Prairie Fest '09

We had the BEST.TIME.EVER. at Prairie Fest, our local small town festival. The weather was beautiful and I just wanted to stay out all day. It started Friday evening when we went downtown and let the kids jump and play on the inflatables. Brian was lucky enough to score some free wristbands for the kids (not that anyone was really checking wristbands, it was more of and on-your-honor type of thing). As it started to get dark we noticed the 5 hot air balloons a block farther south in a field. They were AMAZING. I realized that I had never seen hot air balloons in person before. I can't explain why but they are just awe inspiring. There is a balloon festival about an hour south of here in the summer with hundreds of balloons - we are definitely going next year. At about 10:30 the fireworks started! I know! Fireworks at a small town shin-dig. It was a pretty good show. We (Brian, Colleen and I) stood outside with our neighbors and gabbed and watched.

Colleen had a hard time going to sleep that night but Brian still woke up early to run the 10K race. He placed last and was very sore but we are very proud.

After he got back we got ready and went out to see the parade. We sat in front of G.'s house and watched the floats and got lots of candy. Halloween in August. Some of the highlights of the parade were the high school marching band, the old tractors and cars, the people dressed as bananas on bikes and the 5th and 6th grade football team. They were all riding on a trailer and as we were at the end of the route they had run out of candy to throw and were all yelling at the top of their lungs for us to throw candy back at them (so they could have it or throw it I don't know, but it was something else). After the parade we went for lunch at the church across the street from us. It was their annual fund raiser and I had a Made-Right sandwich - think sloppy joe with out the sauce. It was actually pretty good. And the homemade pies for dessert! Amazing! I think next time I might just go for pie.

After lunch the girls went to our neighbor M.'s birthday party -they had a blast. Brian napped on their couch with Kate while I hit all of the garage sales in town. I won't bore you with the list but I totally scored! OK, you forced it out of me for $23 I got: 2 cork boards, markers, crayons, balls, play dough toys, 2 carry-on-roller suitcases, a small carry-on duffel, an exersaucer, huge cool piggy bank, loaf of homemade zuchhini bread and 4 baskets. It was a good day!

After the party the girls wanted to go back downtown. Brian stayed and napped with Colleen and the rest of us checked out the dancing, dog show and mud volleyball - and of course went on more inflatable rides. The mud volleyball was hilarious. There were 8 people on a team and they could barely move in that ankle deep muddy water. The girls were disappointed they could not be on a team until they were 18 and decided we should make a court in our yard.

After dinner we went and picked corn a truck load of corn and then went to check out the magician. The only snag was when Brian and I both thought Aleah was with the other that evening as it was getting dark. I was terrified. She had been lost at least 20 minutes but came running right up when we called. She had been standing off by the gazebo the whole time - she told me later she had only cried a little. A funnel cake on the way home finished off the evening and they went to bed dirty, tired and happy.

It was one of those indescribable good, happy days.