Frugal Thursday!

 Surprise! We're a day early this week - Happy Frugal Thursday!

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

- Last Friday we cashed out our last summer reading coupons. We all went bowling and used the coupons for free games so we just paid for shoes. It was a great way to spend a couple of family hours.

- Saturday we enjoyed a slow morning with Mark working and the kids/Oscar/myself took on a long morning walk. We stopped to talk to lots of neighbors/friends and enjoyed watching the ducks at the pond. In the afternoon, we went to Mark's parents' house to visit with the St Louis Rileys and all went to church together at Trinity. We skipped dinner out and had dinner at home.

- Sunday afternoon I picked up my nieces and nephew (ages 11 and 9) for an afternoon out with Auntie Amy. We had the BEST time hiking and river stomping. When they were toddlers/babies I used to babysit them on Wednesdays but in years since it's been hard to find time just me and them. I really enjoyed hearing what they had to share with me and looking for treasures in nature. We met up with the rest of the family at Luke's for family dinner. L&C provided pizzas and salads and we brought fruit and more salad. The cousins all had a great time just being together.

- Monday the kids and I escaped to Lakeview for the day. Earlier this month, Dave had posted that they were looking for volunteers due to staffing shortages. We cleaned all 12 cabins on main camp, did all of the windows (in and out) in the dining hall, and swept all of the porches. The kids put in a solid 3 hours of work before I let them escape to tether ball and the tire playground while I finished up. We saw so much wildlife and it was such a treat to have camp all to ourselves! 

- Mark borrowed him mom's sewing machine for a BIG project that he's working on. While that's still in the works, he did sew several patches/badges onto Scout Uniforms this week. He also repurposed two bandannas into a pillow for Owen. They are cool cloth maps of Spring Mill State Park. Once Owen had a pillow, Annabeth needed to make one too. They found some affordable fabric at Walmart and made her a great pillow too.

- Yesterday my parents treated us to lunch at Mother Bear's Pizza in Bloomington. We sent off Annabeth for a 7+ days down south. She has been looking forward to this alllll summer! 

One of the things we've been looking for more and more is the opportunity to really volunteer and serve with the kids. They are old enough to really help and/or stay out of things while we work. This week it was such an honor to have them work alongside John Dobrinski at camp. John, and his wife Karen, taught Mark and myself SO many skills over the years. We are blessed to have had them guide us in lifeskills, practical skills, and most of all in faith. John and Karen are by far some of the most humble servants I have ever known and it was such a wonderful gift to have my kids learn from him as well. 

Frugal Friday is a day early this week as I prepare for a great adventure! Details to come!

Happy Savings to All!