McCoy's Birthday In Boise

Jono and Brandy's Wedding & the Dinosaur Museum

BURLEY..A small little town that holds many BIG hearts!

Mac and I are still chillin in B-Town and loving every minute we get to spend with all our family! (And boy do we have a lot around here!) We started our journey here attending the wonderful Bricki Family Reunion! This is the Brent and Vicki Peterson family reunion. Glade has been unable to attend this annual event for the past six years so it was so nice to be able to come back to Idaho for this. McCoy just loved playing with all cousins! It reminds us how much we miss everybody and how far away we really are. McCoy adored his cousins and it was just so heartwarming to watch him play with people who really love and care about him.

Since the reunion we have also had the opportunity to celebrate Big Mac's 3rd Birthday here. His Nanna and Pops took him to the Boise Zoo and we had a little party for him at my Aunt and Uncles house in Boise. He got to meet more cousins he has never met before. He just loves kids and loves finding out that he has soooo many cousins! I have also had so many nice reunions with many of my own cousins and relatives. It is so nice to get such a warm and receptive welcoming when I visit . I love being back here!

Not for Lack of Imagination...

Bored??? I think Not!

Oh the mind of a child! McCoy and I have the most interesting and often hilarious conversations these days. I tell you he never ceases to amaze, shock and most of all inspire me. My little man has so much to say these days. He has questions about EVERYTHING, he has opinions on EVERYTHING! Most of the time I can't imagine not spending time solely focused on him and his needs but... aah yes there is a but...there are those times when I wish I could cover his mouth and have often told him he is "bugging and or bothering me" and I have to tell him to give me minute to which he cooley replies, "No Mom, YOUR buggin and boddering me."

His imagination seems to be working ten fold these days. The other day I found him sitting on the floor with a rug and a piece of the fax machine. I watched him comb over the rug with the fax machine piece over and over again. When he finally noticed me he said, "Look mom, This is my field and I am harvesting this seed. Do you see my plower?" When I took a closer look I realized that he had placed a small screw on the carpet and was "Plowing" over it with his pretend combine harvester. He meticulously played at this for a couple of minutes and I found myself caught up in his make-believe - which happens quiet often to tell you the truth. I think we both expected his seed to sprout! :) What amazes me is I have no idea where he dreamed this up. We don't watch much TV and we have never seen farm life first hand around here??? And yet, the kid loves Tractors. Go figure.

My boy loves to play dress up too, cowboys is still his fav. He loves his boots! Lately he has been into pretending he is a rock and roll singer. He jumps up on one of my benches and says it is his "stage." Then he points out in front of him to make believe people and says they are his audience. He has even started asking me to announce his performance so before he begins he hands me the microphone and I have to say, "Ladies and Gentlemen here is McCoy to perform..." His favorite song to sing as he says it, is "I wanna Rock N Roll to the night." (KISS: I wanna Rock and Roll all Night). He busts out his guitar and starts jamming and has me hold his mic. He really gets into it, jumping of the stage, pointing at random imaginary people, and even taking a bow when he is done. You would think there was actually a crowd in front him. :)
And being how I am a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance...McCoy also likes to pretend he is a hip hop dancer. He loved the episode last week when the little boy danced. McCoy gets on the floor and kicks his legs around bounces around for a bit. It doesn't look much like dancing yet but it sure wears him out which is wonderful! Here are some pics of him busting out some moves on the sidewalk.

This last week has really flown by. We have been here and there getting in as much play time with our friends before we take off. The past few days have been filled with kiddie playdates, Kinderdance, Bunco, a much needed pedicure - Thanks again Jen, basketball, Scrapbooking nights, a Partylight Candles/Tastefully simple party, and of course lots and lots of eating. We are getting anxious for our departure date to arrive now! We are so excited to be going home to see our families! I think for the most part I have already checked out...my mind is already on vacation! :) Only three more days left!

Can Hardly Wait...

I just pre-ordered my copy of Stephanie Meyer's new book "Breaking Dawn". Gotta love Barnes & Nobles! It seems like it has taken forever for this book to be released and I still have 6 days to go! I read the other three a while ago so I almost want to go back and read them again. They were so good and I am really looking forward to this one and the Movie too! The trailers get me so excited! This is not the type of story line I ever would have imagined I would enjoy but I was captivated from the first chapter of Twilight, they were all good but that one was my favorite.

Note: If you plan on Pre-ordering this book, or ordering any book for that matter please please check out my website first. I have links to Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com

And if you need help, here is how you shop through my site:
1. Click on my webpage: www.shoptoearn.net/amberpeterson (you will see a pic of Glade & Me)
2. Browse all the stores that are currently available by clicking on the (Retailers A-Z) drop down menu. Or just type in the store you want to visit.
3. Once you find the store you want to shop at click on it, then click the Green "Go" button right next to the drop down menu. This will bring up an Icon for that store.

*Now just click on the Store Icon and you are ready to shop!

You don't have to enter any special passwords or codes. Just shop shop shop. When you are done the store you are shopping at will automatically let me know. And I just want to say, Thanks again in advance for supporting me in my Shop to Earn adventure!

Way to Go IDAHO!

Glade and I had never heard of Five Guy's Burgers and Fries but they just recently opened up shop in the mall area right across the street from our development and beings how we hate to drive far for well anything, we usually dine at one of eateries close buy. We use to love this burrito place but it closed down so we had to find a new love and that is how we stumbled upon this glorious burger joint! We were immediately sold on the place when we walked through the doors and were greeted by a great big sign that read... ... ...We get so giddy anytime anybody mentions Idaho. People here rarely even know where Idaho is, let alone Burley Idaho. So we threw caution to the wind and in our excitement we splurged a little and just started ordering like crazy kids. We are so use to sharing every meal that it was hard for us to indivitually eat our own burgers but it was soooo worth it! I couldnt finish mine but not for lack of taste. The thing was a MonSteR! But it was sooo goooood! The food was terrific, the staff was Hilarious, and the atmosphere was laid back and fun. We will definitely eat there again and recommend that every one try it at least once. You wont be disappointed.

These are just a small portion of what was left of the fries we almost couldn't finish. There was so many of them, it took all three of us but we did it! Note: We still had to make our own fry sauce. One day I vow to you, the world will catch on to the awesomeness that is the mix of ketchup and mayo. This is one thing Glade and I have for the most part learned to live without since moving to Florida but we felt on this Oh so special occasion we just had to do these greasy taters justice!

If I save enough $$$ Im buying a Batmobile!

WOW! I have not been to the movies since Sex and the City and I am so glad I haven't wasted any money from then till now on any others because this one was worth every penny! Glade and I don't go to the movies often so when we do its a big deal for us. We did a little exchange this weekend with our friends. We watched their little boy Saturday while they went and saw the movie and then they watched McCoy while we went and viewed it. I must say I was completely impressed. I also am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have not seen any of the previous Batman movies so I didn't have anything to compare it too but I still thought it was amazing. The special effects were jaw dropping, the main characters were great and there was never a dull moment. Glade and I really enjoyed our date night. We even splurged and got popcorn and drink :) of course I still snuck in our candy stash though. We can't get carried away now. LOL ;)

As for the rest of the weekend, we spent some time at the pool. McCoy is getting really brave lately. The past few times we have gone he hasn't worn his floaties and he has really been trying to swim. Of course he doesn't know how yet but as the old saying goes "Sink or Swim" and he has been sinking a lot lately and I think that is what is driving his want to try try try. I truly hope he learns how to swim at an early age. I don't want to push him but well I didn't learn how to swim until...well I really don't know how still. So yea, I really want him to pick it up sometime. LOL

Other than that we have just been working and keeping busy. I have been doing tons of research about SHOP TO EARN. It is just such an amazing program and the more I learn about it the more I want to share what I have learned. The concept of Shop to Earn is so simple. They pay me to shop! I get 5-30% cash back on all purchases made by me or anyone who shops through my site + several of the partnered retailers offer another 1-20% in-store credit for shopping at their online store. That’s CASH paid directly to my bank account for buying things I was going to purchase anyway + I get in-store credit for your future purchases. I have already done some shopping at a couple of the stores and checked out the prices on line and then gone into the actual stores to see if the savings were really that great and ya know what...Overall the biggest savings were online.



Drugstore.com is a fabulous find all store where you can get several of your daily needs (besides groc.) I purchased a few items like toothpaste, deodorant, Tums, and several other various items like these just to test this theory. Then I went to Walmart and Target and price matched. At Target every item was cheaper online at Drugstore.com than at the Target store. At Walmart every item but one was the same price or cheaper at Drugstore.com. The one price that was more online was TUMS. And that is only because Tums was on sale at Walmart that day. Drugstore.com is one of many retailers located on my Shop to Earn website. Walmart and Target are also located on my website but I chose to shop through Drugstore.com because they offered the highest cash back percentage through my Shop to Earn site and the highest in-store credit. I just think it is awesome that I get to compare and choose which one will give me the greatest savings and benefits. This was a small purchase because like I said, I mainly just wanted to test the system. Overall I only ended up spending $39.65. I saved $3.48 at Drugstore.com by going through their sale items list + I got $1.98 in-store credit. I also got $3.97 (10% cash back) from Shop to Earn. Add that up and my almost $40 bill only actually cost me closer to $30. That's a 25% savings and the best thing about it was that my shopping took me less than 10 minutes. I got the biggest savings of all on my time! I didn't have to clip any coupons, punch in any codes, or even fill my car up with gas to go the store. All I had to do was Click and Shop! I must note here that I by no means scoff at coupon clipping though. Drugstore.com and most of the online stores do offer you a chance to enter coupon codes if you have them. I personally can't keep up with coupon clipping but if you are one who does, imagine all the extra savings. Yikes, You could do some serious damage. Come to think of it, maybe I could make a little more time. LOL.

I am just so thrilled with my new found way to save. I have always been one for shopping around and have always enjoyed online shopping because it is the easiest and fastest way for me to compare prices so Shop to Earn was just an easy choice for me. I look forward to learning more about it and sharing more with you, hope you don't mind. I am just proud of my new found savings project. Its only been a week so I can't wait to see what else I can accomplish with this baby! And again if you shop online, please e-mail me and I will get you my Shop to Earn Website link so you can shop through my site. It really helps me out anytime someone clicks on my page. Thanks again for your support!


Fun Photos from this past week...McCoy loves to get into characters when he playing. He also loves for Buildabear (That's the name of his Build-A-Bear, original eh) to get into character too. Whenever we play cowboys McCoy has to dress like a cowboy, when we play football he likes to wear his Redskins helmet and when Buildabear plays sports he too has to have the matching attire for the game. This is McCoy getting ready to play trains and that's Buildabear behind his head.