Countryfest 2014

We had an amazing day!

It started super early this morning when my alarm went off at 6:45. I know, and on a Saturday too!! Within 35 minutes we were all dressed and in the van. Our first stop was the Ward Summer Breakfast. We were some of the very first ones there since Princess and Prima Donna has to be at the parade staging area by eight.

After feasting on pancakes, eggs, and sausage, most of the rest of us left the church pavilion by 8:30 and drove to Home Depot. We convinced them to give us the cute little riding lawnmower kits from the kids' class a little early and we quickly made our way back across town to join Bossy and Drama Queen on the parade route.

The girls were on the Youth City Council entry and it was fun to support them and enjoy the rest of the parade. We took a five-gallon bucket full of water bottles with us and by the time we were finished, the water was gone and the bucket was half full of parade candy.

After the parade we ran back to the house for lunch and to gather up our Pinewood Derby cars. The big race started at 1:00. My sweetie took the kids to the park and I ran Scout the opposite direction to a birthday party for a friend from school. By the time I got to the park, it was almost race time. The kids had been making cars all week and they were pretty excited to race, especially Curly. Curly won our pack pinewood derby last fall, so now he thinks he's a pro. And this new race was city-wide!


That basically meant 29 cars in the youth class and 9 of them belonged to our family members. The track was fast and they ran each car 4 times. Taco and Burrito had some good races, but the race was based on times, so we had no idea how anyone was really doing. The only thing we did know was that Curly's car came in first on all four of his races.

We were on pins and needles as they presented the 4 finalists. The first 3 names didn't belong to any of us. Then they announced the car in 1st place. It belonged to Curly!! He was so excited! He and my sweetie headed for the table to add graphite before the final race.

The race off would include 4 cars for 3 trophies and every car would run in every lane. Curly climbed into my lap so he could see better and the first race began. Unfortunately, when the screen flashed the times, his car came in second. He was completely crushed and turned his face into my shoulder. I narrowly avoided tears by reminding him that he still had three races to prove that he had the fastest car.

They lined them up again and they were off. This time his name flashed as the winner and the huge smile was back. When he won the third heat I was rewarded with a huge hug and after the 4th win, we were pretty sure he would retain the lead. He was so proud and excited when they called his name and handed him a huge 1st place trophy!

And all that happened by 2:00 pm. Drop by tomorrow and I will fill you in on the rest.

Don't you just hate cliff-hangers?!