7:30 a.m.- Wake up. Quickly gather children and mother and hustle to the car.
7:45 a.m.- take picture of my mothers feet. see below. I gathered her too quickly and it flustered her. Half of her was ready for chores and the other half for a church meeting.
8:00 a.m.- Arrive at Rodeo grounds for the KIDS ONE MILE FUN RUN.
8:05 a.m.- Get roped into standing on the course so the kids won't get lost.
8:10 a.m.- Race starts (at least for most.. there is a terrible pile-up right at the beginning of the race which takes out an early favorite, my niece Anna)
8:20 a.m.- I see my children struggling to keep up with the other racers. Luke keeps losing his flip flop. He probably ran 2 miles because he would run, lose his shoe, have to run back to get it, then turn around and start running again. When he was near me, I instructed him to just take off his shoes and I would carry them. This is the way REAL country kids run anyway (do as the locals do..).
NO SHOES!
Sadie is struggling. She reaches me and says in her cutest whiniest voice,
"mom, i so tiyed. my yegs huwt so bad. i tan't do it anymow. howd you."
TRANSLATION: Mom, i am tired. my legs hurt so bad. i can't do it anymore. hold you.
I ended up walking with her the rest of the way. It was great because i counted it as actual exercise.
8:30 a.m. All kids get their green participation ribbon and bottle of bubbles and I snap a cute picture (so annoying! this particular picture will not load.. don't know why.. if anyone knows why some of my pictures will load and others won't, i would love for you to educate me...)
8:40 a.m.- Arrive at our parade location. Scout out a decent spot. Finally find it and get ourselves settled. Sit for a few minutes.
8:42 a.m.- Decide we need drinks. And by drinks, I do mean a diet coke. So we mosey on down to the country store which happens to be a mere 100 yards from our parade location. We purchase not only a diet coke, but some donuts, doritos, gatorade and some stale popcorn. I know it was still breakfast time. But this is how we roll...
8:50 a.m.- Arrive back at our prime parade location. Sit down. Eat doritos and donuts.
8:53 a.m.- Dumb woman parks car and sets up her stuff right in our viewing point. I am elected to ask her to move so we can see. The rationale is that I am from the city, and city folk are just expected to be meaner than country folk. They sent me to do the dirty work. And dirty work I did.
8:55 a.m.- Woman moves her car. All is well in Areola again.
9:05 a.m.- Kids getting antsy. "We want candy!!" is their cry.
9:06 a.m.- Star-spangled banner and the parade is ON like DONKEY KONG. Bands play, candy flies through the air, old people on floats wave to us, cheerleaders cheer, little ponies pull wagons and then..
9:10 a.m.- Parade over.
OK.. so it didn't get over at 9:10, but is sure seemed like the shortest parade ever.
10:00 a.m. Patriotic Program at the LDS chapel which just happens to be right across from our prime spot on the parade route. Patriotic program is a hit, EXCEPT that this year there was no invocation or benediction, which I took notice of. I said something to my sister-in-law who informed me that I was not the only one to notice and that it was merely an oversight. That kind of mistake can get you into a whole bunch of trouble in a place like Neola.. I am sure there will be a prayer next year at the Patriotic program.
11:15 a.m.- Go to Grandma's farm and check on the kitty and try to find the bunny. Bunny had escaped the box and had been hiding under the big pine tree. No sign of bunny. Kitty doing fine. Eat a bit of lunch--leftover chicken-- and then head over to our Rasmussen reunion.
1:30 p.m.- Arrive at reunion. Realize I know almost no one. Makes me sad. Kids have fun running around and stabbing each other with the swords that one of my distant cousins made for the kids. Chat with some of my long lost cousins. Hugs to some of my uncles and aunts. Reminisce.
3:00 p.m.- Decide to go swimming in Grandma's pool. OK, not her pool, her pond.
3:30 p.m.- Arrive at pond. Kids swim and play and skip rocks. Grandma and Grandpa show up with cookies and water. We enjoy the beautiful day.
I know that this looks like the Amazon or some other yucky body of water that they show on River Monsters. But it is not the Amazon. It is the POND and it is wet, and cool and that is all that matters.
P.S. I never get in it. How sick...
I believe this bathing beauty is doing a little thing called urinating. Did I mention we are Rednecks?
6:00 p.m.- Eat dinner. Leftover chicken... yummy. Chat on the lawn. Pet the horses. Check on the kitty. Try to find bunny..
Sometime later that evening- Head to my sister's house. Chat until super late. Lovely day with my crazy family..
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