Even More Birthday Freebies

My kids did some amazing Valentines day things for me today, but I didn't get the pics from them, so you get birthday stuff.

Curly had his physical for his mission on Friday. It included 2 shots, a tb test and finger pokes. Our outstanding tradition of ice cream after a shot, took us to Sonic for my free small shake. They messed up and he got a medium strawberry shake. Happy birthday to me!

Chipotle gave me free guacamole with purchase.

Einstein's Bagel treated me to a free egg sandwich Curly and Scout enjoyed.

Bath and Body Works offered me a small body care item.

And on our Boise trip, we stopped at Chilis for dinner and they gave me a free chocolate lava cake including ice cream.

That's enough for today. I'm getting hungry...

Ok, just one more. Aerie gave me $10 in free merch, so I got myself a cute t-shirt.

On the same trip to the mall, Torrid's $10 bought 3 things, but since the other 2 are gifts I am giving my girls, I am only going to show you one.

Yeah. It was an amazing clearance sale.

Sorry, that was 2 more...

Guest Blog: Curly's Signing Day by the Dog Walker

This was a super cool moment in Curly's life. On Thursday, Curly signed with Southern Virginia University so that after his mission, if he chooses to play football, he has a placeto go. 

Mom wanted to come to it, but she wasn't feeling well, so I got to take her place in supporting Curly. Baby Doll wanted to come, so I checked her out of school for an hour. At the program, Curly set up a booth in the school auditorium. Besides me and Baby Doll, some of Curly's friends and classmates came to watch him.

Curly was the last one to sign. Baby Doll recorded the speech given by Curly's coach. 

Congratulations! Mom's really proud of you, and I'm sure Dad is too.

Traveling Together - Coming Home

After the volleyball games were over  the girls decided to go swimming. 

I ordered pizza and we just hung out for while.

We got up about 8:30, ate breakfast, gathered our bags and got on the road.

Baby Doll was feeling pretty crappy, so other than a few potty stops and hamburgers at A&W, we made good time.

Scout does an amazing job behind the wheel and she did all of the driving. I am so lucky to have her.

And so glad to be home.

Guest Blog: Super Bowl Party 2026 by the Dog Walker

So Mom asked me to write for her since what I'm about to tell you happened while she, Scout, and Baby Doll were still in Idaho for the weekend. This is the second time I've been the host for the family Super Bowl party. I invited some people on Slack, and we had a pretty good group. The people that came were Sport and his college roommate, Curly and his girlfriend, as well as Taco, Skittles, Queso, and Carnitas.

A few days before Mom and the girls went to Idaho, Baby Doll was hoping that I would make these homemade oatmeal creme pies like I did before. She thought they tasted better than the Little Debbie's brand. And since the Super Bowl was coming up, I decided to make them the shapes of footballs. I also served tuna casserole, corn, and some appetizers, like chips and salsa, and popcorn.

As for watching the game, Sport and Curly had been rooting for the Seattle Sea Hawks, probably just as a revenge on the New England Patriots for beating the Denver Broncos. It was quite a weird game, considering that in the first half, there weren't any touchdowns, but there were some field goals.

The half-time show was different as well. The songs were mostly in Spanish, so most of us couldn't understand the words. 

After the half-time show, Curly and his girlfriend tried to pull off the stunt that the backup dancers did in the show. It was crazy!

Anyway, after the half-time show, we watched the second half, and by the fourth quarter, there finally came some touchdowns. Mostly from the Sea Hawks, which Sport and Curly totally rooted for. Before the first touchdown of the Super Bowl, Sport and Curly tried to wager. They both thought that the Super Bowl would end up with no touchdowns! That's probably not a smart thing to do, but they still had a good time watching the Sea Hawks win.

The party was quite a blast. I heard that Baby Doll was worried that she thought we might end up eating all the oatmeal creme pies before she had a chance, but apparently, these homemade cookies were extremely big, and not one of us could eat more than one. So I'm pretty sure Baby Doll will have her chance by the time they get back from Idaho.

It was quite a party.

Traveling Together - Still in Boise

We started the day early again. Baby Doll had to be there by 7:10am. I had to be there by 8. Scout had to work for the bank on her computer, so she was unable to go to the games.

It's too bad, because Baby Doll was amazing!!

We came out of our pool in first place, but we were surprised to be heading right into brackets. Our first match was rough, but we finally beat them in 3 with every set within 2.

We lost the next match, but barely. That team eventually took 1st place. We got 3rd...of the whole tournament!! That's 48 teams!! 

The girls got really nice medallions in bronze.

It was a really good day.

Traveling Together - Boise

Baby Doll had a tournament in Boise this weekend. The drive is about 5 hours and we couldn't leave until Scout got off work at 4. Thanfully, it was weather-friendly.

We stopped in Twin Falls for dinner.

We finally made it to Boise about 11pm or so. By the time we were settled in our room, it was nearly midnight. Baby Doll had to be at the venue at 7:10am. Scout and I had until 7:45. First game of poolplay was at 8:00.

As usual, I got caught up in the games and I didn't take any pics. This one is part Baby Doll's team and GSL's A team.

She played with a bunch of these girls last year. You might recognize them.

Anyway, we came out as 1st place from our pool even though we lost one game.

We had a team dinner at James, a rooftop restaurant (way too expensive if you ask me). Baby Doll definitely had fun with the team.

This is what Scout and I ordered.

After dinner. The girls went swimming and we just hung out and went to bed early. 

More games tomorrow.

More Birthday Freebies - part 2

My birthday was on a Sunday this year so I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to redeem a bunch of the rewards. But it turned out that I only missed out on Crumbl cookie.

Freddy's gave me my favorite mini concrete.

I shared my Carl's Jr western bacon cheeseburger with Dog Walker. I had to spend $5 on this one, so I just got a kids meal. After a few bites of the kids burger, I gave the rest to Curly.

Yeah, that's a full size burger.

Jimmy Johns gave me a regular-sized original. So good!

Not many places required a purchase, but Panda Express was a small entree, my choice, but I had to buy a side (less than $5.

Last one for today.

Kneaders just put $5 in my accout. The treats all looked amazing, especially the tarts! Eventually, I decided on a loaf of sourdough bread. I had to pay less than a dollar with my reward.

Guess what?!

I have a lot more...

Ok, one more.

Like Kneaders, Cafe Rio just put $5 in rewards into my account. Kids meals are exactly $5. Chicken taco, rice and beans, orange chunks, with chocolate milk to wash it down.

Wordless Wednesday - Curly will be a Great Dad

 

Some day.

Birthday Freebies, part 1

You all know it was my birthday last week, and one of my favorite things is birthday freebies. I have about 40 apps on my phone that are stores and food places. More than half do something free.

Maverik offered a free pastry. Their muffins are the best!

I got this little bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cake. The kids made quick work of it. I didn't even get a taste.

Tide Cleaners gave me a $10 coupon so I got my peacoat cleaned.

I got a mcchicken from McDonalds.

And six wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. I had never tried their dryrub. Now I'm a fan!

Last one for now...

Chick-fil-A gave me a brownie. Yum!

More and More Quilts

A couple of weeks ago, Bossy and fam came over to help tie a couple of quilts. The big one was for her little boys' bed and the small one was for her sweet little girl. As you can see, the small one was made from the leftover blocks.

It took most of yesterday and a good part of today to get them bound. I hope they love them.

Baby Doll's Tournament, Part 2

As promised, I am back to finish telling you how the tournament ended.

Saturday morning was so cold! Thankfully, the drive was short and soon we were getting settled at the Jetty. There were four more games of pool play before the actual tournament.

We came out in a 3-way tie for 1st and point spread slipped us into 3rd place. That meant the silver division.  

There was so much sitting around. One of the courts was an hour and a half behind! They finally got moving and after a bit of a struggle, we finally beat them.

That put us in the championship round. Curly showed up to watch as did Beauty and The Beast and their boys.

The final game was easier than the others and we slid by with a decisive win and a gold medal!

A very good day.