Midwest Keech

March was a relatively quite month, until our Birthday Marathon toward the end. This March was particularly special, because Amelia turned 8. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (I am a Mormon), and the age of 8 is when children can choose to be baptized & become members of the Church. We were very happy to have Nana & Papa come from Utah. We were grateful Grandma, Grandpa & Aunt Katy could come from Arizona. It was a great experience for a special little girl. We missed all those who could not attend, but are thankful for those who came tom support her.   Adam got to go on a backpacking trip with the Scouts over spring break. He was a little sad to leave before Grandma & Grandpa left, but he had a good time...He would've complained about our activities anyway. Since this was Katy's first trip to visit, we took her to Chicago. We had to look around Millennium Park. The girls LOVED checking out American Girl... A coupl...

Do you ever just ignore those coupons that print out at the grocery store? I seem to get MORE than my fair share of "$10 off when you change your prescription to ___" coupons. Many times I get coupons for things that I've just purchased (and probably won't need more of before the expiration) and competing or name brands of things I purchase. Sometimes, I get some that say $ of a certain purchase of $ in bread/meat/store brand/etc. Occasionally, I get those coupons for actual $$ off any purchase. Usually, they end up in my pocket or wallet only to be found after it's too late. Well, recently I received one that I got rather excited about. - I got one from Cub Foods with a code for a free 8" X 8" photobook. I became very excited, because at the very least, we were talking a savings of at least $20 for a softbound book. As I added the code to the site, I was even more surprised to find that it was actually a hard-bound book offer. Wow! I knew that I...

2011 was a great year for our little family. Little Avery has been growing like a weed. Here is a picture of Allison & Avery way back in February. YES...Allison STILL gives Avery A LOT of attention on a daily basis. We were proud of Adam's decision to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood in March. So glad Papa & the Cowands could join us too. Grandma Pat came to visit us in the spring. We took everyone over to the Wildlife Prairie Park near Peoria. It was a lovely day & lots of fun. - Especially the HUGE slide! What a great-looking bunch! Look! Mommy's a beautiful butterfly! Watching them feed the Bison. Park Ranger Adam? Family Photo Opp... Cutie Pie! I think she dressed appropriately for her personality. - She was our guide, complete with map-in-hand. Hug-a-Tree? Adam "riding" the little antelope statue. We had a great vacation in June. It was a little crazy, when it got moved up & extended by a whole week. We spent almost 2 weeks with ...