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.

Project 52 - Parade time - Week 28

28/52

After a short yet busy week I was determined to go to the Hamel Rodeo. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to convince Jesse of that. The more family friendly show also conflicted with a birthday party Riley was invited to and in the end I just didn't feel like pushing it. However, we did check out the Hamel Parade, which has been a tradition for a few years now (minus last year). This parade is filled with firetrucks, tow trucks, local businesses, politicians, and horses. No flashy floats here.

We tried to get to my dad's by 1:00 pm since they start to close down the roads, but we had to pick up some Pine Sol for my dad as a last minute request. Apparently, it kills Yellow Jackets which have taken up residence in my my dad's garage wall. In fact, he went to the emergency room last week after being stung by one and swelling up pretty good. Anyhoo, we had to talk the parade organizers into letting us through and I had to throw my dad's name out there. It's a small town and the lady lives on my dad's block so we got a little razzing and were then let through.

My dad's friend, Ed, was over (Ed used to across the alley from the house I live in. He and my dad have been friends for many, many years). Ed joined us as we walked through my dad's back yard and into the neighbor's yard. The neighbors weren't there this time, so we left the old guys in the yard while we took up a spot on the sidewalk. It was hot, but clouded over so we thought we would be fine. Unfortunately, those pesky clouds decided to break up and it got hot, hot, hot.

This was Jesse's first year attending and he commented that we should be sitting at the end of the parade (instead of the beginning). His theory was that the people in the parade just want to get rid of all the remaining candy by the end. He had nothing to worry about as this parade is big on the sweets. We bagged most of it up afterwards and Jesse brought it to work - we definitely don't need that much candy at home. We also got some t-shirts, necklaces, stickers, fake tattoos, and a hat.

While there, I used a couple of the freezee pops they handed out to keep me cool. One under my hat and one in my shirt and I was good to go. Must remember this next year.

'Camel Towing' - worst name ever

After the parade was over, we hung out with my dad and Ed for awhile until the roads were clear. I was getting a bit of a headache from the heat and the smell of Pine Sol I my dad liberally sprayed around the garage.

My dad has an old concrete deer that's totally falling apart, but he asked Ed and Jesse to help him get it set up again so they did that and I took some pictures of my kid.

We left these guys to get a Pine Sol high  catch up and enjoy the toasty weather. Maybe next year will be the year I finally make it to the rodeo. If there are any rodeo lost souls out there, you are welcome to come with me.