I love a Parade....Strawberry Parade that is.

June 14th, 2008 Wabash hosted the 14th Annual Very Berry Strawberry Fest. They had Fun Runs, Pancake Breakfasts, Food and Craft tents, Pinewood Derby, the Dave Konkle Car Show at Paradise Springs as well as many activities and a Farmers Market at the Honeywell Center. Amanda, Luke and I went to watch the parade. It was a nice day. The humidity was low but the heat was a little high but it was bearable. I tried to get a variety of photos from the parade to share. I hope you enjoy them.

Waiting for the parade

The beginning of the Strawberry Parade

Showing our patriotism

"Mayor Bob" Vanlandingham

Who is that woman on the back of the cycle?
Oh My Gosh........ It is Sharon Jones. Where did she get that guy?

The men with the Bagpipes

We had Yellow animals......

Bears from the local woods...

Large elephants.....
This entry is from the Legend of Modoc, the runaway elephant.

Cars

BoatsLittle guys on Little Cycles
Tractors ... with napping drivers

Trucks and even Bigger Trucks Floats with a special message
Floats with a beautiful Queen and her court
And after every special occasion, there is the cleaning up.

Amanda and Luke gathering candy after the parade is over.

A very enjoyable time watching the parade with Amanda and Luke.

BOZO the Carrot Top

Knowing when to leave well enough alone, hasn't been one of our strong points, when it comes to working on Amanda's hair. I am not sure if we need to change her name, or change the color of her children's hair so they look like their mother.

Amanda has become tired of keeping up the blonde in her hair. It is time consuming and she wants to keep her hair short. To keep it blonde she had to let it grow so I could highlight it. So, one day, when I was at her house highlighting Cassidy's hair, Amanda decided she wanted to get rid of the blonde. The first time we actually colored her hair, it was a little too dark. The next time we colored her hair she wanted a little red in it. I think that is where the problem began. It ended up really red. We applied some dark brown on it and it turned really really dark. Ummmm.... not sure that is what we were looking for Amanda. So we got hair color remover and applied it. That was the beginning of BOZO. It turned her hair a clown shade of orange. We got more hair color and made it the color we originally got after the first colors were put on. Her hair was darker than it should have been, but at least it wasn't orange.

Amanda thought she needed a touch up, and got what she thought were the same shades as we had bought the first time. When she showed up at my house she had black hair. Here we go again. I had to make an "emergency" run to Wal-Mart to get color remover and the right shades. We removed the color again ( making her BOZO the Carrot Top) and added the correct shade. Or so we thought. It ended up that her hair was very orange at the roots. More hair color to be applied. Rinse. Dry. Check hair in mirror. Uh oh........ looks about the same as before we started. Another application? Yep. Lets leave it on a little longer this time. Rinse. Dry. Check hair in mirror. Go outside to see if orange is gone. Well......it looks a little better. Sorta.

Amanda left with hair we thought looked like brown. At least that is what we thought when she left. When I went to her house one day last week, it was back to a shade between orange / brown. Leaning more to the orange side.

I highly suggest Amanda get some professional help on this one. I am exhausted from the anticipation of the results of apply hair color and waiting to see what shade/ color we have. I really need to stay away from the coloring side of hair. I will restrict myself to cutting only.

Amanda (BOZO) with Luke

Remember to be kind to someone today. You just may change someones life.

'Wilbur' the Squirrel

One morning early, outside was 'Wilbur' eating corn from the bouncy thing that is usually hanging down from the tree limb. The feeder, that he is hanging from, was out of sunflower seeds. Truthfully, I had failed to make sure all the feeders were full, and that the corn was out for the squirrels, and the birds. Naughty homeowner. I have taken too many photos of my squirrels over the years. They are so much fun to watch. I would love to have one as a pet, but I can't confine them like that. I wish they weren't so frightened of us. The squirrels at the Wabash City park are not near as frightened of people as the country squirrels.

Kaleb's Graduation from Kindergarten

Kaleb graduated from Kindergarten at St. Bernard Catholic Church.

The program with the Kindergarten was very cute. They always put on a splendid presentation.

We really had some concerns when he started pre-school, but he proved us all wrong. He has been a great student. Kaleb is my sister Jane's grandson. His dad and mother are Kevin and Shannon Gidley.

Kaleb after the graduation

Kaleb's graduating class

Notice the look on the teachers face. It says it all ! Kaleb is second from left in the front row. They are preparing for the 'toss' of the Cap.

Kaleb and his best friend James

Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, and somewhere in the middle, we became the best of friends.

Rainey's Spring Concert

Rainey enjoyed singing at the Middle School's Spring Concert. She stood next to her friend Raeann. It was a pleasant evening enjoying the songs and talent of the kids. This would be Rainey's last time singing with the Middle School. She will be a Freshman next year in the high school. Movin' on Up!

Below are a few photos I took during the concert.

Photos of Rainey singing.

Music isn't just learning notes and playing them,

You learn notes to play to the music of your soul.

Saturday, Memorial Weekend, Anniversary Celebration

We had lots of fun on Memorial Day Weekend celebrating anniversaries.

Stephanie and Mark celebrate their wedding anniversary on March 27th. (That date sounds familiar) Amanda and Kyle celebrate their anniversary on May 19th. Rick and Jen were married on June 5th. Tom and I have been married for 40 years on May 24th, 2008. We decided to have an anniversary cookout to celebrate all of our anniversaries. It is always so much fun getting the family together to have some fun. The kids get so carried away with all the fun and kidding around. Of course they all wanted to get the Corn Hole game out and play. We had team RED and team BLUE. Which of the two teams was the better team? Sadly I have to announce that team BLUE was the better team on this particular Saturday. Maybe next time fellow team mates.

Team RED: Kyle, Lauren, Tom, Alex, Amanda, Cassidy

Team BLUE: Jennifer, Cindy, Stephanie, Spencer, Jonathan, Mark

Team RED cheering on their team

Jennifer showing everyone how it is done?

If you will look closely at the top of Spencer's head, you will see Cassidy's cornbag flying through the air !

Stephanie competing against her Dad.

Amanda laughing at something Stephanie said. If I remember correctly, it was something like, were you trying to play like that?PaPa and Luke need to see a Dentist !!!!!!!!!!!!

Luke with his DOO Rag crawling in the grass to help distract the BLUE team.

Familes are like fudge. . . . mostly sweet with a few nuts.