One of the things I miss so much about Germany is their awesome festivals. They always have the best games, food, shopping and activities. Now that I am in Colorado and I hear about festivals, I am all about going and checking them out, hoping they will be half as good as the ones in Germany. This weekend in Old Town Colorado were Territory Days so I made Ed go with me to check it out. It was ok, yes, just ok. Nothing like the ones I am used to and miss so much but it was definitely worth checking out. Layla's favorite part hands down was mining for gold. Her and Ed had so much fun. They got a little jar and filled it up with tons of colored rocks they found. No gold but pretty colored rocks are even better anyway! My favorite part was definitely the food. We got some amazing chili cheese covered fries, they were to die for. If you haven't realized by now, I am a total junk food lover. Anything fattening and covered in grease is my best friend and these chili cheese fries fit the bill. YUM! 
After Territory Days it was time to hit up Cave of the Winds. I had signed up to be a Secret Shopper so we got free tickets to get in which is probably the only reason we ended up going anyway. Free is good. We went on the Discovery Tour which the website describes as "On our most popular tour, you’ll wind your way through nearly a mile of Colorado caverns, including the Majestic Hall, the Bridal Chamber and the Temple of Silence. You’ll duck under Fat Man’s Misery, marvel at geological formations like the Giant’s Bleeding Heart, and experience total cave darkness. Join us on a Discovery Tour to explore the wonders of the underground – at the top of a mountain!" We've been to caves in Texas and Germany and I'm not going to lie, this cave was the least impressive of the bunch. Still a neat attraction to visit but I won't be going back again. Layla and Ed found more mining too, this time for gems! Like I said, it was neat to see once and the view from up top on the mountain was breathtaking. 
Once we got home and realized the weather was still awesome it was time for some Slip N' Slide in the backyard. Ed and Layla rocked it too! We had a great day exploring Colorado Springs, taking total advantage of where we live, don't want to regret not seeing things while we're here. 
Ed came home from work telling me about the Warrior Games and that he really wanted to go watch the basketball game. Army vs Marines! I'm not a basketball fan but Ed seemed very adamant about going so of course Layla and I followed. When we got there I was completely amazed. "The 2011 Warrior Games presented by Deloitte hosted 198 wounded, ill and injured men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces. New to the event this year, a team of athletes from Special Operations Command also took part. Seven sports were contested throughout the week, including track & field, archery, shooting, swimming, cycling, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball."
I couldn't tear my eyes away the from the game for more than two seconds. These men and women were so inspiring, they are real heros. I was honored to be able to sit in the audience and watch these guys play. They have been through so much and still continue to follow their dreams and do the things they love to do, even with the injuries they have and the difficulties they face every day. Ed's whole company was there to cheer the Army on and ended up winning! GOLD for the Army! I cannot wait until next year to attend the Warrior Games again, if any of you reading are in Colorado Springs I highly suggest coming to a game or two. Seeing their courage will leave you speechless, I promise. 
I cannot believe I have a kindergartner! Well, not until the fall but still, she isn't in Pre K anymore! Layla will be going to a real elementary school and she got into James Madison Charter Academy which is what I've been hoping for all along. I am so excited for her to start, I know she is going to do just awesome! For Layla's graduation we let her pick where she wanted to go for dinner and of course she chose Applebee's, never would have guessed that one! After dinner it was off to the theater for the ceremony. We all waited outside the building and Layla got to play with all of her friends, especially McKayla which is her BFF at school. They are so cute playing together, I love watching Layla with her friends. 
When the doors to the theater opened the parents went to get seats while the kids changed into their cap and gowns. I'm not going to lie, I think the cap and gowns are a little over board for Pre K but it was adorable anyway. They walked out to music and went to their seats on stage. They sang the cutest songs and danced the cutest dances. They even walked across the stage and got a little diploma from their teacher. It was adorable!
After the ceremony it was picture taking time and snacks! Layla was super excited to get a cupcake and take pictures with her teachers. She just loves her school and especially Mrs. Helga (Mrs. Helgie as Layla calls her). 
On the way home we noticed a little fair and it was the perfect time to check it out. Daddy and Layla went on some rides and played some games. I am so thankful Ed was able to be here for such a special day for Layla. He'll be missing all the kindergarten graduation festivities next year so this was nice he was able to be here for her this year. I love my big girl, I cannot believe how old, smart, and beautiful she's getting. Ed and I are so lucky to have such a perfect little princess! 
COUPONING!
I have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC lately and a thought occurred to me. If they can do it, so can I! It was a total inspiration seeing what they get for free or next to nothing. It's quite amazing really. Two weeks ago after watching that show, I got on the computer and started couponing. You should see my stock pile now! I am not going to go over board like some of those people but if I can save 90% on my grocery bill for things I am going to use anyway then why the heck not? It's been a lot of fun and a nice, cheap hobby. Ed thinks that when he comes home from deployment I am going to have a room filled with random stuff. He may be right. But I'll have a blast finding it all for free! And it'll keep me busy during those nights when Layla is asleep and Ed is away. Every few weeks I am going to make a post on what I got and for how much, just so I can keep up with what I'm buying.
Here is what I have bought over the past couple of weeks. Thank goodness my lunch break is an hour, I do it all then so I don't ruin any of my family time with my two loves.
6 boxes of Zantac for only $1.26! 
4 packs of 4 roll Scott Naturals, 3 packs of 3 bar Ivory soap, 4 Powerade Zeros, 1 Tylenol Precise, 2 tubes Colgate toothpaste, 2 bottles Pinesol, 3 packs Mr. Clean magic erasers, 2 Bic Soleil 4 pack razors, and 3 Noxzema 4 pack razors. My grand total today was a whopping $14.43 before tax!
18 rolls of Scotch Magic tape for FREE! 
6 bottles Clorox spray and 8 Butterfinger Snackerz for a total of .37 plus .97 sales tax makes my grand total $1.34 for everything! 
1 25 pack taquitos, 7 packs Halls cough drops, 2 boxes brownie mix, 1 bottle Dawn Plus, 2 packs Dole fruit crisp, 6 bags Chex Mix, 3 bottles Sunny D, 3 bottles Nivea lotion, 3 bottles relish, 1 Dora toothpaste, 4 bags Boulder chips, and... I think that's it. Paid $16.15 before taxes and saved 88%.
4 bottles Clorox, 1 box of Cheez Its, 2 Nivea lip balms, and 16 packs of Wrigley's 5 gum for a total of $6.50!
Everything rang up at $43.12 and after coupons I only paid $4.04!
Just a quick trip! $2.80 for everything before tax. 
This past month (over a month, really) have just flown by. I feel like I have no time for anything, let alone blogging. Even taking pictures has come to a dramatic halt and if you know me, you know that's a BIG deal. I am going to play a little catch up with this post as much as I can. I have two rather big pieces of news to share first though. First, Ed is officially deploying. He got his orders last week. We knew he was going to deploy but I always have a glimmer of hope that something will change up until the time he gets his orders. Well, he got them so now I have no hope left, he'll be out of here in a month, heading to Afghanistan for yet another year. I am so ready for deployment #3 to be over with. My second piece of news, we're moving! The lease to our house is up at the end of the month and we were planning on resigning it, until the owners decided they are moving back in. Just great. I just feel like it's bad timing for all of this to happen with Ed leaving so soon. We have SO much to do in such a little amount of time. Thankfully we found a house we love just as much, 700 square feet bigger, and it's only 3 houses down from where we live now. We have been slowly moving in but today Ed and our friend Brian are moving all the big furniture so we should be actually living in the new house by this weekend. Pictures of our new home to come!
Now for some events that have taken place over the past month.
In the beginning of April Ed had an RC race. Layla and I always go with him (well, not to tomorrow's race, I have a yard sale to attend) and cheer him on. I always say how stupid his hobby is, jokingly of course, but when he's the one out there racing I get so into it. Layla has lots of fun too and usually meets a friend or two to play with. This particular race Ed competed in two different events. I am probably going to mess this up but I believe they were electric and nitro. He did AMAZING! He was winning the nitro race by a ton but then something on his car broke that prevented him from racing anymore so he was disqualified. The poor guy was so upset. When it was time to compete in the electric race, he was neck and neck with another guy for first place. One wrong move would have put Ed into second place and what do you know, he crashed his car, putting him in second. He still did really well though, Layla and I were super proud!
This next picture makes me smile. Margaux and I had a girl's night one night (Melting Pot, our FAVORITE) and we had Ed watch all 5 kids. When we came home Ed was sleeping on the couch with the 3 girls, it was so sweet. 
Ed's parents also came to visit! Ed took leave and told them to come up for the two weeks he was off so they could spend some time with Ed and Layla (I had to work the entire time, boo). We picked them up at the Denver airport and Layla was so excited to see them. It had been way too long. 
We did a lot of fun stuff together too, I just wish my stupid camera battery hadn't died on me while we were doing them. We went to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. I have always wanted to go, it sounded so neat and it was! These pictures really don't do it justice, it was beautiful and they had tons of cute little gift shops every where that we spent lots of time and money at. 
While I was at work one day, Ed, his parents, and Layla all went to the zoo. I really need to get season passes to this place. I have a feeling this summer we'll be there A LOT! It's so much fun and just a really good zoo, plus, who doesn't want to feed giraffes? So awesome! 
With Ed's parents here, that also meant date nights for Ed and I! We went out a couple of times and it was much needed, especially right before a deployment. It's so great to have adult time every now and then. And of course our great friends had to come along too! We had a blast! 
Ed bought a new car! Well not a new car, an old car he is going to fix up. He's already made a lot of progress on it, it's going to look amazing once it's all finished. Stayed tuned for lots of updates on it, well, once he returns from Afghanistan anyway. 
I can't forget to mention Easter and what a fun one it was! I had taken all kinds of adorable pictures of Layla painting her Easter eggs and playing in the snow (yes, it was snowing on Easter) but I accidentally deleted all of them. I was sick to my stomach after I made that mistake, ugh! The Easter bunny really loves Layla though, he can't seem to stop buying things for her basket! Layla loved searching around the house for all of her eggs but had even more fun finding her basket and tearing it apart. 
After Easter bunny activities were complete, Ed, Layla, and I headed to the movies to watch Rio. It was such a cute movie, we really enjoyed it. And later that night our friends the Achee's came over for some dinner and egg hunting. Not just your normal eggs, however, they were the ones filled with confetti. The kids collected as many as they could and then started chasing each other around the garage (remember, it was snowing outside) breaking them on each other and our heads. They had so much fun, it was fun watching them.
And... I think that's about it. I am sure I am missing a lot of small things to share but those are the main events! I am going to do my best to keep up with this darn blog more once we are settled in our new house. Until then, our heads are going to be spinning with stress so be patient. I hope everyone had a happy April and are starting off May just as good.
After Territory Days it was time to hit up Cave of the Winds. I had signed up to be a Secret Shopper so we got free tickets to get in which is probably the only reason we ended up going anyway. Free is good. We went on the Discovery Tour which the website describes as "On our most popular tour, you’ll wind your way through nearly a mile of Colorado caverns, including the Majestic Hall, the Bridal Chamber and the Temple of Silence. You’ll duck under Fat Man’s Misery, marvel at geological formations like the Giant’s Bleeding Heart, and experience total cave darkness. Join us on a Discovery Tour to explore the wonders of the underground – at the top of a mountain!" We've been to caves in Texas and Germany and I'm not going to lie, this cave was the least impressive of the bunch. Still a neat attraction to visit but I won't be going back again. Layla and Ed found more mining too, this time for gems! Like I said, it was neat to see once and the view from up top on the mountain was breathtaking. 
Once we got home and realized the weather was still awesome it was time for some Slip N' Slide in the backyard. Ed and Layla rocked it too! We had a great day exploring Colorado Springs, taking total advantage of where we live, don't want to regret not seeing things while we're here. 
