Small Town Connections

Usually on the Fourth of July, we go to breakfast at our former Bible study leaders' house and enjoy visiting with the dozens of guests who also go to brunch. This year, our neighbors invited us to a parade in a small town about half an hour away, and Buck wanted to pursue this option for celebratory fun. Away we went in a caravan . . . totally forgetting our parade roots. We used to be pros! We brought chairs and a blanket--but totally spaced things like candy bags and sunblock. As it turned out, a very nice lady let us set up camp under the shade of her massive tree--with about 4,000 of our closest friends, lol!

I remember the near-constant stream of parades that used to march past our last abode, and I remember how I felt a little miffed when people would just plop down on our lawn or in our driveway to watch. Not that I minded them being there, but it is nice to be asked--especially since we usually expected a large crowd of family and friends to join our prime location for parade viewing. So, we made sure to seek out the owner, and she seemed tickled pink to have so many visitors at her front door :)

One thing we did NOT do, was ask to use her bathroom. I thought it was so weird when total strangers would ask that of us. Um, no, you can't come into my house!! Only once did I say yes, and that was to a very pregnant woman who wasn't going to make it anywhere else :)

Unlike the parades that we had grown accustomed to, this was mostly a machinery parade--advertising local towing businesses, drilling businesses, farming businesses, etc. They still threw loads of candy, but those giant wheels and those heedless children diving for dum-dums!! Not ours, so much. They did remember that side of parade safety :) 

There were some neat old fire trucks, a few classic cars and trucks, a handful of horses, and one marching band. My favorite was the wee little red-headed lad with two suckers stuck crosswise in his mouth, cheeks filled with candy like a four-year-old chipmunk, doing his best to throw candy over the window ledge that was at his chin level. The kids' favorite was the older kid who would scoop up huge piles of candy then yell, "JACKPOT!!" as he showered them over the waiting crowd :) 



We came home to eat lunch (Buck grilled hot dogs!), and then headed half an hour in a different direction to see a car show. Again . . . we used to go ALL the time, but it has probably been as many years as we've been here, since we've sought out the classics. This was a fun venue--a shady park with live music and a super sketchy swingset (the sideless steel slide 15 feet in the air brought back elementary school memories of gasping for breath on the hard, hard ground after falling off such a slide). 



Buck and I have decided that if we should ever own a classic car for the specific purpose of cruisin' we would get a Bel Aire. They are our official favorite :) Now, not HIS official favorite (I'm sure he'd have other ideas if he were dreaming just for himself), but for us BOTH--Bel Aire :)





Back at home . . . I suggested we roast marshmallows on our rarely used firepit. Just marshmallows, I never remember to get chocolate, and we ate all the graham crackers a couple weeks ago :) Buck decided to do so, we needed additional seating. So, he gave Brennen a list of tools to gather from the garage, and then the boys scoured the scrap pile for pieces to make benches. They turned out really cute--just need a coat of paint (you know, to protect them from the weather ;)




Cozy little setting we have up on the first hill!



I was trying to be artistic with my marshmallow picture, but it didn't quite focus. Still . . . yummy :)


Caelan had the idea that if we could get to the top of the second hill, we would be able to see fireworks all along the horizon line. The only problem is, the second hill is covered with prairie grasses, bugs, and those plagues--ticks!! Buck used a bug fogger to clear some of the area, but then they all decided a pathway would be better. How cute is my manicured nature?! It reminds me of the paths through the forest my dad would cut for us when we were little. You can't even see it from the house; it is very cleverly disguised. Here's Gabby on the section that goes through the trees.





Quite a view from the crown of the hill! We could see fireworks all around--and isn't it funny how they burst like a star at the top of this little tree? Christmas in July :)





A few minutes after this a CRAZY wind came up!!! The little trees around us were about bending in half. The grasses were whipping, and I declared it was time to head down the mountain--and fast! We left the little benches, but gathered up all the other gear that had made the trek. 

Back on the lower level, Buck and I watched as the wind tried to pick up our swing (the one Buck was sitting on earlier in the pictures). We took the top "sail" off, but the metal corkscrew holders (that we have twisted into the ground to brace the swing from tipping over in the wind) bent the cross bars into 'V' shapes!! It was insane! I secured the chickens, and we hustled into the house before the rain hit. The storm knocked over our tomatoes during the night, but we think we got them settled back into the dirt. They're starting to turn red, so we don't want to lose them now!

So, that was our Independence day--food (Buck grilled for supper too, hamburgers with guacamole, sweet corn, watermelon, yummy!!), friends (at the parade, we also saw loads of people, in the random spot we chose, from the little church--LOADS! plus familiar faces from the big church), and fun (car show, building project, prairie path, fireworks and fireflies :) The only one who didn't have fun was the dog--this is his least favorite week of the year by far. You wouldn't think that such a big beast could turn into a fussy puddle of jelly so quickly, but he is so afraid of the fireworks that he would be most comfortable in one of those baby wraps moms carry newborns in . . . doesn't that paint a funny picture? :)