Busy Saturdays and more to come tommorrow!

Today started early - yard sale day :) Everyone knows that April is prime yard sale time and boy, do they get into it around here! Community yard sales, church yard sales, single family and multi-family..if it's sunny out, you can bet there are people peddling their cast-offs and people driving erratically to buy it. I always wonder why you don't hear about more "yard sale related" accidents - you watch some people weave in and out of the traffic and foot traffic in the neighborhood hosting the sale, or drive across two lanes because they saw that bright orange sign..seems like it should be listed in percentages somewhere! And I'm only saying this because, yes, my darling husband is one of THOSE drivers. He will slam on the brakes if he sees those magical words, dash through the neighborhood to his destination, and curse anyone that dare get in his way...he is a very competitive yard saler (is that the correct term?). But in his defense, we usually find some interesting things...

Stop 1 was part of a neighborhood yard sale and boy, did the boys stock up - two masks (a knight and Darth Vadar to add to their collection..Darth Vadar spent the rest of the afternoon fighting Batman and the Knight:), a bike helmet (practically brand new!)with Nemo on it for Joey and a toddler-sized wooden skateboard with dinosaurs on it (really cool ones and bright green wheels) for $5!!! Yes, $5 for ALL of it! Woohoo!

Stop 2 was for the cat - a carrier for trips to the vet and our move - $2

Stop 3 was for Kaitlin - a really cool metal star (kind of like a Moravian) that you can put a candle in - we're going to spray paint it white and put an electric candle in it and suspend it in her room when we move - $3

Stop 4 - Emma's turn - cute little hot pink and black purse - $1

Stop 5 - A GIANT frame - it used to hold a mirror but the mirror broke. I'm thinking of several uses for it, it's nice and heavy with a delicate detailing - $1 :)

Stop 6- An air popcorn popper! This was actually one of the things on my list to look for so I was thrilled to find one for $1!

Stop 7 - A helicopter for Owen and Joey (that makes sounds! $10 at Walmart, FREE at yard sale), a giant stuffed My Little Pony for Emma (FREE..and not really needed, but hey, it's free.), and a game about Manners for all of them - $2

Stop 8 - A Pirate Treasure Chest with pirate action figures for the boys pirate ship from Christmas. There never seem to be enough pirates to go around, so for $1 I alleviated that problem!

Stop 9 - Creeper for Fred. He always crawls around under the car on his back, so this was something he has wanted to find. $3

Stop 10 - Bath seat for Abby (our old one broke)$1, a Thomas the Train game for the boys - kind of like Memory and Bingo all rolled into one $1, DVD for Kaitlin $1

Stop 11 - Two little shirts and an Outfit for Abby - $3

Stop 12 - A really cool Bombay Company Tray Table - I'm thinking in the dining room for holidays OR on the deck for barbecues or in the front hall with a lamp and a mail basket..so many uses...can't decide yet! It's similar to this but a little straighter in it's lines...$12

GRAND TOTAL: $37 - not bad for furniture, toys, clothes, pet supplies, auto mechanics, and a small kitchen appliance. :) Gotta love yard sales!

Then we headed to the Strawberry Festival in Clayton - I wish that Festivals were like they used to be. Instead of being about kids and families, lately it seems like everyone of them is about selling things and raffle tickets. There were only 2 booths in the whole thing for kids - a face painter at $3 a kid or a spin the wheel prize thing (which gave them bouncy balls the size of marbles...umm, hello - choking hazard anyone?) The rest were chiropratic sales, Bath Fitter, Jewelry, Pampered Chef, Avon, Mary Kay, etc...I was approached about 5 different raffles. I'm all about charity, but jeez, I wanted to have some fun with my kids not win a tractor! And then they always have the Kids Alley - which is basically 4 bounce houses with kids Kaitlin's age bouncing like maniacs and a very bored teenager not-supervising it. So, we ended up leaving and going to Porter's to pick strawberries. We got there at 2:15 and the sprinklers were set for 2:30, so we speed-picked 3 buckets of strawberries! :) Then it was time for some ice cream and waters all around - my little farm hands were sweaty!
But I have to say, the strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight was the perfect finish to our chicken, potatoes, and salad.

Tommorrow, Kaitlin has her piano recital and then she, Fred, Owen and Emma are going to Game 6 of the Hurricanes Stanley Cup Play-Offs! They gave some tickets to the Aviation Unit and Fred got 4. Joey and I and Abby are staying home and making cookies - it doesn't start until 7:30 and try as he might, Joey will never last for the whole game, so we'll make a fun night at home and he can go to the next thing with Daddy. Fred's having a little guilt, but I think it's good for them not all to do the same things. Busy weekend!

Katie