Founder's Day

So Saturday was the big Founder's Day celebration here in our little town. Every year there is a parade and carnival. We have never gone before because it falls on or around Kelly's birthday, and we are usually out of town. We went this year not quite knowing what to expect. Before the parade the girls got to play in the field with their friends. Jac sat at the side of the road looking through the lens of her camera obviously waiting for the first shot of the parade. In fact, she spent the first ten minutes of the parade looking through the camera, only taking a few pictures. I finally made her put the dumb thing down and get some candy like a normal kid. How else was I gonna get my candy fix?

Ryan and Kelly ran to the other side of the street, as it was less crowded, and Ryan got a TON of candy. She could not even lift the bag! Delores Ponzio was also on their side of the road and kept throwing candy missiles at us saying she just wanted to be sure we got candy. I sensed some malice when I was tagged in the back by a bunch of tootsie rolls (OUCH!).

The parade was full of beauty queens of all ages, 50 different churches handing out fliers, people dressed up like Dolly, Elvis, the Chick-fil-et cow and many more. I saw a mini-church on wheels, and Jen Schaefer, whom I know reads this blog. She could not give me the time of day, thank you very much Jen, I was a Pocahontas princess too, but that is as deep as our friendship goes apparently!

Anyway, the parade was AWESOME! I have not been to a parade that candyful in a long time. I know the girls had a blast. Kelly had a ton of fun playing frisbee with Steven Turlington. They were across the street from each other and kept seeing how close a float could get before they had to stop throwing it. Frisbee chicken I guess. Melissa had to take their toy away after a while.

Later that night we went to the carnival. Kelly hates to "waste" our money on carnivals, but I LOVE them, and I was able to talk him into letting Ryan get a pass for rides too. Jannica was off with the Ponzio's and being brave. She only cried on one ride, and it was pretty freaky, so that is okay.

Ryan had a ton of fun riding with Gavin on the rides. She especially loved this little fun house and went through it like 15 times. She kept hiding out in the balls and I had to really coax her to get her to keep going. The problem was that I was on the outside because parents were not allowed in. The more I tried to get her to keep going the more devious the look on her face. Finally I just gave up and let her do her thing. It always seems to work that way with her. She is a touch independent, I don't know where she gets it.

When we first got there some kid ran up to me and said "hey, I won this fish and I don't want it, please take it!" So of course I did. By the end of the night we ended up with five, yes five, goldfish and we did not pay for any of them. The kids were ecstatic and have spent today watching them swim. I guess I am getting my come-uppance for getting my sister frogs and other reptiles for her birthdays. It is pretty fun though.

The night ended with a bang. Literally. There was a cool fireworks display. Everyone was separated when the fireworks started, but thanks to cell phones, we were all able to meet up in a centralized location. That location happened to be in front of the port-o-potties, but the smell wasn't too bad, kind of airfreshener like. We all kicked back on the ground and enjoyed the fireworks, Kelly and I sipping on lime rickies, Jac and Ryan sitting by their favorite person, Melissa (eating all of her french fries). The cool (finally) September weather was wonderful. What a great way to officially say goodbye to summer and welcome fall with all of her beautiful non-sticky weather.