Summer Weekend

It's evident that summer has started based on how many activities we jammed into the weekend. We started Friday by watching the Spokane Indians play against the Eugene Emeralds. It was a Family Feast night so we gorged ourselves on $1 hot dogs. It was a great time to take Munchkin because we knew he wouldn't last the whole game. He made it through the fifth inning, not too bad for a 2-year-old hopped up on sugar from his first root beer. The dollar tickets and treats made for a very affordable evening. Three tickets, a score card, six hot dogs, four sodas, a bag of kettle corn and an ice cream sandwich only set us back $20.

Saturday DD had to put in an extra day at work, so Munchkin and I picked up Grandpa to watch the Hayden Days Parade with us. I was worried arriving only 15 minutes before the start wouldn't give us enough time to find a good viewpoint. Too many years of attending the Coeur d'Alene Fourth of July parade has conditioned me to believe all parades require hours of planning, parking, walking, finding a place to stand and watching. Not the case in Hayden. We utilized a church parking lot, which was nearly empty when we arrived, and walked a short distance to easily find a place on the curb. The parade lasted less than a half hour, but it was just perfect for Munchkin. There were police cars, fire trucks, classic cars, horses and lots of candy. By the end Munchkin really caught on to the concept of chasing after the candy tossed out by the float riders. I've never attended the Hayden Days parade, but Grandpa said it was the largest (and best) they've ever had.

After the parade, we went to Finucane Park to view the vendor and food booth participants of Hayden Days. The new location for the festivities was really great. There was a kid area set up with jumping houses and carnival games. I'm sure a mother planned it because the kid area took up a baseball field and was nearly fully fenced with limited exits. It was a good think because Munchkin was running circles again, this time hopped up on candy. DD met us for lunch and was asked to judge the apple pie baking contest. Out of three pies, two tied so Grandpa had to step in and be the tasting tie breaker. It didn't really matter because the two had been baked by the same person.

DD and Grandpa also sampled burgers from the Elks food booth. They had nothing but good things to say about them. I was happy to see a lot of the vendors were local businesses. It seems like more and more festivals like this only attract vendors from out of town. Hopefully this year was successful enough to keep the local businesses involved.

Saturday night Munchkin spent the evening with his aunt and uncle so DD and I could catch a movie. We saw Evan Almighty. It wasn't necessarily my first choice, but DD is a big fan of Steve Carell. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It had a good storyline with some profound meanings and it was funny. It wasn't crude, raunchy funny, just funny. It really is a good family film because it appeals to everyone.

Sunday Munchkin and I spent more time at Grandma and Grandpa's for Sunday Dinner. The meal was a hodge-podge of foods - makings for sub sandwiches and hot wings. I've been telling Grandpa about using ground turkey instead of ground beef for recipes. I never thought he'd try it, but he made meatballs for meatball subs using turkey. He didn't tell me until I was done eating. They were the best meatballs yet. I think I ate the whole dish by myself.

We finished off Sunday with a visit to the other Grandma and Grandpa's. We enjoyed a pleasant summer evening chatting and sitting by the fire on the patio. Munchkin enjoyed running around the yard with a stick growling. I'm not sure what he was doing, but it seemed to be some kind of little boy instinct.

Today's a day off to get the chores done that went to the wayside over the weekend. Also a day to gear up for another busy week and busier weekend. It'll be my 10 year high school reunion, so we've got friends to visit with and functions to attend. Welcome summer!