Frugal Friday 502

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last week the kids did VBS at a Faith MBC here in town. Many of our homeschool friends attend there and/or went to VBS as well and the kids had a great week. Friday night they hosted a night of singing and sharing followed by a cook-out and waterslide kickball. We had such a wonderful time fellowshipping with everyone.

- We did big clean-outs of the kids closets and dressers ahead of the kids' sale. I listed many of the items for sale on Facebook. I was able to sell enough to cover the cost of the kids' dance auditions last weekend. It was a win, win - many items left and I made money for something the kids wanted to do.

- Sunday morning at church Owen received his 3rd grade Bible. He was very excited and has already read through several of his favorite stories this week. He was very excited to have a "big kid" Bible vs his storybook Bible. Later in the week, we got word that our old church had also had a Bible stamped with his name for 3rd grade promotion. We were able to stop by there on Wednesday to pick it up from our dear friend Miss Terri. It was great to see her and to catch up.

- Sunday evening we had Mark's mom over for dinner. She usually hosts and cooks so it was nice for us to gift her dinner for once. We made steak salads and played Countdown after dinner. 

- Owen started fall ball this week. He had two practices and was able to get to know his new coaches and teammates a bit. We're excited to try a new league for the fall.

- Annabeth took her last dance class of summer. I try to leave the last few weeks of August as her break for the year. I think it's good for her to miss it a bit and definitely good for her body to have a rest.

- We've been growing a bucket garden this year. It's our first attempt and so far we've only had three peppers. But last weekend, our first Sunflower opened and it looks like more of our veggies are coming soon. We thank God for the fun of growing things together as a family.

We picked sunflowers last fall,

dried out the seeds and saved them all winter.

This year we attempted to grow our own from those.

The kids have LOVED this process.

- As we get closer to Fall Break, I have many clients beginning to be able to book their Disney Dining. I have a great time talking with each family and getting a feel for what experiences and meals they want to book. I also love helping families find ways to save money and to spend money wisely while at the parks. There is still plenty of vacation availability for Fall Break and Holiday Break - please reach out if you'd like to chat about a trip.

- Wednesday we enjoyed a mid-day pool party -- homeschool perks -- as we celebrated Owen's friend C. Owen chose a dinosaur joke book for his dino loving friend and we gifted him $7 as he is turning 7. The kids loved swimming with friends and I loved chatting with some fellow homeschool mamas.

- Yesterday, I teamed up with my fellow co-op leader for the year to make classroom totes with school supplies. This was her project but I was happy to help. Our kids played really nicely for a couple of hours which meant we got to have some adult conversation. Their family's garden is doing much better than ours and they gifted us two zucchinis to take home. Thank you all.

We had a great, full week of friends and school. We have fun plans for the rest of August so I wanted one basic school week while we could get it in.

Happy Savings to All