tough! But we had a ton of help from family, and things are starting to feel “normal” now. Which I am so happy about!

Can I just say to our family that reads this….

We love the Westergards! We have always loved them ( I?) but it has been so great to get to know them better. I know that I am going to be really sad when we have to leave at the end of the summer!  At least now we know that we have great family out here, if we do end up living here.

I just ended my first week of Nanning. It went well. The girls I watch are so sweet, and fun. And they are a little older, which means, not much watching is required.

I spent my week driving them to and from places, playing card games, learning how to play  “marbles”, going to the pool, reading harry potter to them, making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and making cupcakes.

 

It was a good week.

I hope you all have a great weekend :)

Baltimore

We didn’t go into DC this weekend. We stayed around town, and spent time with family. And I didn’t even take any pictures.

We had a great date night on Friday, with Alisa my cousin and her husband. We went to a cute little Italian place, with pizza that was so good! Then we went and saw X men. Which was a great movie! (minus a few inappropriate parts, but sadly, that’s to be expected ).

On Saturday we went shopping, and we played rock band and just dance, with the family.

So much better to spend a weekend this way instead of stressing about seeing all of the sights.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

Since Monday was my last day of freedom before I started working, and Megan wasn’t working either, we all went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore!

It was a bit of a drive, but still very fun. I can now say that I have been to Baltimore….. and the only thing I am reminded of when I hear Baltimore is… Hairspray. The movie. If you haven’t seen it, you need to.

My roommates and I even dressed up like them for Halloween one year.

I love that soundtrack!

Anyways… moving on….

I also LOVE aquariums! And it was so fun to go there! Here are some of the pictures….

And this cute little guy.

 

 

Good day. Great people. Enough said.

I feel so lucky to be able to stay with family and to spend time getting to know them better. So much fun!

I started my nanny job today. So far so good! We’ll see how the rest of the summer goes.

Being able to find a job here, makes me feel good about myself! I am marketable. I have been able to get a job in every place that I have been looking for one. And it has come pretty easy for me…..it hasn’t taken me very long to find jobs when I have needed them, and I feel very fortunate.

I know that it probably won’t be that way for the rest of my life, but for right now, I feel good about it.

And… off we go, to another full day tomorrow. 

Frugal Friday

I feel like I’m not going to have much to post about being frugal, and I won’t have anything to post about for the duration of Hans’ internship…. but I am going to try to think of things, since I don’t want to get rid of “frugal Friday”

I have thought about getting rid of it before, but after I started hearing people telling me that they actually read it… I felt a little bit better about it. I never know though, because no one ever comments on my blog! ! :) Please comment! It’s nice to know that people care.

Ok, so this week….

When we returned our rental car, we didn’t have to pay for the dent! remember this?

Prayers were answered!

After trying many times on Priceline, we were able to get a great deal on another rental care!

I love new cars!

Driving 2 hours each way, to get a root canal at a dental school for cheaper than normal is frugal right?

I think yes!

And, If I did go to the store this week for “deals” with coupons here is what I would’ve gotten for sure:

Rite Aid: Free arm and hammer toothpaste. It is the only kind that Hans will use because he gets bad Canker Sores.

Walgreens: Free Blistex chapstick. Love that stuff.

Office Max: Free Highlighters. Everyone could use some good highlighters!

In fact, I might still head over to these stores and get these things before Sunday :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Random things

Here are some random things from this week.

We get to see my cousin and her little boy a lot while we are here. He is such a cutie! We got to watch him for a little while one day, and there was a thunderstorm. He loved watching it.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of Hans holding him, because they were matching and it was so cute!

Can you see how green it is here?!

I have also worked on a few puzzles with my cousin Kaitlin

And last, is a picture of me after my root canal. I look great.

In other news…

I start my nanny job next week!

I think Hans is liking his internship! He is glad that he actually has stuff to do, and that he isn’t bored all the time. Things have been going well for him at his job.

I have caught some kind of nasty cold/flu. It’s not too surprising. It usually happens to me right after I have been really stressed.

I was thinking about making our blog private. I have always liked that anyone could get on and read our blog, and that I didn’t ever have to do the whole email invite thing. But I have been debating lately. Any thoughts?