99 Things

99 Things
(things I've done are bolded)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Visited the Alps
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Pumpkin Time WAS here

On Friday Max, Mom and Jesse all wore their Halloween shirts, since the kids aren't allowed to dress up, we must improvise. Max and Jesse were also excited to be able to pass out treats at school to their friends. We preped them all the night before. So below are our attempts at taking pictures of us in our shirts.


This picture, I think, says it ALL

Max's close up



We also carved the Mejias Family pumpkin this week. We waited as long as humanly possibly to carve it, (since I got it a week or so early). As usual, once carved, it met its fate 3 days later. Early Thursday morning Jesse came into the room to wake me up and he told me that, "The pumpkin is yucky and falling down." Well, here are some pictures BEFORE the pumpkin got yucky. Loved being able to go out into my BACKYARD to carve the pumpkin.

A Good Day for Jesse...A lesson for Mom & Dad

Last Sunday was our Primary program at church. Max braved the stage and sang with the other children. Jesse attempted to go up, but fear overcame him, he cried, and quickly sat back down with Mom and Dad. While we were proud of Max, and loved watching him up there singing, he even had a small speaking part, Dad and I were struggling with what to do about Jesse? We kept asking ourselves if we were making the right decision? Should we have made him go up there? Are we encouraging him to NOT participate? All this going through are heads. While Jesse was sitting with us, he would talk about going up there, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. When we got home Dad and I talked about it some more and how can we encourage our children to have self confidence without making them feel guilty or any other unwanted feelings? Then we just left the topic alone. Dad started getting ready to go home teaching and he asked Jesse if he wanted to come along and be a Missionary with Dad? Jesse said, "Yes" and immediately sprung into action getting his church clothes back on. He was excited about this opportunity to be a Missionary. He grabbed his scriptures, even wore one of Dad's ties. They grabbed some cookies to take to the family they were visiting, Jesse gave me a hug, and left with dad. (This was the quickest I've ever seen Jesse get ready, get into the car, and buckle up without one of us saying, "Hurry up" etc..) Seeing his excitement made me so happy. It made the whole experience at church seem small. Maybe we just need to look for ways where Jesse does "shine" and praise him up and down about it. Taking either of the boys "visiting teaching" etc. is usually a bad experience because they can't sit through the visit, so for Dad to voluntarily take Jesse was BIG! I know he was prompted to take Jesse. After an hour or so of being gone. Both Jesse and Dad came back happy! Phew! Dad said Jesse was shy at first and when the one they were visiting asked if he was shy, Dad replied, "No, he's still learning." Perfect response! Then, at the next two houses, Jesse's fear subsided, he even said a prayer. What a great day for Jesse, and Dad. In the car on the way home, Jesse asked Dad, "Did I do good?" Dad's reply was, "Yes, Jesse, you did good. You were a good Missionary." He was so proud of himself when he came home. Great job Jesse!

Super Savings!

Went to Save Mart and Rite Aid today. Total coupon savings was $35 plus I had gift cards, and Rite Aid up rewards, which made my grand total out of pocket $14.55, and I got back $8 in rewards at Rite Aid to use on a future trip, which is highly likely : ) So with that taken into account, I really got all this for $6.55! Just the Charmin was $6.99, and the Huggies was a whopping $8.99!

A special thanks to my handsome models for helping show off my savings. It is so funny. They know the drill. When Mom lays out the stuff on the table, it is time to take a picture. And they don't think it is wierd that mommy takes pictures after a grocerey shopping trip. Now that is the offspring of a couponer for you :)Jesse is proudly displaying an eyeliner pencil for all those who are wondering.

How much candy do you have for Halloween?

Not quite sure if I'm done. It depends if Rite Aid is done with great sales :) Not quite sure how much out of pocket I spent, but it wasn't much. Couponing has been both an obsession and a blessing. Halloween's past, I would only be able to afford maybe one or two bags of candy, now I can get the necessities, plus some extras without hurting my pocket book. Anyone want to visit my trunk/house for Halloween?

This time, I cannot eat the candy!!!

Bulldog Pride runs deep!

As a belated gift to myself and my family, Damien, Mike and I all went to the Cal Poly vs. Fresno State Football game. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Fresno State Football and I even prefer it over the NFL. This love of Fresno State Football started when I was young going to the games with my dad. Now I'll go to any lengths to catch the score, see highlights, watch, even listen to the game on the radio! Thanks to my hubby he told me about some discounted tickets through work, and I was excited. When we got to our section at the game and kept walking down the steps, closer and closer to the playing field, I was even MORE happy that we had great seats for cheap!! There is so much to see at the games, sometimes it's hard to focus on the game cause you are looking at the replay on the big screen, watching the band, the crowd, or the cheerleaders. One of the highlights was when we found out that we were next to the firework pyros!! We found out during the Star Spangeled Banner! You know...bombs bursting in air..yeah, scared Damien and I! Then the other funny part was when the pyros thought that Fresno State scored a touchdown on the other side of the field, which they didn't, pretty close though, and they set off some fireworks only to find out...No Touchdown. Thankfully minutes later, we scored, and we cued the pyros. One bummer to the game was that the crowd didn't do the RED WAVE! I think that was a first EVER for me. I liked to watch Damien's excitement about being at the game. Even one of the fans a few rows down gave Damien a "high five in the air" after a really good play. That was cool. The crowd was decent 37,000 people, it was hot and humid. I really wanted one of the $5 ice cold lemonades that they were selling though. Then, I didn't get the memo about cutting my shirt. Apparanently, the new fad among the women is to cut the neck out of your shirt so that it hangs off your shoulder, or any other creative thing you can do with a pair of scissors and a shirt...I didn't get pics of that, but what I did get pics of pretty much sums up our fun night!




We WON 38-17!!





All the players come out of an inflated tunnel that they sway back and forth while they are inside anticipating their cue to storm the field. Gotta love their entrance!



The awesome band




Me before doing the Bulldog Fight Song with the band :)




Football players of Bulldog Past



We got there just as the team was going out on to the field. SOOO Coool!! I remember going to Fashion Fair Mall with a team poster in hand and getting the autographs of all the players. I was star struck! Even got my pic taken with Timeout the mascot a few times. When Damien was a little baby he even had his pic taken with Timeout. How about that for a memory!!

Jesse's NEW do

Dad wanted to go and get a haircut after work on Friday and asked if I could give him a ride there so he didn't have to ride his bike home all hairy and sweaty so I said "Yes". Then I thought, "I wonder if the boys would want to get their haircut too at the barber?" So I asked them and only Jesse wanted to. This was Jesse's first ever haircut at a barber and I purposely waited, for one, it's cheaper to do it at home and two, so that he would sit still and not cry. Well, I waited long enough. Jesse sat very still and did not cry at all. After Dad was done getting his haircut, Jesse hopped in the chair and I told the barber to cut his hair just like dad. I know, I have 3 boys and I don't know how to do a fade. I know the concept, but the final product won't be pretty. But for now, I splurged on a $10 haircut, and I think he looks pretty darn cute.







Now I really think Jesse looks like his Dad