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   In this short series "From Phoenix to Casper", I saved our home state of Arizona as the last installment.  We have seen a lot of Arizona since we have lived here for so long, but this trip we tried to go to some spots we hadn't seen, or at least not for a long time. 
    As we left Phoenix, we decided to take US Highway-89 to US Highway-160 over to US Highway 191.  We spent a lot of time in the Navajo Nation and saw some amazing sites.  While much of the reservation is very barren desert, the 160 is a scenic drive that takes you through Kayenta and Monument Valley and up into Utah.  These are the gems of the Navajo Nation that are well worth a visit.   Whenever we drive pass unusual geological formations, we are always texting Alicia to find out how they were formed.  We are probably always driving her crazy, but being an earth science teacher, she is our go to resource.  We were sending her a lot of pictures and texts on this trip. 

     On our way home, we drove down US Highway 89A and decided to use the Senior Pass and take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!  It was beautiful.  One of the first things we saw was the bison herd just a little passed the entrance.  Here is a little video I took to share with you. 

And here is a gallery of pictures from the North Rim:

    We saw a storm coming as we went back along the trail.  As we drove out, the skies were gorgeous and we did drive right into the storm. 

That rain storm didn't stop us from stopping at Jacob's Lake and buying some of their cookies for the rest of the drive home!  

     You may want to check out this post about traveling in Arizona: 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.

     Today is the annual Worldwide Day of Prayer.  In our house, and in our family, everyday is a day of prayer.  We have seen the affects of prayer in our lives in many ways. And while we may not need a special day to remind us to pray to our Father in Heaven, this is a good day to reflect on the power of prayer in our lives. So, today for Friday Faves, I asked some of the people in our family to tell me what their favorite scripture about prayer is.  I took those results and made them into printables that can be used around the house to remind us to stay in contact with our Maker and to be partakers of the blessings that come into our lives through prayer.  

Click on the buttons under each image to get the pdf file for these prints. They print on a regular 8.5 x 11 page.  You may have to trim them for a frame. I have and love this small Cricut Portable Trimmer.  It is highly rated and a very reasonable price.  

• My husband chimed in this week with this scripture that reminds us that we are in a battle against evil in the world.  Prayer is one of our #1 resources in that battle.  

• Alicia chose a wonderful New Testament scripture in Matthew 7:7 that reminds us that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to ASK, SEEK, & KNOCK and he is there to answer. 

• Have you ever sung a hymn and the words spoke to you and you felt that as you sang the words they were expressing the thoughts of your heart?  I know that I have many times and so has Lindsey and that is why she shared this scripture today.  This is the 2nd scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants that we have shared.  If you haven't heard of that book, you can find out about it and The Book of Mormon here. 

• This simple scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is my choice. I chose it because I pretty much follow this advice in my life on a daily basis.  I mean, I have a husband,  6 children (one on a mission in Africa!), 10 grandchildren and many siblings, and a 95 year old mom.  Just those people alone keep me "praying without ceasing!"  Then, there are all of my friends and the state of the world.  Honestly, I could not make it without the power of prayer in my life and the knowledge and experience with it to know our prayers are heard and answered.  

      If you haven't experienced the blessing that prayer can be in your life, it is never too late to find out, and today, the Worldwide Day of Prayer is as good of a day as any to find out. There is great power to be had in simply and humbly calling on God when we need him. 
      I recently read a story about Jimmy Stewart and he was telling his story in his own words to Richard H. Schneider in 1987 and it was later published in Guideposts in 2014. (Click those links for my sources.) It is the story of his experience in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life."  This story illustrates what I mean about the power that can be felt when we call upon our Father in Heaven. 
​     

    "​Good as the script was, there was still something else about the movie that made it different. It's hard to explain. I, for one, had things happen to me during the filming that never happened in any other picture I've made.
In one scene, for example, George Bailey is faced with unjust criminal charges and, not knowing where to turn, ends up in a little roadside restaurant. He is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him.
In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair. 
In agony I raise my eyes and, following the script, plead, "God... God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God..."
As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears."  

     I do remember that scene.  It has always felt very powerful, and now I know why. 
​
   I just want to leave you with one more scripture that is a favorite of mine from the Book of Mormon. My Thessalonians scripture is a shorter version of this, but this one is detailed and so beautiful.  It is found in Alma 34:17-27: 

    These are our feelings about prayer.  Thanks for reading them! 
​

Richard Schneider, who wrote about his experience with Jimmy Stewart, wrote some books.  You can find them here. 

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     I don't know if you are like me, but after I get all of the trappings of Christmas taken down and put away, I still have a pile of Christmas cards to deal with.  Many of them are so beautiful, I hate to throw them away, and in the spirit of living a little greener, I like to try to recycle them.  So, today, we will share some of our favorite ways!  If you have any ideas to add, please let us know, we are always looking for new ideas! 

Friday Faves #87-Favorite Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards! 

1.    For years, one of my favorite things to do with the Christmas Cards we receive is to make gift tags for next year.  It is fun to cut out the cute motifs and the handmade cards are especially cute to use on packages.  Just remember to put them in a place where you will find them next Christmas! 

2.     Of course, if we receive photo cards of family and loved ones, I like to put them in a photo album.  It is fun to see how the families have grown year after year. 

3.   This year, on Everyday Reading, I found this really cute banner idea.  Janssen used the photo cards she received to make a Valentine Banner.  It was so cute.  Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to cut the photo cards, but there were a lot of really cute cards that I used instead. I used a thicker version of baker's twine to make the banner. 

I used two different sizes of heart cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. 

4.   A really awesome gift for young kids next Christmas, or a way to add to the Spirit of Christmas around the house,  would be a book using the pictures from the cards.  One year I made a Christmas ABC Book using Christmas Cards.  It can be tricky coming up with a picture for every letter, but my friend had a poem that she shared with me to help me out.  Unfortunately for this post, I gave that book away.  But I got to thinking that it would be really cool to use the song "C is for the Christ Child" by Jim Reeves as the text for the book.  If you have enough Christmas cards, you can make more than one!  I put together a free printable of ideas for making this book. 

Here is the PDF file to make printing easier: 

    It would be awesome to include the CD of the song with the book as well! 

     So, hopefully you can find a way to recycle those Christmas cards and get the last vestiges of Christmas put away.  And, won't it be great knowing that you have a gift for the little ones, gift tags to use when wrapping and something to decorate with for Valentine's Day!  Now that is thinking ahead! 

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.    ​​​

     Oh My Goodness! You Guys!  We have been having the BEST rain here in Phoenix because of Hurricane Rosa and the weather feels amazing!  It actually feels like we might get to have Fall! AND, this weather is just in time for Frugal Fun Day, which is tomorrow, October 6th.  So, for Friday Faves we are asking: 

What do you love to do for fun on the cheap?

At Home:

• Well, if you have been reading our blog for very long, you know that we all love to play games!  Whether it is 2 persons or a large group, playing cards or board games, that competitive side comes out.  Playing games is definitely frugal and fun. Those links will take you to posts about some of our favorite games.
• Maddy's favorite is a movie night.  I pictured Harry Potter up in the collage above, which is always a good choice.  We have suggested some favorite movies in the past.  With Halloween coming you might like to refer to this post. But, here are few super inexpensive ones that you may not have thought of now available on Amazon Prime for you to enjoy! 

              1. For a nice romantic choice, Letters to Juliet looks so good!  You can rent it for 1.99 or                               purchase it for 7.99!   I think I am going to talk my husband into this one for us to watch                         together.   
             2.  If you have kids who love horses, The Silver Brumby stood out to me as reminiscent of
                  The Man from Snowy River.    You can rent it for 1.99 and buy it for 3.99.  We just                                    rewatched The Man from Snowy River on Netflix for free. 
            3.  When Maddy and I were in Disneyland last Spring, we saw some Pixar movie shorts in the                    theater in California Adventures. One that was super cute and perfect for younger children                   was called Piper.  This cute film about a baby bird learning to provide for himself is now on                   Prime for just 2.99.

     Now, let's do some things that get us out of the house! 

• Alicia loves to have a campfire and make s'mores!  She and her husband enjoy this so much that they had a s'mores bar at their wedding reception.  We have a firepit made by my husband at our house, but if you aren't that lucky or you are renting, there are portable fire pits to purchase. 

      Besides roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, you might enjoy making and using Stuff 'em Sticks, something that we told you about here. 

• Lindsey says that her favorite frugal activity is to take a drive up into the mountains where the weather is cooler and take along a picnic! The rest of us enjoy that, too, and to throw in a hike or historical site is always nice as well.  When I think of a picnic, I always picture the wicker basket, but we know that it usually ends up being an ice chest to keep everything cool.   Look at this cute picnic/cooler basket that I found! So awesome! 

•  While your at it, if you have a couple of days, how about a camping trip? Camping is relaxing, fun, an adventure and a lot less expensive than many other getaways.  My son takes my grandson as often as he can and they usually just sleep in the car!   But, if you don't have a large enough car for that, Coleman now has a tent that sets up in about a minute! I mean it, it opens like an umbrella! My son has one of these as well and let me tell you, it is amazing! The poles are connected and you just walk it open and TAH DAH, the tent is set up.  You can put in spikes to hold it down if you want, but my son says that he rarely does, unless it is windy.  It  is also a great price! You can check it out on Amazon. 

Frugal Fun in the Phoenix Area

     Phoenix, where the weather is sometimes hot but never snowy, lends itself to many activities for everyone that are pretty inexpensive! 
*In the hot weather there are many pools available in the city parks, as well as splash pads and there are Water Parks available as well.  Pioneer Park and Rio Vista Park's water pads are two that we have been to and they are both fun and free! 
*There are lakes in the city that are stocked for Urban Fishing.  Kids under 14 can fish for free, just the parent needs a fishing license.  One day a year there is a free day when you don't need a license at all and some parks offer fishing instruction.
*The libraries offer nice places to relax from the heat and they offer story times and other activities.  Phoenix libraries also offer passes on a first come first served basis that will get you into city attractions like the zoos (We have 2), botanical gardens and museums. 
*If you aren't able to get a pass to the Phoenix Art Museum, you can attend on Weds from 3:00-9:00 pm, On First Friday (discussed farther down), or second Sundays when prices are reduced to a voluntary donation. 
*There are two super fun and free factory tours that are popular in Phoenix, for all ages!  The Stuffington Bear Factory teaches the history of teddy bears and those who attend the tour can even purchase and stuff  their own bear.  And, Cerreta Candy Company takes you on a chocolate tour and demonstration and ends with an opportunity to make and purchase a chocolate pizza! 
*There are tons of trails in all of the desert mountains, such as the White Tanks, South Mountain, North Mountain, Thunderbird Park, Camelback Mountain.  Phoenix and the surrounding areas are a hikers paradise.  Just remember to always carry water! 
*In the Spring, there are multiple teams who come to Phoenix for Spring Training at the various sports complexes!  That is a great time to take part in the Great American Pass Time at a reasonable price!  It is called the Cactus League.  Here is the link to find the teams, stadiums and schedules of the games. Bookmark it because the 2019 schedule isn't up yet. 
*The Arizona State Capitol Building Museum is an amazing and FREE place to visit.  One of the most fascinating things within its walls is the exhibit of artifacts from the USS Arizona.  
*First Fridays in downtown Phoenix is one of the nation's largest self-guided art walks.  There is also a complimentary trolley tour to the various hubs.  There is music playing and there are food trucks! I know that my young adult children have enjoyed this event at various times. 

     Wow! The more I write, the more I realize how much Phoenix has to offer! So, if you come to visit, bookmark this list to get you started! It is funny how when you live in a place you forget about the hidden gems that are there.  I have been to most of these places, but it has been years for some of them.  I told my husband that we need to start going back and revisiting some of these.  HEY FAMILY! Come and visit!  I have a list of places to take you!  

For a nice list of frugal Fall fun, you can print off this bucket list we made last year! I hope it gets your own ideas flowing!  Be sure to comment and let us know what your idea of frugal fun is. 

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