Warm and...Rainy Arizona

*I just found a bunch more pictures from my phone, so I added them to the bottom of the post!*

We took a trip to Arizona to see Grandpa & Grandma for New Year's. We were looking forward to some warmer weather! Although it rained most of the time we were there, it was still much warmer than Kansas!! We did get a couple of dry, perfect days so we took advantage of those and went to the pool and a really fun train park/museum.

 Riding the carousel at the train park. Grace wasn't a fan, so Aaron ended up holding her.

 There was a 10,000 square foot building FULL of model trains! Along the way here and there were buttons the kids could push to make the trains go. The boys LOVED this!!

 There was a fun little "town" for the kids to play in, too. It even had a jail. ;)

 Sisters. Precious! Grace was just barely walking when we were there. She still did a lot of crawling, so it was really fun to watch her walking with Anna on this beautiful morning.

 She sees something!

 Not posed! Anna was just talking away, telling her all about the cactus plants and flowers and mountains.

 This is the view from their driveway. 

 Anna loved pushing Grace around in the borrowed umbrella stroller. I loved that she loved to do it because those strollers are *just* short enough that it's not very comfortable for me to push around!

 Anna said this looked like a tree from a Dr. Seuss book!

Despite Grace not sleeping much (what's new?!), we had a good time. It was nice to get away from the cold for a while and to be together as a family without work! We also got to spend some time with Aaron's aunt & uncle and cousins, but not nearly enough! Never enough time...

I'm beginning to think we need to stop going to warmer climates during the winter...it makes it quite difficult to adjust back to the cold!!

 Aaron's golf day with Bryan & Elry.

 Grandpa serenaded the boys one night while they took their bath in the big tub ;)

 I forgot that we also went to the Children's Museum one day! It was GREAT!!!

 Aaron had a lady at work make his dad a quilt. She calls it her Veteran's quilt and refuses to be paid for the piecing work. She sends it out of the quilting work. It is a beautiful quilt!

 Like I said, we had a couple days at the beginning of our trip that were nice enough for the pool. The kids LOVED it!!

 Grace LOVED the pool!!

 I made a lot of laps around the pool and she finally fell asleep!

 On the patio at Uncle Elry's & Aunt Carol's, Isaac said, "Mom, why don't you come join me in this beautiful summer weather?!"

 We went to a restaurant called Oregano's for lunch one day. They give the kids their own pizza dough to play with while they wait on the food! Grace loved it. And ate some. Haha!

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More pics from the awesome Children's Museum!

 Anna said this was her favorite part. Of course!

 The boys picked up a cold while we were there...so glad I took a diffuser and my oils!!

 Isaac wanted to take a nap in Grace's crib one afternoon. Ha!

 Having fun riding in the golf cart! Look out!!! Isaac is steering!

 Now really look out!!! Anna is driving all by herself! ;)

Jacob didn't mind the rainy days...he loves playing games! He learned a new one while we were there...Mexican Train Dominoes!

Big Family, Lots of Food

Our grocery bill has been steadily increasing. Probably a correlation with our family size increasing... ;)

We eat whole, real foods, which can make food expensive. I feel like I've gotten pretty good at keeping food expenses fairly reasonable by making a lot from scratch & finding good deals--Bountiful Baskets, farmer's markets, buying direct from farmers, getting sides of beef, gardening and canning, etc. But as the kids get older and their appetites get bigger, I'm running out of ways to cut the grocery budget! I am not exaggerating when I say that Jacob and Anna, and occasionally Isaac, can eat more than me! At lunch today, Anna and Jacob both ate an adult meal at the restaurant. Plus a piece of pie for dessert!!

Since Aaron has gotten paid twice a month (probably 6 or 7 years), I've been grocery shopping twice a month. That works well for getting fresh produce, but is probably less cost effective than once a month shopping. I remember very well doing once a month shopping with Mom growing up, and doing freezer meal cooking once a month. So I think it's time for a change!

We visited a Costco while we were in Arizona with Aaron's parents and I was very impressed with the selection of natural/organic products and the huge variety of quality produce. And cheese. And butter. Ha! So a Christmas present from his parents was a year's membership! We upgraded to the Executive membership for some added perks. And today was the maiden voyage to once a month shopping! Ha!

We switched out the kids for food halfway through the store. 

 Here is most of the haul. I had a few things put away already, but had to take a panoramic picture of everything. Haha!

Things I like about Costco:

1. Quality produce

2. Huge array of cheese (I love cheese)

3. For most of what I buy, bulk = savings

4. Big carts

5. Big aisles

6. Giant selection

7. SAVINGS

Things I don't like about Costco:

1. It's on the east side of Wichita (instead of closer)

2. No Wild Oats products :(

3. No popcorn kernels

So...we shall see how this experiment works and how far this food will go! It's been way too long since I've bought enough food for an entire month! And I've never done it with 4 kids in the house!