Lemonade for Sale! Come and get your lemonade!

So, a few weeks ago, Olivia started asking about setting up a lemonade stand. Yeah, just what I want to do at nine months pregnant in the 100 degree heat: set up a lemonade stand in front of our West facing front yard! I put it off for as long as I could, but they had there little hearts set on it so they could "make some money."

It finally got the point where Olivia said, "Mom, you keep promising that we can do our lemonade stand and you never let us!"

I'm such a bad mother!

Well, I PROMISED Monday would be the day, no matter what.

The girls and I had already made a list with them of things we needed such as cups, lemonade, signs, etc. Everything was very well planned.

The girls wanted both pink lemonade and regular lemonade. I also suggested selling some cookies, which they did.

We went to REI and bought a new canopy (we needed one anyway) after Mark got off work. We then came home and set up their lemonade stand. As it turned out, the weather was overcast and only 97 degrees instead of the forecasted 103 degrees.

I have to say, Mark and I were worried no one would buy their lemonade and cookies. I remember doing a lemonade stand as a kid and didn't make squat! And, after all, I have never stopped at anyone's lemonade stand. However, we did not let the kids in on our doubting ways. We actually expressed a fair amount of enthusiasum when it came to setting things up for them. I guess we live in the right spot. Everyone in our neighborhood has to drive by our house to get in and out of the subdivision. Location, location, location.

As you can see by the sign, they were charging 50 cents each for lemonade and cookies. I instructed them to sell 2 cookies for 50 cents instead of just one cookie for 50 cents. Well, people assumed they got one cookie for 50 cents and that is what they started off paying, so I didn't correct anybody.

The whole thing was truly amazing if you ask me. People from down the street came out of their houses and walked down to our house to buy lemonade! We've never met so many of our neighbors. And who knew there were so many families with kids our kids' age? People pulled up in their cars, some got out, some didn't.

People would be walking toward the house and Anika would shout, "Lemonade, come and get your lemonade!" I think she has some sort of natural born sales instinct like her Uncle Brian. Of course, it probably helped that they waved to everyone driving by as well.

In approximately 1 1/2 hours, they raked in a whopping $25 even. I still can't believe it. Anika says they'll be open again today. At that rate, they could buy their own school clothes this year! Ha ha! They'll be taking it to the bank to deposit in their savings.

Oh, Olivia did say when I split up their money that "We can buy lots of expensive things with our money." I think it's time to teach the real meaning of profit.

Oh, to be a kid again..................

P.S. THANKS GRANDPA AND ZACH FOR DRIVING ALL THE WAY OUT TO BUY LEMONADE AND COOKIES! THEY LOVE YOU SO MUCH!