Smallish town fun

We moved to the town my dad still lives in when I was 9 years old. It was pretty small, and in my opinion boring. Within walking distance there was the main street (with little more than a church, a hardware store, and a bar), and the baseball fields. My best friend's parents owned the hardware store so I spent a bit of time there, but we mostly kept ourselves busy watching baseball and playing softball.

I don't remember festivals or celebrations, unless you count the demolition derby that was held next the the Medina Ballroom. No, not much happened in that town. But now it's different... the farm field next to my dad's house is filled with new homes, the ballpark and playground has been renovated, new stores have moved in, houses fixed up... and now there are celebrations.

In September, we went to Medina Celebration Day for the second year in a row. Last year was a hit for Riley so I made a point of putting it on my calendar to return again. This event has food, games and activities, and ends with fireworks. Riley was blown away that fireworks could happen on a day other than the 4th of July. I'm blown away about how much she loves fireworks now after years of fearing them.

Riley's favorite activity was the bouncy slide. She easily went down this thing 100 times and she has the black socks to prove it.

 

All the activities started around 4:00 and we arrived around 4:20 with the plan to stay for fireworks which started at 8:00. This was a little long in my opinion, but on the upside, we did arrive before all the free ice cream and popcorn ran out.

This year, I was also smart enough to bring chairs with so my dad and I could sit down during the fireworks. Riley jumped around and yelled "ooh's and aah's" while I tried to keep my camera steady taking pictures.

A couple weekends ago there was another event that my dad invited us to - The Hamel Fire Station open house (Hamel is part of Medina). This was a much smaller event, but still allowed us to have some time with my dad. This time we walked into town so we could stop at the Little Library on the way. Riley initially balked at walking (maybe a mile, if that), but when I mentioned the Little Library she was in. My sister, Judy, joined us for the fun.

On the way there, we took a little pit stop where my dad and Riley sat down at the bank to read their books. My dad has always noted that he's not much of a reader. He's actually looking at the book my sister picked up for her grandson, but he gets a kick out of seeing how much Riley loves her books.

The open house had food, a silent auction, and other activities. Riley most enjoyed the coloring station and the cupcakes.

We then said goodbye to Judy and made our way back to my dad's house. Until, next year small town festivals...

One last pose standing next to my dad's neighbor's fence.