What's the Deal on Friday??!!

    Today I was awakened out of my heat coma when I read Melissa's blog over at 320 Sycamore.  She mentioned her Target as having marked down some things to 70 percent.  I snapped out of my heat coma long enough to know that at some point today I would have to check it out.
     I am never sure if "my Target" will have their stuff marked down since they do not all mark down the same percentage at the same time.  I was happy, however, when I found these items at 70 percent off:

Smith & Hawken Lanterns 29.99 marked down to 8.98 (I got 2)

                                             19.99 marked down to 5.98  (I got 3)

Outdoor Throw Pillows 12.99 marked down to 3.88 (I got 3)

10x10 Gazebo Replacement Canopy 59.99 marked down to 17.70 

Like Melissa's store, mine did not have their other summer items marked down yet.  I was glad to grab these things as the quantities were minimal and I can almost guarantee they will be gone from my Target by Monday, if not by the end of today.  After the high winds we just had, I was especially glad to grab my replacement canopy for the gazebo I got on a great deal last year!!  That thing takes a beating in the heat, rain and windy weather.

     I am tempted to hit another Target or two tomorrow and actually would have considered going tonight had I not had some friends coming over.  Those friends probably saved me a lot of $$$$!!!!!  Let me know if you find anything good at your Target -- now I'm on a mission!!!

 

    

5 Lanterns, 3 Throw Pillows, Replacement Canopy, Paper Cups and Flags all for about $67

Food, Footprints, Fun & Fireworks!

     We finished off our Fourth of July celebrating with the fireworks which are put on in the Lexington, MI harbor.  I LOVE that we just walk right down to the beach from our place and see an excellent fireworks display complete with the reflections of the fireworks in Lake Huron, boats anchored in the harbor, the sunsetting while the moon is shining, the sand, the water!! 
     This is my favorite way to watch -- no parking hassles, no driving, no fighting for a good vantage point!!

The pics below are some of my favorite memories -- I finally gave up trying to capture the fireworks from my camera lens and decided to just enjoyed with my own two eyes!!

Happy 4th!!

Up North - The Parade

     Part of taking in all of the 4th of July celebrations last weekend was the small town parade -- which I love!!!  Again, it was hot hot hot so we claimed our seats in the semi-shade and took it all in.

     Some new things and some old -- but I love it all!!

Waiting

The Paratrooper Who Jumped In and Started Off the Parade

The Vets

The Dog, Trying to Find Any Shde he Can!!

Who Wants to Try This???  I Do!!  (Nancy?  Donna?)

Miss Pioneer Sugar (Has the Parade Wave Down!!) 

These Garden Club Ladies Seemed to Know How to Have a Good Time!



I Never Tire Of Grown Men in Mini Model Ts



Or This Seemingly Random Donkey With Patriotic Spirit

The Keystone Cops -- Always Having Too Much Fun!

The Keystone Kops Showing Off

And Never Does A Frosty Mug of Root Beer Taste Better Than a Super Hot Day!!!

Happy pINdependence Day!!

     Hope you are spending your day celebrating our great country's independence with family and friends!!!
     Thought I would share one of my recent Pinterest projects...the easiest one I ever did since the work was already done by someone else and I just printed it and put it in a frame from the dollar store.
     Later today I will be posting some of the things we have done to celebrate!!!  What are you doing to celebrate??

Enjoy!!

http://www.oursevendwarfs.com/search/label/Fourth%20of%20July

Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue!

     As I eluded to in Monday's post about my mom, we headed to our place on Lake Huron last Friday for the Fourth of July celebrations that have become tradition and which we love!!  This was our first trip up north as a family this year as my friend, Alyce's parents were using our place for a few weeks.  After stopping in for a quick visit with my mom, I drove up with the kids and Lucky dog and G met us up there after his day at work.
     On Fridays in the summer there is "Music in the Park", an outdoor concert venue for taking in free concerts from a variety of bands and musicians.  We all had sandwiches and waited for the concert to start.  It is very relaxing, right near the harbor and very low key.  Unfortunately, this was probably the first time we could not even force ourselves to enjoy the acapella singing group that was performing.  I am very open-minded when it comes to music, but this particular group -- I just wasn't feeling it!!  The kids were quite relieved when I said we could make a run for it at intermission, as did quite a few others. 
     It was to be a very hot 95 plus weather weekend.  Our sleeping and happiness was directly dependent on our one unit air conditioner to cool down our place.  It did the trick, but just barely.  Lucky the dog would probably say it didn't work at all.  In the middle of the night, it finally got cool enough to open a few windows.  I enjoyed my Seagrams "Jamaican Me Happy" and got a chance to do some reading while resting up for Saturday's parade and fireworks!!

 The Little Old A/C That Could...

 The Singers That Tried

 A Relaxing Harborside Venue

 Harborview of Lake Huron

 The Bluff from Our Place Overlooking the Beach and Lake Huron

 Relaxing Times Ahead

 Sundown

 I Don't Know If These Are Weeds or Wildflowers, But They're Pretty!

 A Hazy Sundown

Bedtime!

How We Spent the 4th Weekend...Part 3

     Sunday at 7 am we heard the fire sirens go off.  They go off periodically because there is a volunteer fire department and they signal various emergencies, however this time it was to announce the start of the annual Fireman's Pancake Breakfast  fundraiser -- another 4th of July weekend tradition.  By the time the six of us got ready, we ended up having breakfast in the late morning.  We always try to support our local firefighters (since my brother is also a firefighter).  For a $6 adult and $4 kids donation, the breakfast includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, orange juice and coffee. It's fun to chat with the firefighters and check out the trucks and equipment in the firehouse.
     Next, we were off to the beach again....it was another hot day with a decent breeze for hanging out at the beach.  There is not much to say about the beach except it's the best thing and I was too busy relaxing to take many pictures.  Again, we swam, played and relaxed!
     Later, while we were still at the beach we heard people talking about the power being out again....we actually thought they might be joking 'cause there was also a lot of that going on at the beach....come to find out it was true :(  This mom can't do 90s very well without air conditioning so we went back and decided to venture out to find a restaurant with some power.  After driving back toward civilization 20-30 minutes, we found that our nearest "big city" had power so we opted for dinner at Ruby Tuesday -- I love their salad bar and it was nice to be in air conditioning again! 
     Afterwards, we decided to take our time getting back since we were unsure exactly when the electricity would be back on.  As we headed back we decided to do some putt putt golfing.  Even though they did not have electricity, we were still able to golf.  I had a great time with the kids cracking up at our golfing skills.  Jacob actually got two "holes in one", but the rest of us were not so lucky.  Sometimes I did really good and sometimes....I didn't!  Then, one last stop at the only ice cream shop in town with a generator and just as we were finishing up our ice cream - voila -- the power went back on!  How's that for timing?  Five minutes back to our place and then we settled in for the night to watch a DVD.

     Headed home on the 4th of July somewhat exhausted and just in time for some grillin'!!  Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did!!

 

The View of Lake Huron from our deck

     

                 Yes, I had to bribe them!

                                                                                               

          No Power, Main Street Lexington, MI

Jacob Wanted to Help Grill!

It Was a Good 4th of July Weekend!