Miles of Smiles: Budgets, Trips, Zoo Fun

Scott and I went through out "budget" the other day and I put budget in quotation marks b/c although we have set up a budget, it is more of a guideline that we'd like to follow rather than a budget we must follow. So, we went through the past 7 months of expenses (yes, 7 months which just goes to show how seriously we take this) and took a monthly average of our spending to compare to our budget.

Big surprise, but it appears I spend way more on groceries than I was allotted. My credit card bills were a tad bit high (on the average) but that was because of my VitaMix purchase. Without that, I would have been under budget (yay!?).

So, we sat down to have a discussion about my grocery spending and finally decided that I just need to make sure not to waste stuff. So, don't buy more produce than I'll be able to use, don't forget about leftovers in the fridge and then have to throw them out, and try not to throw all Blake's leftovers away when he doesn't eat them. I love my husband--he is fully aware that there are items, such as more natural or organic items, that I spend more money on, but he didn't ask me to stop those purchases. He fully trusts my ability to purchase and cook healthy meals for him and Blake and never gets upset about the cost.

I sure am thankful to have a husband that is so understanding and loving. Scott and I really are quite a good fit and think alike in many respects. They say opposites attract, but I think it would be hard being married to someone who is opposite of me!

It is also nice/fun sharing some of the same interests--for instance, we just bought flights to CO in January for a ski/boarding trip!!! No, not in our budget, but that's what savings are for, right? :)

We are going with some great friends, the Whitsitt family, as well as others from Indiana. They reserved this huge house (sleeps 24) where we will be staying and the great part is that there are non-skiers that are going who are more than willing to look after my children while I ski! They are also willing to come pick me up for lunch so that I can pump/breastfeed our baby...can't really ask for more than that! I can't wait!!! We got great prices on flights from Madison, which was awesome. This is the second time I've gotten a great price on tickets to CO from Madison--I wouldn't have thought that would be the case with Madison being such a small airport...

We are going to visit David, Kristi, and Clara the weekend before we ski, so it should be a great trip. Whenever we take ski trips to CO, it is always just weeks after we see David & Kristi b/c of the holidays--it would be nice to spread it out a bit since we see them infrequently, but that's the way it goes :)

I absolutely love that we have an amazing free zoo with an amazing playground so close to our house. The zoo is just fantastic, and whenever I want to go to Trader Joe's, we stop at the zoo for some animal fun, train ride, carousel, and play ground (not necessarily all every time though). I love that we can spend as much or as little time as we like--it is small enough that you aren't walking through a large parking lot, entrance, etc. Just park a few spots away, walk through the gate and start looking at the lions! Well, this zoo trip it really hit me how much my baby is growing up. He has developed so much more confidence and coordination in his play, that I stopped following him up the stairs and guarding his every move (not that I did that--I am not the overly protective Mother, I am not!). :)

Eagerly climbing the stairs

Blake's confident gait over the suspended bridge. His first crossing of the day was careful baby steps (like his previous crossings), but by the end, he breezed by with head held high like a big boy (even when others were making it bounce).

Really contemplating going down this hole (which has alternating holes for kids to climb down all the way, but not to fall all the way should they trip). Really cool, but still too much for Blake. He needs a little more height to be able to conquer this one.