Frugal Friday 535

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Saturday Owen had his Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta. He had a great time making his red pirate ship with Mark during the week and then a great time racing his friends. 

Mr. O and his Pirate Ship

- My sister arrived for the weekend on Saturday evening. We ate pasta bake for dinner, watched HGTV, and she took Owen out on a date to the car wash. He LOVED helping her wash and vacuum out her car. I love the special time that she pours into each of my kids. 

- Sunday we did not have church, it was closed due to the eclipse, so we mowed our lawn and then headed downtown. We walked and browsed many of our small town shops. I did take advantage of a sale and purchased two gifts from one shop - I love to buy locally when I can. We did stop at one food truck and split an order of fried Oreos between all of us.

- By Sunday evening my parents were in town to. We had a great time playing lots of games, cards, outdoor games, and eating together. We all went to Vienna, IL in 2017 to view totality and were excited to all be together again in Franklin for this one. Monday the view of Totality was everything we remembered and we were SO excited to share the moment with the kids at ages where they will remember. 

Eclipse Crew

*Taken before totality so I could just enjoy the moment when it came

Oscar Chase didn't seem bothered by the eclipse at all. 

He DID enjoy sitting on Owen's chalk drawing of an eclipse

- Mark worked many, many, many hours over the weekend and through Monday. For the sake of our town, our locals, visitors, and especially allllll of our first responders working I was SO thankful for the careful planning to keep everyone safe. Mark did earn quite a bit of overtime and it will go towards a summer trip we are taking. 

- Mark took our eclipse glasses to his work. They are making a large shipment to South America for people to use there during the eclipse this fall. We were happy to recycle. 

- Tuesday morning Disney released their summer deals. I changed current clients' reservations, saving them hundreds of dollars, before the sun was even up! THIS is one of the many advantages of using my FREE travel services - I love love love to save people money! Want help with your travel plans? Message me at a.riley@magicalvacationplanner.com

- Tuesday evening, my dad and I took care of my neighbor's lawn. She has just been diagnosed with cancer and is unable to care for her lawn and it's our honor to care for her during this time of her life. I mowed and Dad trimmed/blew off the driveway and sidewalks. 

- Wednesday my parents treated us to a Costco shopping trip and lunch out. It was so hard to say good-bye when they left. We look forward to seeing them in a few weeks though! 

- Yesterday we took a field trip to the Survive Alive House and Firefighters' Museum in downtown Indianapolis. The staff there was incredibly kind and fantastic with our group of 45 homeschoolers! I cannot recommend this field trip enough to other school groups. I was so thankful that our friend Billie organized the trip - thank you! The field trip was free but I didn't find free parking. Total Cost: $4.55

Our weekend plans have been canceled due to the rain so Mark and I have each planned a work day tomorrow to get through a couple of projects. 

Happy Savings to All!