The Beginning of a Beautiful Summer #GrillingIsHappiness

Summer is our favorite time of year.  It is usually spent river-side, at the campground, out on the boat, swimming and fishing with our family and friends.  Those are the things that come to mind when I think of summer- that and firing up the grill.  It doesn’t matter if it’s just our little family at home or if there are 15+ of us down by the river- you can bet we have a grill fired up with some good food cookin’.  Until now, we’ve only owned small charcoal grills so when I was given the chance to buy a new grill and share the experience with y’all, I couldn’t say no.

When I was growing up and our family would go to the mall, we would always park at Sears and go in there first.  Why?  Because that is where my dad stayed.  My mom and I could go shop the mall for hours and come back to find my dad still in Sears.  I don’t remember him ever even going out into the actual mall- he was content to stay in Sears.  Men.

Instead of heading right to the store, now we can research and shop online to make sure we buy the best quality product for the best price.  Justin and I utilized the Sears online catalog and the Grill Finder at the Grilling Is Happiness website to find the perfect grill and accessories.  We didn’t have much luck with the Grill Finder, but the catalog offered a wealth of information at a quick glance.  We liked being able to see several options on one page with the features and price clearly listed. After we placed our order, we waited on e-mail letting us know our items were ready for pick-up.

The awesome thing about ordering online and picking up in-store is there is no waiting once you get to Sears.  Their goal is to have your items out to you in less than 5 minutes.  They were short-handed while we were there and they still had our truck loaded in less than 5!  We were more than happy with the service and the selection and will definitely utilize these tools along with the Sears Local Ad again- hopefully for a patio set next.  You can check out our full shopping trip in my Google+ album.

Next came the fun part- spending time with our family and friends while trying out our new grill and smoker.  Hubby couldn’t buy just a grill, he had to have a gas smoker too.  He assembled them both Saturday, then we took them to the river and put them to use Sunday.  This was our third weekend in a row to have a cookout at the river and our biggest crowd.  The sun was beaming down, the kids were able to swim and play in the water, everyone sat around talking- it was the best day we’ve had thus far.  #GrillingIsHappiness

Justin cooked chicken wings and drunk chicken in the smoker.  On the grill, he cooked steamed vegetables, beans, and hot dogs.  The entire meal was delicious!

If I’ve said it once, I’ve probably said it a thousand times, but we are so truly blessed to live so close to this gorgeous river.  With the exception of last year, we’ve spent every summer since 2006 on the water.  I love that my kids are going to grow up with such wonderful and close family and friends and that they’ll have an appreciation for the great outdoors.  Bryson caught a fish yesterday and it was so fun to watch him enjoy something that I grew up doing with my dad.

This is our happy place.  It holds a lot of very special memories and I know there are many more going to be made here this summer and in the coming years.

I know I’ve overloaded y’all with photos, but I think the pictures tell the story.  I could never put into words what this place and these people mean to me.  We have another cookout planned for this coming Sunday which is also Mother’s Day.  I can’t wait to celebrate such a special day with the people that mean the most on this beautiful river with some delicious food.  I’m seeing some ribs and stuffed peppers in my future.  🙂

If you want to create your own outdoor oasis, there are some deals and promotions going on at Sears that could put you on your way.

• FREE in-store assembly on all gas grills
• Save $100 on Kenmore 4-burner Gas Grill. Now $399.99!
• Save an extra 10% off Patio & Grills
• Shop Your Way Rewards members save more each and every season and for every $1 you spend you get 10 points
• Lock in today’s low prices for all of your upcoming events with Sears Layaway!

Be sure to keep up with Sears on Facebook and Twitter.  You can find Sears Shop Your Way Rewards on Twitter too.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric