Memorial Day

On the evening before Memorial Day, we headed to LA Canada Park, Flintridge to watch their firework display. They started about 20 min. late; and the girls were getting impatient. It was more of a goofy impatience than being cranky. They had just come back from playing in the playground and kept their energy as we waited. The fireworks were about to start when I got out the glow necklaces. Ooooo! To our disappointment, they didn't even work:( I had a package left over from last year and apparently glow things have an expiration date. So, on with the show!

On Memorial Day, ALL of us dressed in our red, white and blue. After making my husband feel guilty to show respect and wear the colors; he then participated. We went back to the same park, where they had FREE activities. The girls enjoyed playing in the bouncers, blowing bubbles, coloring, the petting zoo and the playground. We had a picnic lunch and paid $3 for snow cone treats for the girls. For dinner, we BBQ'd hamburgers at the house. Yummo!

Blockbuster - Free Movie Rentals

Just rent one of Blockbuster's newest releases for $2.99 and enjoy unlimited movies priced $1.99 or less for FREE through July 4 (1-day rentals, 1 at a time).* Download Coupon Here.

Versatile Blogger Award

I got a blog award from The Steady Hand!
Thank you very much for this fun surprise!

Here are the official rules:

•Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
•Tell your readers seven (7) things about you.
•Give this award to fifteen (15) recently discovered bloggers.
•Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news.

Okay 7 Things about me:

1. I love 80's music, especially U2

2. I love fish crackers! My parents get me a big box for my birthday and Christmas

3. I check Accuweather.com everyday for weather updates.

4. My favorite time of day is when the girls go to bed; so I can relax.

5. I don't like to go shopping! I do like to shop online.

6. Wish I had more time to clean my house

7. Like to visit new places and try new things

15 other Blogs I think you should have a look at:
1. Crafty Kids 101
2. Fun Frugal Mommy
3. At Home with Michelle
4. The Simple Buffalo Life
5. And We're Off Too...
6. Coffee & Camo
7 . Melomamma
8. Mom Blog of Two Little Misters
9. Sounds Like Crazy
10. From the Mudroom
11. Joyful Mommies
12. From New York to Italy
13. Jenny Sulpizio
14. My DIY Life
15. My Cup 2 Yours

2 -for -1 Movie Tickets

Movies are always better with a friend, so treat yours to 2-for-1 movie tickets available exclusively through this page for Visa Signature cardholders.

2-for-1 tickets must be purchased on a friday and used the same day. One offer per card per month. Offer valid for a limited time and while supplies last.

Placerita Canyon Open House

My husband had a meeting in the morning/afternoon; so I decided to take the girls to Placerita Canyon's open house. My youngest got to wash clothes like they did in the Pioneer days. They also gave opportunities to saw wood and make a quilt. We saw all kinds of animals, such as snakes, a porcupine, opossum, hawks, and even a baboon who was grooming one of the docents. The girls wanted to go on a hike. We did the same hike we had done a couple months ago; but we had a different docent leading us. So we got some new info and he took us to the stream to look at tadpoles. After about an hour of hiking, I paid $2 so the girls could pan for some fool's gold.

Butterflies on Mother's Day

I had bought my daughter the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden Kit for her birthday last year. The weather was finally the right temperature to order the caterpillars. We have been watching them transform into their chrysalis. I thought it would be fun to go to the Butterfly Pavilion in Los Angeles and check out the butterflies on Mother's Day.

By the way, this turned out to be not so much of a frugal challenge but a rip off instead. First we had to park at the Natural History Museum's parking lot. That was $8! I was not expecting to pay to park in that lot. I thought there was free parking about 8 years ago when I last went. I guess, I should have expected something to change in 8 years :)

We had a picnic lunch at the park right next to the parking lot and headed over to the Butterfly Pavilion. The cost for the 4 of us was $7. I did expect to pay that price; but I did not expect to have both girls screaming at the top of their lungs because they were afraid of butterflies flying at them. It was pretty embarrassing; but I paid an outrageous $15 to get here and they were going to stay until I was finished looking. After about 15 min. of being in there with screaming and complaining girls, we left.

We walked next door to the California Science Center. This place is free! We spent a few hours over there finishing up the areas we did not have time for last time. We all had a great time here.

Our day ended with the usual KFC dinner take-out per my mom's request every year. Finger Likin'Good!

Money Scrounging for Cinco de Mayo

A Cinco de Mayo celebration at a park in Santa Monica was this weekend's free pick. Our first obstacle of getting there was gas. The gas light in the car had been reminding us for about 10 miles before we were ready to leave to get gas. I wasn't near the cheap gas station by our house; so I went to gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas on the way to Santa Monica. We found an Arco that was $4.19 a gallon in San Fernando. We stopped only to find out that was the cash price. I was not about to pay the fee to use their credit system or ATM. We had $6 cash with us in which all of it went to get about 1 gallon of gas.

We got down to our destination to find out they charged for all their activities such as bouncers, slides, and games. We had gone there about 2 years ago to the same event where they had games and crafts for FREE. So, I was a little disappointed they charged. I steered the girls to the playground area of the park and the water fountains. It was a 90 degree day; so the girls had fun getting wet. After swinging for about 15 min. they were quickly dry and scooted around the park in their scooters. Since I wouldn't pay for bouncers or games, we decided to try to the girls ice cream from the ice cream truck. We spent our last amount of money on gas; so we had to scrounge money from my wallet. We found $5 of change which we bought ice cream with having left over change. I was happy that we were able to make it to Santa Monica and back to my cheap gas station on about 1 gallon of gas.