For All of You Who Have Been Dying to Know..

Here's me sporting my new do, snuggling up next to Santa, (cuz I've been a good girl, right?) who made a special appearance at our house Saturday night.

Whatcha think? (about the new do. Not about me being a good girl.)

Best $4.50 Ever Spent--Even Though It Was Still a Ripoff

I came home from the Salvation Army Thrift Store (we are not blessed to have Deseret Industries in these parts) this morning with unsurety as to how my hubby would react to my recent find. Ever had one of those purchases? Well, this sort of thing is a frequent occurance here in my abode. And I didn't know how it would go over today.

See, I hardly ever get to go to the thrift store, but I've known that if you get there on a good day, you can find some treasures. If you get there on a bad day, you'll end up walking away wishing you wouldn't have wasted your time there. What denotes a good day or a bad day at the thrift store? Luck, my friends. Simply, luck.

Well, since I was in the area this morn, and was wanting to find a cheap memory game for Addie, I decided to stop in.

I sifted through their items for sale (ie., junk) until I stumbled upon a big 101 Dalmatians tin. This tin looked like something you'd see lining the aisles of Wal-Mart over the holidays--you know, those things that have three different kinds of popcorn sitting inside, waiting for you to gorge yourself on--all the while not even liking the stuff in the first place but you eat it anyway because hey, it's just sitting there?

Yeah, the tin looked like that. Only much bigger. And plastered with black and white dotted doggies all over it.

I wondered what I would behold when I opened the lid. It was dusty all over and taped shut at the top. It looked like it was something that had been passed over too many a time. And if I wasn't sifting, I would have passed it over, too.

Admittedly, I was a little nervous to open the lid. What would I find inside? A piece of rotten fruit? A stinky shoe? A scary little figurine? (those were actually on sale on the side wall of the store for only 10 cents a piece!! What a bargain!)

My wondrous eyes beheld something that I knew was a treasure. Right there in front of me was a find that wasn't worth passing up. It was something called Marbulous. This is the plastic version of those old fashioned marble rollers that grandma tucked away and would pull out when the grandkids came over for a visit (oh, the fun we had!)

I immediately looked at the price tag. 5 dollars!? Don't you go to the thrift store looking for a deal? I don't even think a TV at the thrift store costs $5! But the game in the Dalmatian tin did. And I wanted it.

I carried it up to the check-out. "That's $5", the lady chimed. "Um, yeah, but this game comes with no marbles," I said. "And do you know if all of its little pieces are in there?" Dumb question to ask at a thrift store, I know. But the lady proceeded to tell me that they probably were because they usually don't charge that much for games (no kidding!?) She must have felt sorry for me that the game cost so much and that I was even asking about it. So she punched into her little till to give me 10% off. (I know what you're saying right now. There she goes, trying to get a DEAL at a thrift shop.) You know, though, that 50 cents will help feed my children another meal.

The lady asked what it was that I was actually buying. I told her it was a marble game and I bet she was jealous. I hurried out of the store before she could up the price even more.

I came home an hour later than I told Ben I would, so I left my find in the car. Best not to stir the pot even more by being late AND dragging in what I thought he would think would be a pile of junk.

But I couldn't keep this secret much longer. When both Nathan and Ryan found out I was home and starting crying at my legs (they always do this when I come home), I said, "Hey guys, I have a new toy. Look at this new toy I got!" and ran out to the car to bring in my treasure.

And that's when the fun began.

10 hours later, with only a few short breaks for diaper changes, a trip to the store to buy marbles, a quick snack, and a lot of happy kiddos, we retired the game. I mean, we gotta sleep sometime, right?

And to make it even better, Ben told me this was the best thing I've come home with yet. I knew I done good. He just had to discover that. And he did.


ps. I did find a memory game for Addie. And it was only 50 cents.

pps. Remember I have a junky camera that has no flash? Yeah. Sorry.

Drumroll please...

Okay, so you didn't have to think too hard about what my 'wild hair' actually went out and did. You're right. I cut it. 6 inches to be exact. And wow, talk about feeling NAKED!
I have always wondered how men feel having the back of their neck completely bare. Ben tells me to think of it as complete freedom. Well, I never knew what I was missing out on, but it is neck freedom to be sure!! How did I ever survive before now with constraint all along the back of my neck? Man, it was a hard life then.
Seriously, though, I was thinking back and realizing that I haven't had short hair since elementary school. It's been about 20 years. Who can even remember things 20 years ago? I mean, really!
So I know you're all in suspense as to what I might look like (seeing as how my camera has taken on its own attitude and decided not to work) so I found pictures that might give you an idea. Click here or here or here. I know these aren't great photos. I mean, who are these girls, anyway? So just think BETTER, BOLDER, and CHIC-ER. And there you have it. That's me!!

Got a Wild Hair

That wild hair told me to go out and do something drastic. So I did. And if I had a decent camera, I'd post pics. Any guesses?

My Blog Stinketh...

...and let me just tell you why. See, my camera broke. I mean, really, it did. The flash no longer works and so just about every picture I take with it comes out super dark and blurry.

I took a hiatus from blogging for this reason. Unbeknownst to me, people cared that I was gone. Well, okay, let me rephrase that. TWO people cared that I was gone. And a big THANK YOU I give to those two people. Nice to know you got a couple of friends...

So, because of those two inquiries as to where the Gridley family disappeared to, I now give you another purging of photos. This is what has been happening over the last few months in our neck of the woods--well, prairie.


September 24, 2009
Nathan and Ryan playing dress up with their cousin.


September 29, 2009
Overnight visit to see cousins in Nebraska. Good times.



September 30 and November 6, 2009
Visit to the new Children's Village with friends and cousins.



October 12, 2009
Big snowstorm. Frosty came to visit our backyard.


October 27, 2009
Getting ready for the ward Trunk or Treat. Addie was a ballerina. Nathan and Ryan were dinosaurs. They had cute dino hats to wear but wouldn't put them on for anything. Such is the way two year olds are.

Nathan chasing his tail..

In between all of these events...Just playin' around..

Addie with money in between each of her toes.

Nathan with a hat on. I love it.

Bought some wings on Halloween clearance. Nathan wouldn't take them off. Even for nap time!

Well, there you have it. Kiddos are growing up fast and keeping us more than busy. Aren't they adorable, though? I mean, really..

Fun Pics

Ryan on the left, Nathan on the right. What do you think--does Ryan have a drooling problem?

Addie got her face painted last night. Cute butterfly, huh?

Minus the Water

Who needs to pay money to swim when you can do it in your living room?

Looks Like We'll Be Having Fried Green Tomatoes

So this is our first attempt at a garden since living here in Cheyenne. Well, I should say that it is actually our first attempt EVER at a garden. We got these tomato plants put in the ground at the end of April. It is now the middle of September and we have since brought these babies inside in hopes of getting them to turn red. It's just starting to get too cold here at night, and has never gotten over 100 degrees during the day here this whole summer. One or two are turning red, but it looks like we might be eating a lot of fried green tomatoes. Next year we hope to do better...

New Pics are In!!

Thanks to my fabulous friend, Julia, who takes amazing pictures, my family's faces have been captured on disc for this year of their lives. I have to admit, the photographer was amazing. My children, however, were not. Ryan wouldn't smile for ANYTHING. Addie and Nathan definitely were the better behaved, which is only as good as a 4 and 2 year old can be. And we all know how much Ben loves him a good photo shoot. I guess I'm the only one who really wanted to do this thing. Huh. What's new!??! Anyway, enjoy and please do let me know what you think of these beauties. I'll be anticipatingly waiting!
Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rgridley/Family2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvRlr3An8GqFQ#5380049348544869154