VB and the Parade

Volleyball and the Roann Parade

Saturday September 12th was a very busy day for Tom and me. We had to scurry up to Warsaw to watch Cassidy and Lauren in a Volleyball tournament. The girls are so much fun to watch. Brings back memories of when we spent so many weekends and evenings watching our three kids participate in sports and other school activities.

Cassidy Leigh

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.

Uh Oh... I have been missing !

Yes I have been missing from the blog world for over a month. I have a good excuse, but if I told ya....well you know the end of that statement !

I decided after giving it some thought that I would post the happenings all in one post. We will start with the furthest date finishing with the most recent. So... here we go.

On August 10th Tom's mother passed away. She fell earlier in the year, fracturing her pelvic bone. She never recovered all the way from that injury. It is terribly sad to watch a loved one pass. We know there was a huge family reunion in heaven on the day 'Chig' passed away. We will be met at the Pearly Gates with a smiling lady welcoming us into the Glorious Kingdom of Our Lord.

Emogene Mahan

1927~2009

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.

That is what had been happening while I have been "missing". I hope you enjoyed reading all about it.

Is it October ? ? ? ?

Last evening I was witness to some vandalism to our home.

There were three individuals involved. I watched from inside our house as the vandals moved slowly about....

It was late. Very late, for someone to be out and about. The evening sky was dark. There were no stars in the sky to be seen. A cloudy day had extended itself to an evening cloud cover. A slight gentle wind was moving the leaves of the trees. The occasional sound of a vehicle could be heard from the highway close by. The stillness was broken by the slow pace of tires on the stone in our driveway. The three villains emerged from the dark car with calculated movements. They each stepped quietly away from the car doors, coming into view in my window. Slowly they attempted to close the doors on the car, however the light inside remained on for a few seconds. It may have seemed like minutes to the ruffians. I peered through the slats of the blinds covering my windows. I pulled one of the slats down little by little to get a better view of the vandals. I could see them cautiously move closer to our house. I did not know their intent. They appeared small in stature, but with a determination to reach their lofty goals. Fear was not to be my master. I knew I was protected by the strong walls of our habitat. The trespassers appeared to know exactly the purpose of their expedition. To my surprise, I could see what materialized to be some contraband they had brought with them. Confusion was filling my mind with questions. The hooligans proceeded to dispense the reason for their vandalism. Paper!...... yes ....... paper........... was the reason they were interrupting the quiet peacefulness of my home. I saw one of the scoundrels draw back their arm to throw a large white object up into one of our trees. The other two thugs followed the leader with attempts to heave the white entity into other trees located in our front yard. Streams of white paper hung leisurely, swaying in the gentle breeze that moved the paper like a ballet dancer. Attempt after attempt was made by the criminals to place the paper in our trees. The malicious lawbreakers went about their destruction without fear. They seemed very comfortable with the nasty, cruel, wicked, mischievous design they had conjured to carry out. To my astonishment they walked about with calm and familiarity. They seemed to stroll about the yard with recognizable composure. I was able to obtain a photo of the offenders. They may be known in our community. I am sure I have seen them before. Yes.... they are well known to me and many members of our family. My granddaughters Lauren, Cassidy and Alex. They may be smiling in this recent photograph, but I am sure, when approached by the local law enforcement, the smiles will disappear.... for a moment or two? Ok....they know the officers in town. Geez... where is justice? (notice the black markings under their eyes to keep the SUN out of their eyes .... while they were in the dark)
Below are photos of the destruction performed by the naughty little beings (otherwise known as my precious sweet granddaughters)

Wagoner Reunion 2009

This years Wagoner reunion was attended by 68 people.(thanks Aunt Lois for the correct total) The Herring side of the Wagoner's had a healthy representation. Always fun to see people you don't have the opportunity to see during a busy year. Dad, Uncle Hod, Aunt Margaret and Aunt Lois are the siblings left from 6 children. I have so many fond memories of being a Wagoner. That once again falls back to the wonderful childhood I had. I got so busy talking to my cousins Susan and Diane, I was remiss in getting lots of good photos! Bad Girl....

Below are photos that I did get.

Mother acting silly- Dad laughing. A precious photo

Happy times of family

Alex and Lauren trying to act 'normal'?

Jack is 10 months old- Matthew is 19 months old. Aren't they just too cute?

Malia's first Wagoner Reunion

Abbey and Luke enjoying the two step. He loves playing with Abbey

Ummmmm....... kissin cousins? Chloe is getting a photo of the evidence