New Halloween Jammies!

Thanks to Grandma Jody for the new Halloween Jammies!

Candy makes me happy!!!

September Fun!

We got to do several fun things this month after the Fall Festival.  First off, Josh's brother, "Uncle Tristan" had a soccer game in Catlin one Saturday.  He plays for a Champaign team, but they were in town, so we took the kids up to see him play.  We got to have lunch with him and Grandpa Bob after the game.

 Luckily, the school playground was right next to the soccer field, so that kept Hannah occupied.

 Jacob wouldn't go to sleep for me, but Josh got him to sleep-that never happens!!!  Good job, daddy!

The next day, we had a grade school church party at a new place in Danville called Jumpin' Jax.  Since Josh and I were in charge, our family got there early and had the whole place to ourselves.  We all got to enjoy the bounce house before the big kids arrived!

The next week, we got to go on a trip I've been excited about since March.  It was actually Josh's birthday present, so he didn't know about it until recently.  We got to go see the Burgers, and Josh and Dave got to go to a Cubs/Cards game!  They had great seats, like 16 rows behind home plate!  It was so great just to get to spend time with them.  The kids all had a blast, and I had a great time visiting with Jennifer.  I still miss them like crazy.  I really look up to Jen as a wife and mom, and she gave me lots of good things to think about... maybe I'll write more about that later.  I just cherished the time we had with them.  It was so much fun.

The next day was cousin Sammy's birthday party at the fire station!  He got a new riding toy for his birthday, and Hannah had fun checking it out with him.

She also loved climbing in and out of all of the big fire trucks!

Jacob got some cuddle time in with Great Aunt Linda!

We've been busy having fun!!!

Fall Festival

As per our annual tradition, mom and I took the kids to the Fall Festival in Danville today to welcome in autumn.  Unlike many years, we actually had cooler weather!  

We ran into Hannah's friend from church, Rhealyn.  She loves Hannah.  It's funny because by size, they look the same age/size, but Rhealyn is almost twice Hannah's age!

Jacob, Hannah, and I shared an elephant ear.  Yeah, I never would have given my first baby fried sugar dough at 10 months... but what can I say, I'm more laid back, for better or for worse.  We also got some pumpkins, and Hannah got some really cute new hairbows.  Welcome Fall!

As Promised....

As promised, we had lots of end of the summer fun in the backyard:

How Much Does Disney Cost???

I decided to write a post on the cost of our Disney vacation.  Lots of people seem to be curious about the price of a Disney trip and have asked me how much it costs, so let me explain how we're paying for it.  You probably wouldn't believe it if I said our family of four is going on an all-inclusive Disney vacation, flights and all, for less than $1500, but it is true!  That's staying at a Disney resort, tickets to all the parks for our whole family, all of our meals, and all of our flights!  Yes, there are a few catches, but I will explain them all.  If I was being honest, we actually could have gone even cheaper but chose to upgrade on a few things!  So I actually think a Disney vacation can be affordable if you plan carefully!  Just think how much you spend on "small vacations" between hotels, travel, food, entertainment... it adds up quick!  A couple years of doing that and maybe you could go to Disney... given that you even want to go to Disney.  I know, not everyone loves it as much as we do :)


We are going November 13th-19th.  That is 7 days/6 nights.  We are staying at a moderate resort, which is a step above the value resorts.  We are getting park hopper tickets, which means you can go from park to park each day.  We also opted for the free dining plan which is available at that time, which did mean giving up our 35% discount on our resort stay, but we thought it was well worth it!  And, we are flying!  So, right in that description, I gave several ways you could go even cheaper if you're on a tighter budget (stay shorter than 7 days, stay at a value resort or stay off-site, don't get park hopper tickets, eat "cheap").  Obviously, I think our upgrades are worth it, but I could do without them if I wanted to save more money.  There are so many extras you could add to this which we are "doing without"-nicer resorts, tickets to the water park, the "deluxe dining plan," tickets to the Christmas party, etc., etc.  Yes, you could just as easily rack up a $5,000+ trip, but I'd rather go several times for the cost of one expensive trip.


So, how did we do it "so cheap"?  Well, first of all, the actual regular cost of our trip without flights (hotel and tickets) is $2,058.  Then, we have a Disney Visa credit card, which we have put all our monthly expenses on for the last couple of years (and of course, we pay it off in full each month or it wouldn't be a good deal!).  In the last couple of years, we have racked up $588 in Disney Dollars on this card.  That takes us down to $1470 plus flights.  The week we are going, they are offering their free dining plan!  So, our food is covered-we're talking steak dinners, desserts, drinks, snacks-everything!  But, I said less than $1500 total, right?  And I haven't mentioned the cost of flying.  Well, Josh researched it, and Southwest had some great credit card rewards.  We signed up, used the credit card for 3 months, and earned enough for 3 round trip tickets (with some leftover) which is all we need since Jacob flies free!


(SIDE NOTE:  If you think your family will be going on a Disney trip in the next 5 years, and if you can handle a credit card, I highly recommend signing up for the Disney Visa.  As an extra bonus, if you enter my card member number, we'll both get $25 Disney Dollars!  here is the link: www.disneyrewardsfriends.com Just enter code CZSL along with my number 17738658.)


ALSO, here's another deal we found out about this year:  We are members of Sam's Club, and they sell $100 Disney gift cards for $98 and some odd cents around the holidays.  However, each one also comes with a bonus $10 Disney Store gift card!  The $10 card is not good toward your vacation or in the parks but is still a very nice bonus for money you are spending anyway!  The $100 is good towards your vacation.  So, we purchased 14 of these cards.  They are worth $1400 towards our vacation plus $140 towards the Disney store ($1540), and we paid $1384.  That was a fun little bonus!  Now I can get some fun clothes or something for the kids before our trip!


I should also mention that Jacob goes to Disney for free since he's under 3.  If we would have gone 3 months earlier, Hannah still would have been free too, which kills me just a little bit.  But, we wanted to wait until November since the lines will be shorter with kids back in school and the weather should hopefully not be as hot!  Plus, a major bonus is that the Christmas lights will be up, and that is supposed to be amazing.  I can't wait!


I still am no expert, so if you have any money saving ideas that I'm missing, please share!  I'm sure I still have tricks to learn... but maybe something I said will help your family start to plan your Disney vacation on the frugal side.

Jacob's First Illini Game!

Josh and I took Jacob to his first Illini football game today.  Unfortunately, before we left, he was having a really rough morning.  His teeth were REALLY hurting him.  I could tell a bottom one was about to break through but hadn't yet...  I checked after the game, and it was there!  Poor little guy; it was hurting so much!

 He was happy, as long as mama was holding him.  But, if I handed him to daddy for just a second, here's what happened....

 He fell asleep in my arms and slept through a good part of the first half.

 After his nap and some snacks, he decided he could sit with daddy.

 Jordan and Courtney also brought Landon to his first game.  The boys were wearing matching jerseys which you can't see in this picture!

Hannah spent the day with Grandma Teresa and "Papa," but she still got to wear her IL gear.

Jacob 10 months

Jacob is 10 months old today.  He is still such a smiley little guy; he is so cute it kills me!  

He recently started clapping and waving.

He LOVES blueberries, grapes, and bananas!

Right after Jacob's 9 month birthday, he started trying to stand without holding onto anything.  The first time, he was holding onto the couch with one hand, then in slow motion, he let go and stood (very wobbly) with a very proud look on his face for a few seconds until he fell on his bottom.  Then he burst out laughing.  It was so cute!

Jacob got his first tooth on August 13th.  It was kind of stubborn.  Hannah's first teeth came in so easily, it seemed.  Or maybe I just didn't recognize the signs.  I knew Jacob's was coming, no doubt!  His second tooth is still trying to come through and it has been trying for awhile!  I hope this is not a sign of how difficult this process will be for him!

Jacob is now cruising around furniture and standing for about 15 seconds on his own.  A few times, I could tell he was thinking about taking a step, but there hasn't been anything that I would qualify as "walking" yet....