Back To School - Contest for $25 gift card and Box Tops for Education!

The Safeway family of stores (which includes Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s) is making it simple to give back with “2 Ways 2 Earn” cash for your schools with Box Tops for Education and the “10% Goes Back to Schools” program.

Box Tops for Education has already given away over $320 million to help the more than 69 thousand schools participating. And if that wasn’t enough, earning Box Tops is even easier this year with four new brands participating in the program: Progresso Soup, Totino’s Pizza, Betty Crocker Cake Mixes and Gold Medal Flour.

To help your local schools even further just look for the “10% Goes Back to Schools” yellow school bus tags on over 2,000 of your favorite items throughout Safeway from August 11th – September 14th. When you purchase participating products with your Club Card, Safeway will give 10% of the purchase price to the local school of your choice.

Here’s how it works:

• Check your receipt from August 11 – September 14. The total will be updated each time you shop.

• Beginning on September 18, a redemption code will be printed at the bottom of your receipt.

• Visit backtoschools.escrip.com before October 13 to choose your favorite participating local school, then simply enter your redemption code to make your donation.

To learn more about Box Tops for Education and Safeway’s “10% Goes Back to Schools” program, visit www.2ways2earn.com. And while you’re there, don’t forget to enter the Safeway Bonus Box Tops Sweepstakes for a chance to win 1,000 Bonus Box Tops for the participating school of your choice!

*****The awesome people from General Mills and Safeway supplied me with a certificate for 50 additional box tops, and a $25 gift card to the Safeway family of stores... for me that was Vons! ******

How would you like to win that same gift pack I received, and help the school of your choice at the same time?

We homeschool.. so I gave my box tops to the church Christian School! They were very grateful!

Alright, here is how you enter..

* Leave a comment, and let me know what school you would give your box tops to!

*Share about this contest on your blog! (Link Included)

*Share about this contest on your facebook. ( Link Included)

*Share about this contest on your twitter. ( link Included)

*Follow this blog.

And for this one... because I know we can all use $25 at the grocery store... just leave a comment telling me you would like to enter and you will get one entry!

Please leave one comment per entry!

Have fun! Contest will close August 30th, and I will announce the winner by Sept. 3rd.

****Congrats to Julianne for winning this prize package! Please keep your eye out for our next contest!

Win a Nature Valley Prize Pack and Help Protect the National Parks!!!

???Since the dedication of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872, America’s parks have been visited by hundreds of millions of people who marveled at their beauty, found peace in their wildness and shared their experience with others.

However, these national treasures need care and support to help them flourish. Years of underfunding and environmental problems such as pollution are threatening our National Park system. To help preserve our national parks and ensure their existence for generations to come, join Nature Valley® and Patricia Shultz, internationally best-selling author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and travel industry leader, to help support the National Parks Project. This year, the National Parks Project will focus on restorative work at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Biscayne National Parks. Click here for more information on Nature Valley's National park Project.

To get involved, simply purchase a box of specially marked Nature Valley Bars and mail in your wrappers to the address below:

National Parks Project
PO Box 450328
El Paso, TX 88545-0328
Nature Valley will not only recycle the wrappers, but will also contribute $0.10 to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) for every wrapper received (up to $600,000 in total). To learn more about the National Parks Project and how you can make a difference, check outPreservetheParks.com today. And don’t forget to visit Nature Valley on Facebook or Nature Valley on Twitter to “Like” or “Follow” the brand. Facebook fans can enter to win a trip, as well as share photos and videos of their summer vacations. All of these sites will also feature updates on the restoration projects, as well as videos and pictures from “National Parks Project” volunteers.

There are many other ways you can enjoy the natural beauty and diverse wildlife of our national parks this summer while supporting the cause. The easiest thing you can do to support the national parks is to experience them for yourself and share them with your family – remembering as always to “take only pictures and leave your footprints.” So grab your backpack, your boots and some granola bars and go soak in the scenery.

The fine people of Nature Valley through MyBlogSpark supplied me with a great Prize pack!!!

And they even have supplied one for one of my lucky readers!!!! Here is what is included in this awesome prize pack!

*A mini backpack

*A military grade compass

*A solar-powered key chain flash light

*A reusable water bottle

*A copy of Patricia Shultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List.

How do you enter you ask??

*First, you will get one entry for each comment you leave (separate comments please) telling us about your favorite national Park Moment!

You will get an additional entry if you....

*Share this contest on your Blog. (include link)

*Share this contest on your face book page. (include link)

*Share this contest on Twitter. (include link)

* Follow this blog.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. And please include an email address for me to contact you with.

Contest will close on August 30th. Winners will be notified by Sept. 3rd.

Thanks for playing.. and I look forward to reading about your favorite memories!!

*****Congrats to Crystal B on winning this Prize package!!! Please keep your eyes out for our next contest!

Schoolhouse Expo

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.

Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years.

Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.

Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr.
Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.

If you cannot make the Live event,  then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This week only, pay just $14.95!

You can visit either of these links to get more information.
http://www.SchoolhouseExpo.com

**Note... I am receiving access to the sessions for free in exchange for this post.

And I Would Like to Thank..........

...my dear friend Sheri at 'Homeschooling on a Wing and a Prayer' who just awarded me with the....



I am deeply honored!! As a recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award, I have a few tasks to complete....

As a recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award, one must:

1) Add a link and note of thanks to the person giving the award
2) Pass the award on to the bloggers whose blogs you love (15 tops)
3) Share 7 things about yourself

So here I go.. seven things about myself.... maybe we can call these little known facts....

1) When growing up, I really thought that chocolate was an actual food group!  And was very disappointed when my mother would not allow me to order a bowl of hot fudge with whipped cream on top!  I mean really, who needs that pesky ice cream anyway??

2) In Jr. High and High School I was in drama.. I loved drama.. in fact I think I would still enjoy it! There was something really neat stepping into a different reality, albeit for a brief moment!

3) I really miss going to plays! Growing up, my mom took us to lots of plays! Both in big famous theaters in LA, as well as, small local playhouses!

4) I love to play softball! There is just a sheer joy I feel when I smack that ball.. and watch it sail away..... My first softball team was named.. 'The Sweet Tootsies", can anyone guess what our sponsor did for a living.. hint.. he did not do anything for Tootsie Rolls!

5) Growing up, we had a dog named Alvin Cullom York, anybody care to comment if they know who he was named after?

6) Coffee.. hot or cold, is my favorite drink!

7)...... I love homeschooling!!!!  It has been the most rewarding and challenging thing I have ever done!  I am thankful for every minute!

Now onto my favorite people in the blog-world that I would like to share the Beautiful Blogger Award to.......

1) Would be my friend Cheryl at Tell n' It!  I met Cheryl on the maiden Voyage of the Homeschool Crew! I love her wit and her personality! I love how everything she writes, you can just see her come to life! Thanks Cheryl for blessing me!

2) Would be none other than the Crazy Mom herself.. you can check her out at Ramblings from the Crazy House!!!  Reading the Crazy Mom's posts, makes me realize I am not so crazy after all.. there are lots of us!! Thanks Crazy Mom!!

3)My next recipient should really be receiving the  "Brave Blogger Award".. that is my good friend Tim at Families Again. Tim  gets the 'Brave Blogger Award'  because he's been our token fella on the crew.. and we all have loved pickin on him! He is sucha good sport! On top of that, he writes an awesome blog! He and his wife Sarah have a servants heart, and it has been a real joy to get to know him!

4) The next award is a family affair! Check out my cousins blog.. at Moore Sprouts! She will show you many tasty recipes that are healthy alternatives to todays fast food driven world!!!  Great Job Christabelle!

5) Here is another crew mate that I have grown to love... April at Busy Minds, Busy Hands, Busy Minds!  You will find a wealth of information on Aprils blog! She shares from her heart her homeschool journey!

Now.. go on out.. and visit these awesome bloggers!! I know you will be blessed!!!!

Don't forget to take your guesses in the comments below....