Our Summer...A random Photo journey

Hi again friends. I have some pictures to show you of some of our journeys from the summer. Our schools start back this Thursday . I am not sure how I feel. I love having my kids home, no schedules, being able to go and do whatever without worrying about anything. On the other hand while they are in school I have "me" time. I will be able to get my chores finished and then do whatever I wish. I guess that is a perk of being a stay at home mom. Also while they are in school my hubby and I can enjoy day dates on his days off that occur during the week. I will also be glad that my house will stay cleaner while they are in school.

We did many things this summer but I didn't take my camera to most. I have a Nikon D40 camera and it is big and bulky and not practical for many of the things we did. I really want to get a little Nikon Cool Pix point and shoot camera to keep in my purse. Maybe when our finances balance out from school shopping I will be able to get one.

Are you ready for our journey?

Our little town has a little festival every year called the "Greene Countrie Festival". It is a small affair with a few games and activities, local businesses and churches have booths, we have very few rides (6 this year), and the usual fair foods. There is also a parade that involves the emergency vehicles, Queens from many of the local area pagents/fairs, and a parade of tractors.

 I just love this firetruck from the parade. The lady waving is a super nice lady.

 I also love the Shriners. I have some family members who have benefited from their work and they should be recognized.

 This Queen's float stopped right in front of where we were standing and she started talking to my youngest son. His face turned as red as the leaf behind me. She thought he was the cutest boy she had ever seen.

 Here are the big dudes on little bikes..These men and women are too funny for words.

 Don't you just love this car?

 Here are some of our local girl scouts. The little girl in the middle is one of my girl's best friends. She only lives a hop, skip, and a jump from our house. She is at my home so much I call her one of my kids. 

The next stop is the Horsley family reunion. My mom's mom is our Horsley relative. It was held at the Deer Creek State Park Campgrounds. If you ever get a chance, Deer Creek is absolutely beautiful.

 The crazy lady in this picture is my mom. I love her just the way she is. :P

 This is my step-dad.

 Part of the Horsley crew. It is sad to say but I don't know most of the people in this picture.

 Here is a picture of us standing around talking. The girl in purple is my daughter, the guy with the hat hanging is a cousin, I am in the blue shirt, my mom in the white, my step-dad in the ball cap, and my hubby in stripes.

We haven't spent the whole time on the road. I did manage to do some home things.

 Here is 16 of the squares I have crocheted for Share a Square. 

 I have also began couponing. Above is my binder filled to the brim with coupons.

 I love the dual binder. It is so convenient.

 Every week (usually on Sunday or Monday) I add the new coupons to my list and take out the ones I have used or have expired. This list is a quick reference to what I have. Oh and the expired coupons I send to military families. They are allowed to use coupons up to 6 months after they expire at the military shops.

 Here is a shot of the open binder. I have been able to group sales with coupons and have saved nearly 75 dollars in just 3 shopping trips. I have gotten toothbrushes and toothpaste for free. I also have paid as little as $1.00 for 4 packs of hot dogs. I am loving saving money.

 I am still gardening. We have enjoyed plenty of foods from the garden. Sadly I only had a few zucchini and squash because the squash bugs got to them. Everything else has done super well. I have even had a watermelon already. My favorite part is the tomatoes. I eat them with cottage cheese, on bread, salads, just all the time.

 We have enjoyed grilling this summer too. Chicken, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, I love summer grilling.

We had a nice 4th of July. We went to a family get-together for my paternal grandmother. She unfortunately has been diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 87.  Also unfortunately, I forgot my camera sitting by the door. I kicked myself many times over it.

Later that night we drove to Wilmington, Oh and parked in the Lowe's parking lot to wait for the fireworks. We got there super early and I am really glad we did because the parking lot filled up very quickly. One of the local pizza shops was selling pizza in the lot so the kiddos filled up on pizza, chatted, and played while we waited for the show to begin.

 Here they are sitting in the grass. The fireworks were let off in the park across the road from the parking lot in front of us. We pretty much had front row seats.

 I love the ones that make shapes. This one is a star inside a circle.

 I just love fireworks. They are so beautiful. I love the big booms. I just love everything about it.

We also made sure to stay cool this summer. 

 The kids really enjoyed having a pool this year. I think I have had to wash towels every day and let me tell you , we have lots of towels.

 We also went to the creek. This spot is a short bike ride from our house. See my kiddos across the rapids. I chanced it for this photo op.

 See those rocks? That is where I took the previous picture from. It was really fun getting wet BUT right after I got back across the creek we saw a baby water moccasin in the water. YIKES

 We didn't have much rain but we did see a rainbow over the summer.

 We hiked this loop of the bike trail at Paint Creek State Park. It was super hot and it was 3 miles long. It took us about 2.5 hours to complete it. Luckily I was smart enough to pack a backpack with snacks and water.

 I am a frog nut so when my daughter caught this little guy on our hike I was sure to take a pic. I wanted to brink it home but I was afraid he would die. We let him loose where we found him.

Finally we are to the end. I wanted to show you a picture of a tattoo I want to get. This is not me and I don't remember where I found the pic.

I don't want the yellow dandelion but the poofy one blowing. I want it on my lower back on the left and have the seeds blowing up my back. I think it would be too neat.

Anywho that is part of our summer. I hope you have enjoyed all the pictures and can forgive the complete randomness.
Be Blessed y'all

Erin