The Hinck's: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

The new addition . . .

We inherited a kitten from my parent's prior to coming to Montana. He turned out to be a mean kitty so we found a nice kitty for Kaylei. His name is Max and tolerates Kaylei better than Tiggy does. Though, all the scratches from Tiggy has taught Kaylei to let Max go when he wants to get down.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Eastern Montana State Fair

The weekend of August 21 we went to the Eastern Montana State Fair in Miles City, Montana. We drove up Friday mrning and did some shopping in town. That afternoon my dad met up with us. (He's a long-haul truck driver and was driving through.) We headed to the fair grounds where Kaylei rode her first ride all by herself. I was very nervous letting her go by herself but she did fine!

Kaylei's 1st solo ride. Notice how she holds the center bar.

Look how high it goes! I really didn't want her to go alone.

By the second time around Kaylei lets go of the bar, leans back, and enjoys the ride. Silly mom, this isn't scary at all!

Riding like a pro!

On the merry-go-round with her pop-pop.

Kaylei's favorite part: The petting zoo! The owner of the zoo commented on how Kaylei could catch and pick-up the animals with such care. (Right after this comment, Kaylei was caught hitting the alpaka in the face so we took her out.)

We wrapped up the fair by watching the rodeo. (Troy's trainer warden's younger brother took first in the bucking bronco contest!)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Becoming Thrifty

We've had some big change lately with the move to Montana. One of the biggest changes is that we do not have access to a good cheap grocery store. There's an IGA in town (I start working there Monday) but the products are limited and a little more pricey than a main grocery line. Thus, we have to diligently plan ahead to make sure we have the staples necessary to keep us going for 2-4 weeks at a time. With this we also needed to cut back on spending, which has been easier in areas such as dining out. To help supplement, we are cutting coupons and checking out new thrifty ways to help stretch the dollar. Currently, I've entered a drawing (recommended by Jillian) that will award a $250 gift card to help vamp up the pantry. This is a big concern since it may be up to 6 or 8 weeks before we can make it to the store in the winter. If you're interested, visit the following link: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/08/250-grocery-store-gift-card-giveaway.html/comment-page-6#comment-21534 Also, check out the coupon pages on the right. You will need to download a coupon printer program for free to help the coupons print. Good Luck with your savings and thrifty spending, :)