The color is Titanium........I keep calling it Titanic !
Happy Retirement Tom.
Lauren Rhea
Unfortunately, we had to leave the tournament to get to Roann for their parade. It is an excellent hometown parade. The town has a meager population of 400 residents, but the parade draws many people. If you ever want to see a good old fashioned, flag waving, hometown parade, it is well worth your time to travel to Roann, Indiana.
As always, the beginning of the parade had the traditional police and firetrucks
Fire animals of a different sort
There were Kings. . . .
and Queens . . . .
men or ... no... it is men dressed strangely !
lots of old cars
and floats with children .
What is a parade without a clown
or two
The parade had some strange animals
ponies with beautiful young indian girls.
The parade had a car with the Red Hats !
Shriners
Transportation of all sorts
Some people can nap anyplace
And my final picture of the parade is of my sister Barbara-waving to our family.
After the parade we moved our days celebrations to the far end of the town to watch a tractor pull. Barbara, Jane and I had never seen a tractor pull before. Dad loved it. He always wanted to be a farmer.
Always nice to see women partake in the competition!
a smidgeon of the people watching
Our dear Mother with her trend setting stlye for everyone to see.
Once again........some people can nap anywhere
We really enjoyed our day. We had time with family which is of course always important.
August 21st was my Dad's final day of radiation for the cancer that is in his lungs. He is of course experiencing some of the side effects. He has been a trooper, because he is the type of person that really dislikes going to a doctors office. ^5 Dad for 'graduating' from your radiation.
Tom and I found this bunch of mushrooms in the yard one day. I don't know a thing about mushrooms. I just thought I ended up with a couple of good pictures of them. 
Luke came over to play with Grandpa. They have a lot of fun together. Luke likes to go golfing with his Pawpaw. They have to wear special shirts (they have matching shirts). Below are a couple of pictures of them playing together.
August is a busy month for birthdays. Cassidy was born on August 23rd- the same day as Tom's. Mothers birthday is the 24th. Birthdays tend to be a multi birthday party. This year we celebrated not only birthdays, but the retirement of Tom and the final radiation treatment for Dad. It was such a fun day. Some of our family did go to Mom and Dad's for a special dessert for Mother's 82nd birthday on her actual birthday.
One evening Tom and I were sitting in our family room. Much to my surprise, I saw a deer running in the soy beans behind our house. That may not be a surprise to most people, but we have only seen one deer in the 35 years we have lived in our house. When I ran to get the camera I was shocked to see three deer near the small stand of trees next to our house. Mama, Papa and Baby deer !
Of course we had a Holiday get together on Labor Day Sunday. We are happy when we are able to get all 37 of us in one place at the same time, but that rarely happens. The cookout was at our house this time. Tom being the dutiful husband that he is, took care of all the pre cookout requirements, since I have been unable to help. We had a great turn out and a wonderful time sharing. It is so enjoyable when we all can laugh and share. I love the pictures of the family laughing and playing (big and little kids).
And then there is Master Matthew. He is 18 months old, and we love watching him develope and grow. He never misses the oportunity to amaze us. Here he is on the table looking into a cup.
Now for the video everyone has been waiting for. Matthew playing dead. Matthew plays dead at the beginning of the video. Matthew flapping his foot is an added bonus.
