Nostalgia

Hey Gundersen Clan, if you're reading this you will appreciate my latest find at a local thrift store...

The Honey Bear Cookie Jar!!!

If you have ever eaten cookies at the Gundersen home, more than likely they were from Susan's honey bear cookie jar that sits on her counter. Jason told me years ago that if we were to have a cookie jar on our counter he would want it to be just like hers. He's very nostalgic that way. So when we stumbled across this beauty for 5 bucks there wasn't a moment of hesitation . The colors are slightly different but it's the very same jar. What are the odds!?!?!

Rummage Jackpot!

I KNOW I KNOW! I'm going to be moving in a little over ONE week and so it may be rediculous to think I should be looking to gather MORE stuff. But, you see, there's not many times that my hubby can agree to watch the wee ones so that I can go hunting. SO, I snatched the opportunity and I hit Jackpot.

Mainly I was out in search of a trike for Zach. We wanted to get him something special to celebrate our move to the new house. As you can see, he's going to be celebrating with a whole lot more than just a new trike.
All this was about $30.

I found the PERFECT trike, and then just couldn't pass up the tent, semi with trailer, 5 large beanie babies, an extra large puzzle, a brewers hat, a shoe organizer (will hold toys in the new place) a bucket load of little people stuff in nearly new condition, some legos a funky mirror and frame that I plan to paint some fun new color, and MORE!

And believe it or not, this was all from only 3 different places so I was home by 10 am. Not a bad day's shopping if I do say so myself.

Now I'm just having a hard time restraining myself from giving it all to Zack today. I really want to wait till we move so it's something exciting for him after all the stress of moving.

A new toy...

Yesterday we had a family garage sale trip. We came across some real treasures and I'm pretty excited about them. So is Zach.
This is one of those Mellisa&Doug puzzles but instead of having removable pieces to lose like the traditional puzzle, this one has locks and latches to practice opening and closing with a different color of animal hidden behind each door. They are also numbered so he can learn his colors, numbers and coordination all in one spot.

I thought I might be more impressed with it than he would be. I thought he was probably too young to understand all of the different latches. I was WRONG!

He has spent long stretches of time analyzing each and every door. I watched him meticulously latch and unlatch the yellow one probably 15-20 times today. Practicing and analyzing. It was really fun to watch.

Yesterday he was so excited about his new toys that I couldn't get him to take a nap. I finally sat him in his crib with this puzzle and went downstairs. I could hear him clickety clacking away for at least 20 minutes before he finally went silent without making a peep, he was sound asleep. I think this was ABSOLUTELY a dollar well spent.

(more garage sale treasures to come)

These are a few of my favorite things...

Zack wants to grow up to be just like his dad. His favorite thing to do every day is to crawl around searching for dad's stuff so he can wear it. Every tie that is within reach is promptly thrown around his neck. The moment Jason walks in the door Zack demands to be given dad's nametag and stethascope. As soon as he has them around his neck he beams with such pride.

In this picture he actually has three of dad's ties on and a bell necklace. He is always wearing those bells, he puts them on himself every day. I guess it's alright because I always know where he is!

Also pictured is Zack's newest toy. It's yet another Craig's list find. It's a walker/scooter and it plays music. I happened to check the listings just as it was being posted and I am so glad! I'm planning on listing our other walker from christmas because I'll probably be able to pay for both toys by selling one of them. Awsome!

Walker- $8 regular $30

Walker/scooter- $3 regular $30-40

I figure if I sell the walker for ten bucks we'll be happy. Goodness- I could give it away and stll be ahead of the game. Both of them are basically brand new.

It's perfect because Jason's parents wanted to get Zack a scooter for his birthday. They told me to pick one out but I just couldn't justify the cost. Now they've given him a scooter AND a walker for basically nothing.

I love deals!

This is a video from a while back of Zach with his drum. We found it at a garage sale for $1 a while back. At frist he would just turn it over and over, smacking it and trying to figure out how it all worked. This is one of the first times he seemed to realize that if he smacked the top part it made fun noises. He got pretty excited about it at one point. He's a born musician!!! (Hear that uncle Creed- he's just following in your footsteps).

Sunny Saturday!

So, I've been studying up on photography recently and while my experimenting has resulted in a lot of under/overexposed photos, smeared photos and some strange mixture inbetween. Still, I'm getting closer. One thing I've really wondered about was how to deal with light. It's the sun in eyes or dark face dilema. I was letting Zach play my muse today as he focused on the twigs and nearly dead grass in our front yard. I love this first photo because you can really see him concetrating. He's slowly running his fingers over the stick to feel each little bump and groove. Then there was this picture...
The sun was just sinking low in the sky and I loved how it was glistening on the grass, but we lost a lot of the glisten when I had him facing into the sun. But if he was facing away he had this great shine in his hair but his face was too dark. So... I forced the flash. There was plenty of light so the camera didn't want to flash but it brightened up his face while still keeping the glisten on his hair and the grass behind him. I know, I'm such an amateur and those of you who know photography are just rolling your eyes right now but I'm actually kinda excited. Just one step further to the pro that I hope to be one day. WaHoo!


SO! About our sunny day. We were on a mission this morning. We have decided to commit to a healthier lifestyle and part of that was finding new ways to get active as a family. So, we decided to buy a bike trailer. One of those kid trailer you hook to the back of your bicycle. We found one at walmart for like $150 but I was determined to get a better deal than that. So I turned to the Craig's List! I love craig's list. I found a bunch of duds and then I came across just what I was looking for. It was a double trailer that converts to a stroller. A Burley. It had a bug screen and extra space for groceries. It was perfect. BUT- it was at a garage sale across town and I would have to beat anyone else who was looking for a trailer. So, I got there bright and early at 9 AM. It was perfect. BUT... it was a bit old and dirty and had a tear in the back. I talked to one of the ladies running the sale and told her I was interested then stepped aside to call Jason and get his ok. During that time a woman saw me checking it out and ran over to the other woman there and bought it... right out from under me!!! I was sooooooo sad!

As I was talking to the gal running the sale again she said, "I think one of my nieghbors is planning on selling one similar down the street." So I went down the street but she wasn't home. Bummer! I left my number and said I wanted it- I was taking a gamble though. I didn't even know what brand it was. She called me around noon and I headed over. To my delight I found a newer, cleaner, brighter, lighter, all around BETTER trailer. It even flattens for storage. I just have to say... I am sooooo excited!!!! I also managed to walk away with a swing for our tree, 2 books, a remote control car, a shape teaching toy and a stuffed grover ALL for much less than we would have paid for just the trailer if we had gone to Walmart. Garage Sales ROCK!!!

Zach and I both came home and were totally pooped. What a day! I think we are both going to sleep great tonight.