Totino's Box Tops for Education & A Prize Pack Give Away! - Drawing will be September 9th

Who doesn't love pizza and games? We received our Totino's prize pack and we had Friday Fun Night! The kids loved the pizza rolls and had a blast playing games and all the while taking in a little knowledge. It was nice for us to have a great night as a family and get back into the swing of hanging out at home a little bit as summer is coming to the end and school is starting. We also love to have Totino's pizza and rolls on Sundays when we are watching football games. See the information below on how Totino's is helping support schools and education. Totino's and MyBlogSpark is also giving me a prize pack to give away to one of my readers -- see the information below on how to get in the drawing. Also check out the links below to hear what some of the schools have been able to do from collecting box tops from their box top coordinators.

There´s a special connection between having fun in school and academic performance. In fact, according to a recent survey, 93% of parents believe their kids perform better when having fun during the school day . 

This school year, Totino´s® is giving away one million Bonus Box Tops (equivalent to $100,000) to help bring fun ideas to life both inside and outside of the classroom, through the "Learn a Ton when School is Fun" sweepstakes:
This school year, four participating schools in the Box Tops for Education (BTFE) program will each win 250,000 Bonus Box Tops, equivalent to $25,000, from Totino´s to help fund a fun project at their school. Visit www.BTFE.com/Totinos to view official sweepstakes rules.

You can start, or continue, to earn cash for your kid´s school by collecting Box Tops coupons from hundreds of products, including Totino´s

This back-to-school season, Totino´s® Party Pizza® and Pizza Rolls® Snacks will feature double Box Tops on select varieties, to help you earn even more for your kid´s school!

Fun is an essential part of learning. Continue to help make your kid´s learning environment more fun and exciting by taking advantage of these simple opportunities from Totino´s - enter the "Learn a Ton when School is Fun" sweepstakes for your chance to win 250,000 Bonus Box Tops, and serve up a quick and delicious after-school snack with Totino´s Party Pizza and Pizza Rolls Snacks, while collecting double Box Tops from each. You can also check out these videos from a group of Totino´s Fun-Atics, Box Tops Coordinators who are bringing fun to their local schools.

www.BTFE.com/Totinos | Also find us on:

To find out more information about Totino's click on the following links:

Totino´s website http://bit.ly/totionsbtfe
Totino´s on Facebook http://on.fb.me/totinosbtfe
Box Tops for Education Sweepstakes website http://bit.ly/btfetotinos



Prize Pack Give Away:

One Totino´s "Learn a Ton when School is Fun" prize pack which includes a Brain Quest Smart! Game, Micro Rubik´s® Cube Key Holder and draw string backpack, and coupons for a free package of Totino´s Pizza Rolls Snacks, Totino´s Party Pizza and new Totino´s Pizza Stuffers.

To be in the drawing for the prize pack please post a comment and share one of the following:

• What type of fun project they would use the 250,000 Bonus Box Tops ($25,000 value) to fund if they won the Totino´s "Learn a Ton when School is Fun" sweepstakes?
• One of their fun memories from when they were in school and how they could help to create a similar experience in their child´s school

Links to Totino's Fun-Atics Videos 1 - 6

http://bit.ly/totinossharon
http://bit.ly/totinosshanda
http://bit.ly/totinoslisa
http://bit.ly/totionsKathy
http://bit.ly/totionskate
http://bit.ly/TotinosJanaLe

"Disclosure: The information and prize pack has been provided by Totino´s through MyBlogSpark."

Adult Trip Only - 4 Days in MN - Day - Last Day

Sunday morning came quick and it was hot in the camper.  3 days was definitely catching up with us.  It was another great day at the lake though.  My brother and his family came out, my grandpa, and a few more cousins.  We had an awesome breakfast and then it was time to hit the lake again.  We took the speed boat out and my brother, my cousin Justin, and my nephew all went water skiing.  We pretty much just hung out that day and visited and I got a lot of swimming in knowing that it would be awhile before I would make it back to the cabin.  Later in the afternoon it was time to say goodbye, always the hardest part.  My brother and his family brought us to the airport.  It was an okay flight home.  The kids were so happy to us when we got home.  Monday was a little tough getting up and moving and concentrating on work, but it was well worth it.  What a great adult only vacation, it was something Dan and I really needed.  We are still telling each other stories and reminiscing.

Adult Trip Only - 4 Days in MN - Day - Day 3

We arrived at my Lake Cabin at around 1:30pm on Saturday.  When we left Dan's parents house it looked like some nasty storms were going to appear and ruin my lake day.  I just thought, that figures - the last 3 times I have went home for a nice weekend at the lake it has been nasty and cold and we all wore sweatshirts and jeans.  We must have drove far enough away though because the day was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't have asked for better weather.

When we got to the cabin Dan and I started to feel the affects from the night before.  He lazied around a little bit and I unpacked our suitcases and changed into some lake clothes.  My cousin started making us some mimosa's and I was back at it.  After about an hour and half we decided to take the new pontoon out and go for a ride around the lake.  We all packed up a cooler and jumped on board.  This is definitely the way to see the lake.  It was so relaxing and peaceful and you get a ton of sun~!  We motored around and stopped by one of my girlfriends cabins from high school and said hi quick and then headed back to our cabin.  At around 7pm I figured it was time to get the speed boat out and get some water skiing in.  I decided to go doubles with my cousin, Jamie and we were up first.  Its been a few years since I had been skiing, but I was ready.  My brother was driving the boat and he took a sharp turn at one point and I was on the outside of the wake and got dumped and took in some water.  All I could think of was - do not puke because with your ski's on you will not be able to swim away!  We got up again and I kept telling them to slow down, but Jeff kept yelling at me that he had to speed up because Jamie was sinking next to me.  Next time I will ski alone or make sure I have someone next to me in the same weight range!  It was a blast either way though.  Dan was up next and successful got up the first time on one ski and was able to do some spraying even.  Not too bad for us oldies!  We got my mom's jet ski out for a few spins on the lake too.  We couldn't have asked for a better time.  I did miss that my kids weren't with us because they would have loved swimming in the lake and I could just imagine the tantrums when the day was done and they would have had to be done swimming for the day.  Hopefully next year we can head to Minnesota for a family vacation and it will be just as beautiful.

 After the sun went down we hung around the cabin for awhile and then Ashley and I decided it was time to head out to the lake bars for a little while and we drug Dan and Jamie with us.  We had a blast, us four.
Here we are on our way:

Jamie

Me

Ashley

The first bar we headed to was a little dive bar called Swaney's.  They had karaoke on Saturday night and Ashley wanted to sing.  This is also what they call a set up bar.  They sell 3.2 beer and you can buy pop, but you bring in your own bottle of booze.  It's really the strangest thing to carry a big bottle into the bar with you.  We had a pretty good time at this place.  We played a little pull tabs and came out a little ahead and Ashley sang while me and Jamie danced.  We met some very odd people in this bar too.  They definitely came out of the wood work or out from somewhere?!  After awhile we left around the bend to The Roadhouse for a drink.  They had a band and we did a little dancing and had 1 beer and decided to head back to the cabin. Ashley made a fire at the fire pit when we got back and then disappeared (aka fell asleep in her camper) and Dan headed off to our camper for bed which left me and Jamie up for a late night talk.  I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Dan and Ashley getting ready for pull tabs.

You bring your own booze and buy your pop from the bar.
Nothing like it.

And we have a winner!

Yep - the place was only falling apart a little bit.

Jamie, Ashley and me at the Roadhouse.

Dan and I at The Roadhouse.

Adult Trip Only - 4 Days in MN - Day - Reunion Time

Friday was the day that we had been waiting for and the entire purpose for the trip.  We were lazy for the day after staying up late the night before and attempted to get some naps in, but it didn't happen.  We had decided to leave around 3pm that day to start our adventure.  We were off to one of Dan's classmates houses and pick up him and his wife in a town on the way to the reunion.  His friend, John, was not going to go unless we picked him up and we were happy to have some company and time to visit on the way.  We had decided that it would be fun to bar hop a little bit too.  I should mention that Dan and John graduated with 9 kids in their class, crazy isn't it!  Their town was also hosting a street dance that night to raise funds for the fire department so we were pretty excited to see people that we hadn't seen since moving to Colorado 12 years ago.

John and Dan

We arrived at our first stop and did some visiting while they finished getting ready to go.  We had a blast catching up on the drive to our first stop, Breckenridge.  We stopped for a quick beer and of course Dan ran into someone there that him and John knew that Dan used to work for when he was younger.

Our next destination was to Dan's brothers house to see what they were up to.  We got there and Dan's brother was there and then one of his other brothers showed up a little while later.  We ended up staying there a little longer than intended, but it was fun and we also got to see our nieces and nephews.

Joe, John, Tom, and Dan

 We ventured through one really small town  as the two guys were reminiscing about one of their classmates and were trying to figure out what house he might be living in on our way to our next stop.  We got a kick out of this old, old gas station and couldn't help but take a picture.  Remember when gas was this low!

 Our next stop was properly the weirdest and a tad inappropriate thing that I had been too, midget wrestling.  We stopped and actually paid to get into this.  Only in a town of 200 people would there be a small crowd that would come and watch this, but I guess people have to make a living right?  We ran into a bunch of people that we would see at the street dance later that night.  The guys got a kick out of heckling the wrestlers and their staff.  We stayed for a short time and then it was about 8:30 - 9pm or so and it was time to head to the dance.  We didn't even make it to Dan's parents house before the dance/reunion to say hello and my parents and aunt and uncle were even there setting up there camper to stay for the festivities of the night.  Oops!

We got to the street dance and it was a blast. We were so busy saying hello and giving hugs to people we hand't seen forever.  It was definitely a whirlwind of a night.  Dan saw most of his classmates that night (I mean there were only 9 of them).  We saw his family, his brothers, his friends from school that still live around there and the farmers that we know.  It was great for me that my parents and aunt and uncle were there too.  There of course were a couple of moments that night in true Davids' style, but we'll just move past all of that.
Here are a few pictures that I took at the end of the night.  Unfortunately none of the pictures I took of Dan's class on stage turned out, but I am hoping to get one from one of his classmates.

Dan and his brother Tom

Dan, me and Tom

Darin (Dan's best friend) and me.
He was in charge of the street dance and did a great job.

Friend from town, my dad, my mom, me, my aunt Shelly, and uncle John.
What a blast we had.

At the end of the night we all headed back to the Davids' house.  Dan's brother was having a bonfire so Dan, me, Shelly, and John decided to walk down the street to where he lives and hang out for a little while longer and see what trouble they were causing.  After awhile it was definitely time to go to bed.  We had a great time that night and I was so glad that Dan had decided to go.  Of course now they are saying that Dan and I made the dance.  We definitely dress more like big city people than the small town folk, but everyone couldn't believe how down to earth and nice we were to everyone.  They are wanting to plan another street dance next because they did make some money for the fire department, but they already said that we have to show up if they have one.  Only time will tell on that, til next year .....maybe.

And just as a side note:  I did get harassed a little bit because some people had seen me at the midget wrestling in one outfit and then had a different one I wore to the street dance.  I just laughed and asked the guys - What!  You didn't know that you were supposed to have a change of clothes?  I thought it was hilarious that they noticed!  (you can look at the picture with the gas sign and then one's later in the night)

Adult Trip Only - 4 Days in MN - Arrival Day

Dan's 20 year class reunion was planned for this summer.  We knew that it would have to be a quick trip to Minnesota for the weekend and went round and round on the travel plans.  Airline tickets were outrageous to Fargo, ND and we weren't sure that we wanted to drive there and back on another quick trip since we just did it in April.  After searching and trying to plan different flights (and even just talking Dan into going) I broke down and said let's just you and I go, I will find someone to watch the kids each day while we are gone and I will use my free airline ticket to pay my way and we only need to purchase your ticket.  The deal was done after he squabbled at me for not disclosing in the beginning that I had a free ticket, but hey, that was my ticket!  So the kids were squared away and Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for those that watched our kids while we were gone!  Now onto the 4 days of fun!

We had a 10am flight on Thursday morning.  We dropped the kids off at daycare that morning and gave extra hugs and kisses and off to the airport we went.  Here is where me and Dan are completely different when traveling.  I am a basket case driving to the airport and on the airplane, but when checking in, checking bags and getting to my gate I am on target and have no issues.  Dan, on the other hand, has no issues preparing to fly or on the airplane, but once he steps foot out of the vehicle at the airport he turns into a person that knows absolutely nothing and freaks about it all.  What a pair we make traveling together.  So I led the way to check-in and then through security and onto the subway.  We then made a bee line for the smokers lounge for a drink.  This really is a must have for me before flying (unless the kids are with, obviously).  Nothing like having a stiff drink at 9:00am to start your vacation off.

Dan and I in the Smoker's Lounge

Once we arrived in Fargo my dad was there to pick us up.  Our "taxi" was an old Ford farm truck, nothing like riding in style.  We had plans for going golfing at 2pm and my dad was supposed to set up the tee time.  We chatted on the ride to the golf course and then pull in and there are a lot of vehicles in the parking lot for a random Thursday afternoon.  Well, my dad did not call for a tee time and then we soon found out that they were having a tournament and were not open.  Bummer on that piece.  We sat there for a minute and had a beer and contemplated another golf course to go to.  We decided we would head to the farm to change and then go to the next course.  Off to the farm we went.

We changed quick and then my dad finally after naming who knows how many golf courses decided to head to Detroit Lakes.  Keep in mind that I have only golfed twice in my life.  I know that the guys like to golf and I knew that there was beer involved and it seemed like an easy thing to do for the afternoon as well.  I also had to have an outfit prepared to at least look like I knew what I was doing.  We got to the golf course and rented a cart and then they only paid for 2 people to golf because my dad didn't think that I would golf all the holes, but I did.  

I have to say that golfing was pretty fun and I didn't suck at it.  I didn't care much for the putting or as they referred to it "the short game", but we had a blast.  We met up with my mom at the club house after she got off work and we were done.  We took a couple of group shots and then it was off to our next destination - Shooting Star Casino - for the night.

Really Dad?

The girls in one car and the boys in the other and we were off.  We did stop off in one town for a cold one along the way.  Small town bars are great!  They all looked at my golf outfit and wondered who the heck I was.  We got to the casino and checked in our rooms and did a little freshening up.  We met downstairs and went to the high stakes room to play because they give free drinks while you are playing in there.  After awhile we were all off on our own.  I waited forever for a black jack table to open up, but one finally did and I played for a few hours off of $40.00 and did come out ahead.  I think I had a few too many Sex on The Beach drinks though because I was definitely feeling it when I was done.  It was time to head to the deli for supper.  We hit the sack around 1:30am or so and were back up the next morning around 8:30am.  My mom was long gone back to work for half a day and we headed down for breakfast.  I had been dreaming or thinking, who really knows, about playing the Wheel of Fortune game and told they guys that I wasn't done yet and had to play.  I went and played while they waited for our breakfast and sure enough I hit $300.00 bucks!  Nice way to start my Friday morning.  We headed back to the farm for a little relaxing for the afternoon before the Street Dance and Dan's 20 year class reunion.

Me and my mom at the casino.

Ice Cream Treats at Cozy Cow

It has been blazing hot in Colorado the last 20 or so days. 90 degrees or more every day.  It was finally time to take the kids somewhere for an ice cream treat.  Growing up on a dairy farm I still have a hard time some days smelling the alfalfa fields being cut and not getting a little home sick.  Don't think for a second that I want to go and drive a tractor and sit on a wagon and throw square bails of hay, but it does make me miss home.  It also makes me want to at least introduce my kids to a different way of life that is a little bit tougher than mom and dad working and kids enjoy all the benefit.  So it was time to head over to Cozy Cow Dairy and let the kids feed some cows and goats and see a little farming and then enjoy some fresh, yummy ice cream.
Katelynn has been to cozy cow dairy before and taken their tour and was super excited, but more to get the ice cream.  Junior talked all morning about going to feed the cows and was super excited, but when we got there he was not excited to actually feed them.  The goat was excited to have someone there to feed him and Junior wanted nothing to do with it.  It was pretty entertaining.  We all had a good little time and they really do have some good ice cream.

Celebrating 101 Years of Life

Faye Loraine Allen, age 101, of Moorhead, MN, died Saturday, August 13, 2011. She had resided at Eventide Linden Tree since May, 2004, after leaving her farm.

Faye was the daughter of Frank and Lottie (Coleman) Rice, born on July 11, 1910, at Victoria, IL. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Moreland Township, Clay County, Minnesota. Faye received her education in Averill and Glyndon schools. On February 15, 1928 she married Merle Allen in Moorhead. They lived and farmed south of Moorhead.

She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and was a member of a circle. She was also a member of Eastern Star, Eagle's Auxiliary and Town & Country Homemakers. She was an avid bowler in two leagues and later in life enjoyed playing cards at the senior center.

She is survived by two sons, Francis (Maxine) Allen, Robert Allen; two daughters, Laura (Barney) Dickhaus and Lois May Hanson, all of Moorhead, MN. One of her pride and joys were her 17 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and many great-great-grandchildren.

Faye was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, brother, Wayne Rice, sister, Mable Hurner and daughter-in-law, Roberta Allen.

Girls Weekend - Cheyenne, WY

It is always good for Moms to get out of the house and do a girls weekend and we definitely had a good trip.  My girlfriend, Brooke, and her friend, Beth from Texas scheduled in a little weekend for us to go and just hang out and have some fun, no kids, no husbands, no cleaning, and no responsibilities!
We took off on a Friday and drove the quick hour to Cheyenne, WY.  Its always a little more fun to say you went out of state even though it was only an hour away!  We checked into our usual hotel, The Plains Hotel, an old historical hotel in Cheyenne.  We arrived in town around 4pm and hung out and had a few drinks and checked out each others clothes we had brought for the weekend.  After a few hours it was time to head out and find some supper.  After supper we did the typical girl thing and took probably a good hour and half to 2 hours to get ready, we were in no hurry.  We were having so much fun just telling stories and laughing.  Finally it was time to head out and we always go to The Outlaw.  We were hopeful to find some good country dancers for the night.  We hung out at the bar until around 1:30 and then headed back to our hotel and ended up talking until early into the next morning.  Brooke unfortunately still got up extremely early and her OCD kicked in and she started cleaning our room.  I think the next morning is always the most fun.  You are still tired from the night before and you re-cap everything that happened and just sit and laugh about everything.  We ended up watching a bunch of reality TV together and joking about everything we watched and the people.  We decided it was finally time to get out of our room for a little while and went and did some shopping.  After shopping we headed to a Mexican restaurant for some good food and a few margaritas.  We headed back to the hotel to take a quick nap and then headed out to see a movie.  If you haven't seen Horrible Bosses go and see it, its hilarious!  We headed back to our hotel room and decided it was time for Round 2 to start.  We started getting ready and having a few warm up beers before we headed out.  We went to the same place as the night before.  We found a few good dancers, but we were a little whipped from Friday night and the crowd had a little different spin to it.  We tried out a couple of other bars that night with nothing exciting happening and decided to go back to the hotel and just order some pizza and girl talk.  Sunday morning came way to quick, but we were all ready to head back to our families and "normal" life.
Of course there are lots of stories from the weekend, but what happens in Cheyoming stays in Cheyoming!
We of course can't wait to get together again for another girls weekend!
A few pictures of our time: