Blog Love, Movie Theaters, and a Family Date

I have a confession to make. I am slightly obsessed with blogs. They inspire me in so many ways. There are a few blogs that I follow and read regularly. I want to share one of these blogs with you.

If you haven't already, you need to check out Jordan Page's blog, Fun, Cheap or Free. She is also known as the Fun Cheap or Free Queen. You may have seen her on Studio 5 or other local channels. Plus, she will be on the new season of Extreme Cheapskates on TLC this November. Not only is she a frugality expert, she is also a wife and a mother of three. Through her blog, she shares ideas and tips on how to create a fun/cheap/free lifestyle. I recently watched one of her Live Q&A sessions on You Tube, and I fell in love with her! I admire her positive, spunky, and honest attitude. Not to mention, all of her great ideas to save money!

A couple of weeks ago, Jordan blogged about an awesome movie theater secret right here in Utah. You can see the full post here. I just had to share this secret with everyone! Holladay Center Cinema 6 Theaters or Westates Theaters have recently been purchased by Water Gardens Theaters. They just had their grand opening last weekend. This theater is awesome! Water Gardens Theaters focuses on purchasing theaters that have recently gone out of business. Their main goal is to help the economy. They are creating jobs and allowing their customers to enjoy the movie-going experience without breaking the bank. Their prices are unbelievable! The tickets are $3.50 each. All day long, for everyone. Unless you are 2 or younger. And then you are FREE! However, the movies they show are not the new releases. The movies that are shown at Water Gardens have left the mainstream theaters, but have not been released on DVD. I still like them because they have a lot of family-friendly movies for my kids to enjoy. They do not show any R-rated movies either and are closed on Sundays. Now on to the best part. The food. You will not believe me when I say this, but the most expensive item is $3.00!!! You can get a large drink and a large popcorn for $6.00! Most people, myself included, have wondered how this company is even making any money on their concessions. Well, Jordan took care of that too and spoke to an employee of Water Gardens. They did market research and found that 90% of people that use mainstream theaters do not purchase concessions, but sneak in their own or go without. With their prices being as low as they are, almost 100% of their customers buy at least one item, if not more. And it all adds up. I like to support businesses that are helping our economy and have the customer's interest at heart. It is a breath of fresh air that some businesses aren't operating just to make a buck. We should all support this awesome business!

I just had to try this theater out! Rich and I took the girls to a movie there last Saturday. This was a first for our family. We have never been to a movie as a family of four. It was awesome! The girls each got to pick out a treat from the treat tables. Emma picked Swedish Fish and Haylee picked Strawberry Sour Punch Straws. We also got 2 medium drinks and a medium popcorn. With our movies tickets and our food/treats we spent a total of $24.00!! I'd say that is a dang good deal for four people to see a movie and have some junk food to enjoy it with. Not only are the prices amazing, but so is the staff. All of the employees were extremely polite and friendly. After we got settled in our seats, we discovered one of our drinks did not taste very good. I took the drink back to the counter and they felt so bad! They changed out my drink and also gave me a small bag of popcorn for free because of my troubles. We saw Smurfs 2 and it had us all laughing. It was such a cute family movie. I was a little worried about Emma losing interest, but her eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. It was so special to look over and see both of my girls watching this movie with big eyes and smiles. It was the best family date and we will be going back for sure!

P.S. I really like this blogging thing. I think I am going to keep at it and do it more frequent. I have so many ideas for future blog posts so stay tuned!

Emma Turns 2 Under the Big Top

My little Emma turned 2 on October 5th! Whew! Time is flying! I really do not want to accept the fact that my youngest babe is growing up, so I decided to mask my pain with a party. Parties always make me feel better. Except, I always go overboard, and then I am just a stressed-out mess, but it is all good in the end. I was especially excited for this party. This would be the first party at our new home in Tooele. So this party was a win-win for all because we were able to celebrate Emma's birthday and also have a little house warming party all in one. Parking and space were always big issues for my guests at our previous house, so now that we have both of those issues resolved with the new house, it is safe to say I was thrilled! This is the start of many more parties at the Prescott household.

I had so much fun preparing for this party. I blame PINTEREST for my attention to detail and for going a little overboard. The party was a Carnival theme. The food, games, treats, and decor all had to do with the Carnival. We held the first half of the party at a park behind my house. The kids were able to run around and play on the playground while we got the food ready. We ate lunch and then played carnival games. The kids had so much fun playing the games and earning tickets.













"Catch a Duck". The kids fished for a duck with a number on the bottom. That number determined how many tickets they got. This game got a little out of control because a) my "pond" was not full enough, b) the ducks kept falling over exposing their number, and c) the kids did not play by the rules very well. Lets just say that a lot of tickets were earned playing this game. A LOT.



Ticket bum.



"Cup Crash" and "Ring Toss". In "Cup Crash", the kids were given three balls and three chances to knock down all of the cups. If all of the cups were down after three tries, they would get 5 tickets. The older the kid, the farther away they had to stand from the cups. In "Ring Toss", the kids would toss rings and try to get them around water bottles. This game failed. Miserably. No one was able to get a ring around a bottle. I don't know if it had to do with the rings we were using, but this game totally bombed. The kids also went bowling on the sidewalk. That worked out a lot better. However, my cute Dad was in charge of placing the pins in place after they would get knocked down. He did not stick to the rules of bowling either. He kept giving the kids more chances to knock down all of the pins. He must have forgotten that in the game of bowling you have two chances to knock down all of the pins. Not 3. Or 6. The kids had fun though and that is all that matters. It is safe to say that each kid won 10 tickets on this game.



Emma helping herself to tickets.



The prize table. The kids cashed in their tickets for prizes after they had played all of the games. I think there were too many tickets dispersed! The kids went home with a lot of sugar. Sorry parents!



Party bags. I had a marker handy to write each kid's name on the bag as they were picking out their treats. This worked out better than having the bags pre-labeled because there were a few kids that didn't come to the party and there were a couple of kids I had not planned on. Now I have a few un-marked bags left over that I can use next time!







After some cleanup at the park, we headed back to our house to open presents. Emma got spoiled rotten! She was a little overwhelmed, but loved each and everything she was given. Thank you to everyone!











Last, but certainly not least, we ate cake. And cupcakes. Strawberry cupcakes with homemade butter cream frosting to be exact.



Emma's cake.







Happy Birthday to my angel. You bring so much light and laughter to our lives. Your family loves you!

P.S. Thank you again to all who helped make this party a success. I couldn't have done it without you! Thanks to all who came and celebrated with us! We love you!

Four Years Old - A Princess Party

I became a Mother at 2:03 pm on March 29, 2009. As Haylee entered the world and was placed in my arms, I was overwhelmed with love. It was overbearing and powerful. Haylee had given me the ultimate gift - the gift of motherhood. I had dreamed of that moment since I was a little girl caring for my dolls and treating them as if they were real. I didn't need to pretend anymore, I now had a perfect angel to call my own.



And now she is four. The last four years have been full of learning, growing, and love. Haylee keeps us smiling and laughing with her fun personality. She reminds me of myself when I was little. She is the ultimate girly-girl which means we celebrated girly-girl style.





We took Haylee to dinner on her actual birthday as a family. The next day we held her birthday party at Jungle Gym's Playland. We invited some close friends and family. The kids had a blast! There were rides, games, food, and a whole lot of fun. Her party started at 3:30 in the afternoon and before we knew it, it was 7:00! Time flies when your are having fun!

I still cannot believe Rich took Emma on this ride. It is the fastest ride at Jungle Gym's and goes around and around in a circle. She did ok, but her face showed complete terror. When the ride stopped to start going backwards, Emma tried to climb out of the car and Rich had to hold her in until the ride stopped for good. We had a hard time getting her to ride more rides after that, but she got over it. Or just forgot about it.



Haylee's favorite ride had to be the bumper cars. She wanted to ride them over and over again. She thought it was so cool that she was driving all by herself. She mostly just spun around in a circle. She loved riding with her cousin Sienna because Sienna would push the gas pedal and Haylee would steer. Well, let's be honest. They both steered!





The cupcakes weren't so bad either!








Emma clearly enjoyed them!

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated this special day with us. It means a lot to have family and friends who support one another and are there to make Haylee's day perfect.



Four years older and wiser too! Happy Birthday to my Haylee Boo!

The Big 6

It was our 6 year wedding anniversary last Thursday. Unfortunately, Rich worked during the day and I worked at night so we were not able to celebrate until the weekend. Rich did surprise me Thursday morning with red roses and the sweetest card. With help from Rich's family and my Mom, we had a Saturday night without the kids. We started the night out with dinner at PF Changs. It was delicious as always and left us stuffed. After dinner we went to The Gateway and saw The Campaign with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. We laughed so hard! It was such a funny movie. We ended the night at Little America Hotel. It was such a quiet and restful night without any kiddos. It was definitely needed. We were able to sleep in this morning and get up when we wanted. I could have laid in that comfy bed all day, but I was ready to see my sweet girls.

After being together for 10 years, married for 6 of them, we have had a lot of great memories together.



I love you Rich. I am so glad I married you. Here is to 6 years of wedded bliss and an eternity more to come!

A New Chapter

I little while ago, my sister-in-law was recruited by a co-worker to become an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics. Kristy started telling me all about the Mary Kay business and all of the opportunities it holds. I disregarded the idea at first because, let's face it, I am not a sales person by any means and I thought it would be silly if both Kristy and I sold the same product and were each others competitors. I thought about it for a few days and Rich put it into prospective; no matter what, it would be something fun for me to do and something I could really enjoy, regardless of how much money I make doing it. The next day, I signed my Mary Kay agreement and ordered my starter kit. My starter kit arrived on April 16, 2012 and it felt like Christmas.



Inside was everything I needed to start my Mary Kay business. It was so much fun looking through all of the product and sampling everything.

I went to my first unit meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. I was "sworn in" as a new Independent Beauty Consultant and received my first pin. After meeting with my director, I now have a different outlook. This is a business. My business. And I am going to treat it as so. The more I put into it, the more I will get out of it. I am learning so much and hope to learn more. I want to succeed and make this work. Mainly for my family. I would love to be able to provide for them, but be able to spend more time with them.

Please visit my very own website and shop with me 24/7!
http://www.marykay.com/katieprescott

Let me know if you want to learn more about the products you see, would like to make an order, or would like to host a party!

Letter to Emma

Dear Emma,

You are nearly 5 months old and I can not believe it! Time is flying and you are growing so fast. Maybe a little too fast! The clothes we bought you for Christmas are already too small and there were some outfits that you only wore once or twice and now they are ready to be packed away. You are now wearing some clothes in size 3-6 month, size 6 month, and just a few in size 6-9 month.


On February 5, 2012 you were blessed by your Grandpa Craig at our home ward. February 5th was also your 4 month Birthday and also Super Bowl Sunday. You were so beautiful in your white dress. Grandpa's words were perfect and I will never forget them. You were awake, but did not make a peep the whole time. I was so proud of you. Bishop Jensen, your Daddy, your Uncle Casey, and Grandpa Anthony were also in the circle with you. Everyone went to Chuck-A-Rama after to celebrate.

We took a trip to the doctor on February 8th. You are growing and developing right on track. You had to have more shots. You received a total of five vaccines. You were poked a total of three times, two in the left leg and one in the right leg. You also received a vaccine by mouth. It was like a little drink in a dropper. You did very well with the vaccine by mouth. You didn't try and spit it out or fight the nurse at all. I felt so bad that you were getting shots and had no idea. You did not know what was coming. As soon as the first shot entered your leg you got the saddest look on your face. Then the tears came. And the cries. It was definitely your "hurt" cry. I held you close as soon as I could and the cries stopped, but the whimpers started. You poor little thing! You were hurt, but didn't know why. You got over it quickly and forgot all about it. You did very well after your shots too, just a low-grade fever. It seemed like they did not affect you much at all.



Just a few pics of you with your bright pink band-aides. Your big sister was a bit jealous of your band-aides and wanted one for herself, but when I told her she would have to have a shot to get a band-aide, she quickly changed her mind.

The doctor also weighed you and took all of your measurements. As of February 8th, you weighed 14.77 pounds, which put you in the 74 percentile for weight. You measured 26.38 inches, which put you in the 98 percentile for length. I have a feeling that you will be tall. You may even pass your big sister up! You head circumference measured 15.9 inches, which put you in the 35 percentile.

My biggest concern at your checkup, was your spitting problem and acid reflux. You had already tried 4 different formulas, but were still spitting up with all of them. You tried formula for sensitive tummies, ones with added rice starch for thickness (let me just say that these make the spit up an even bigger mess),soy, and just the regular ones too. Your spitting problem is not affecting your weight by any means, but I am worried it is uncomfortable and painful for you. Not to mention, it is really making the laundry pile stack a little taller! We decided to try a different formula that is more broken down and easier on your tummy. It was called Alementum and it stunk. Literally. It smelled like mashed potatoes and dog food and you HATED it. It was like I was forcing you to eat. The few days that you were on it you were the grumpiest I have ever seen you. Way too much crying for my liking. We went back to what you had tried before, but I still don't think it was right for you. I finally put you on the Enfamil that your big sister was on and you love it. Of course you are still spitting a little bit, but it's not as bad. Since the Alementum didn't go as planned, I had the doctor call in some medicine for you. They called in some Prevacid, but we have yet to try it because they are out of stock! I have a good feeling that once we start that you will feel much better. You will soon be trying out some year 1 solids and that will probably help too. The doctor also noticed a flat spot on the back of your head on the right side. The doctor suggested a helmet to help round it out, but was not too concerned. Over the past couple weeks it has started to round out and I think we will for-go the helmet.

Just a few facts about you:

You have been sleeping propped up on your back during the night, but you like to nap on your side, either on the couch or on Mommy's bed. You like blankets around your face and I like that they help hold your binky in your mouth. You definitely like to be snuggled and fall asleep faster that way. As soon as I lay you on your side and put the blankets around your face, you are out! Sometimes you prefer Mommy to hold you and rock you to sleep. You are getting better staying asleep after being laid down after I have put you to sleep. You have always done well with self-soothing and putting yourself to sleep. Since you were 6-7 weeks old you have slept through the night. You would go to bed between 11 and 12 and sleep until about 8 am. You have been off of your game a bit lately going to bed at the same time, but waking up between 4-5 am wanting to eat then refusing to go back to sleep. I finally get you back to sleep a couple of hours later for you to sleep for a couple of hours. We are going to try an earlier bedtime and a stricter schedule. I think adding some solid foods will help too. I think it may be time to move you to your own room too. It always brings some anxiety and worry to me, but I know it's for the best. You have never been the best napper, but are getting better. You have about 2 really good naps each day. Usually you are ready for a nap about an hour after you eat. Your routine consists of eat, play, sleep, eat, play sleep.


You think you need to hold your own bottle. Right now you are drinking 5-5 1/2 ounce bottles every 3 hours.

You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to sit up. This was the first time we put you in your saucer. You loved it, but didn't really know what to do. You love to sit in your bumbo too. You just like to see what it going on. You hold objects really well now. Your coordination is improving everyday and everything is making its way to your mouth. You love to play with toys and chew on everything. I love to watch you discover and learn. You blabber and talk constantly. It is the cutest thing ever!

You were blessed with pretty blue eyes like your sister.

I am so happy that you joined our family. You have brought me so much joy and my heart is overflowing with love for you. You have an extra large smile and are constantly flashing it to everyone. I love our special bond. You are definitely a Momma's girl. I am looking forward to watching you grow and develop.

Love, Mommy